Designer Q & A - Current/Elliott
1) Why do you think after 200 years jeans are still one of the most popular items of clothing?
Denim is an american tradition and somehow remains relevent and timeless year after year.
2) Last time I counted there were over 50 brands of premium denim jeans, what makes your jeans stand out from the rest?
Current/Elliott is a personal curation of our favorite denim silhouettes and washes throughout history. We choose to honor the tradition of denim and offer confortable, wearable, easy jeans inspired by historical bodies and washes.
3) Who do you imagine is a typical customer?
The Current/Elliott customer is anybody from a fashion darling in a chanel jacket and sky high stillettos or a mom at the park pushing a swing. We strive to create pieces we ourselves would like to wear day and night and jeans that a person who genuinely appreciates and collects denim would find authentic.
4) Where do you get your inspiration from?
We are inspired by many different eras and many different iconic american denim silhouettes. We look deep into history- wwi, wwii, miners, railroad workers, 70's rockstars, bikers- the men and women in america who have broken in pairs of jeans with sweat and muscle for the last hundred years.
5) Which style and wash of your jeans are flying out of the shops the quickest at the moment?
Our boyfriend jean (see above) was the first in our collection to get noticed. We really had a different approach when it came to this baggy silhouette and all of our jeans for that matter. We wanted to wear traditionally menswear silhouettes but in a more feminine, flattering form. Our boyfriend jean is drapy and sexy while still being a baggy mens shape.
6) Are there any essential jeans that everyone should have in their wardrobe?
A dream collection of denim would include all tradtional denim silhouttes- bellbottoms, skinnies, highwaisted, widelegs, bootcuts, etc. Women shouldn't get stuck in one trend. We clearly love baggy, slouchy silhouettes and offered them as a relief from a sea of dark skinnies but we do also love skinnies, elephant bells, crops and widelegs just as much. Its really about mixing up the silhouettes you wear.
7) What are the first pair of jeans you remember?
We remember as kids wearing osh kosh bigosh jeans and the first pair of back to school side zip guess jeans we were each allowed to buy. We remember scouring the salvation army for worn levis 501s we drew all over with sharpies in high school and we bonded over the search for perfect bellbottoms in college. We have both always been denim loving girls.
8) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have owned?
Emily current: a pair of super worn threadbare levis 684 giant bellbottoms from the early 70's. Meritt elliott: a pair of deadstock, never washed levi's 646's from a flea market.
9) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have produced?
We love our elephant bell jeans (see above). They are a mens cut and super flattering. The vision of a girl in our worn bellbottoms and a camel cashmere v-neck sweater is the epitome of chic. We also love our boyfriend jeans- especially when paired with very high fashion pieces and sky high shoes.
10) How many pairs of jeans do you currently own and which are your favourites?
We own too many to count. Our personal collections of jeans have been tailored to our bodies and are the inspiration for our line.
11) Are you a "wash your jeans after each wear" person or a "wear your jeans for six months before you wash them" person?
We are "wear your jeans for six monthes before you wash them" kind of girls.
12) Do you own jeans for different occasions (for instance I have work jeans, smart jeans, weekend jeans, holiday jeans, jeans for going to concerts in, jeans for gardening in) if so what have you got?
We own jeans for flats, for heels, for running errands, for a night out, for tea time, for play dates, the park, the movies, for rainy days tucked into boots, for sunny days at the beach. We really love denim and are collectors by nature.
13) Which is your favourite jeans shop?
Chucks vintage, mister freedom, what goes around comes around, american rag, barneys new york.
14) Which celebs are currently wearing your jeans?
We have seen so many cute girls rocking out our jeans in so many cool and individual ways. We are stylists so we are lucky that we work with a lot of them and that worn in jeans are needed to pair back and bring a low element to all of the high end fashion these girls are wearing.
15) How important big an effect does it have on your sales when a celeb is seen wearing a pair of your jeans?
Its important that stylish people are wearing your jeans and wearing them well and with personality. Its really flattering to see anyone whether it be an actress you admire or a stranger at whole foods in your designs- especially when they look confident and chic.
16) Who is your current favourite denim icon (male & female). I am thinking the person who has the most denim style?
We tend to look to men for our denim inpiration- keith richards, chris robinson, mick jagger, elvis, james dean and tom sawyer,.
17) Which person living or dead would you most like to see in a pair of your jeans?
Our loved ones and best friends. Its the ultimate compliment.
18) What is the worst denim crime?
There are sincerely no denim crimes or global fashion crimes in general. As stylists we take the approach that people need to express their personality or mood through the clothes they wear. What is a disaster on one person is genious on another. We don't like rules. It really comes down to confidence.
19) If jeans had not been invented, what would we all be wearing?
Fig leaves
20) and finally, any predictions for denim in 2009
relaxed and casual jeans.
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