Designer Q & A - Charley 5.0

This week's Designer Q & A is with Sue, Sales Director at Charley 5.0.

1) Why do you think after 200 years jeans are still one of the most popular items of clothing?
#1 Comfort , #2 goes with everything

2) Last time I counted there were over 200 brands of premium denim jeans, what makes your jeans stand out from the rest?
We're not your basic 5 pkt jean, we're a collection of fashionable items whose main fabrication is denim

3) Who do you imagine is a typical customer?
A Savvy Fashionista

4) Where do you get your inspiration from?
Girls / Women on the street. Everyday people.

5) Which style and wash of your jeans are flying out of the shops the quickest at the moment?
Gunmetal (shown above), which is a taupey grey / faded mink color.

6) Are there any essential jeans that everyone should have in their wardrobe?
YES, a higher rise 5 pkt jegging, it's chic & instantly makes every girl look fabulous.

7) What are the first pair of jeans you remember?
Jordache

8) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have owned and why?
This is not an easy question LOL, how does any girl who loves fashion claim fame to any 1 item. I have to pass this one.

9) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have produced and why?
Charley 5.0 Mama's Boy (which is an update to our Skinny Mini Jegging, it's a higher rise, 5 pkt that adds instant chic.

10) How many pairs of jeans do you currently own and which are your favourites?
Tons / at least 5 dozen. CHARLEY 5.0 Mama's Boy Skinny

11) Are you a "wash your jeans after each wear" person or a "wear your jeans for six months before you wash them" person?
Both, depends on the jean and the mood I'm in.

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?
Nope, I'm the kind of girl that will wear a jean on the weekend & turn that jean into a work jean by adding a blazer or something tailored. It's all about mixing it up & making it work.

13) Which is your favourite jeans shop?
Hmmmm, don't really shop jean specialty shop. We're an eclectic mix here at Charley, no one store or place is a favorite. We shop Vintage, we shop boutiques, dept stores, Flea Markets...whatever we love we make an item. And that's pretty much how our collection is, the MAIN focus is denim, but one day we're adding chiffon to it another day it's about riping it apart and some days it's about adding a zipper, jersey or an embellishment. It's constantly changing

14) Which celebs are currently wearing your jeans?
Rihanna, Jessica Alba (shown above), Ciara, Ashley Tisdale, Khloe Kardashian, Kristen Cavallari, Jessica Szhor, Katy Perry, Heidi Klum, Taylor Swift

15) How important big an effect does it have on your sales when a celeb is seen wearing a pair of your jeans?
Today's youth is very celebrity driven when it comes to fashion, when I was a teen it wasn't like that, so Rihanna or any other celebrity wearing our items definitely plays a role in sales....I wish it didn't but it is what it is, a sign of the times, and to stay young & with the times you have to evolve & meet the demands of your customer.

16) Who is your current favourite denim icon (male & female). I am thinking the person who has the most denim style?
No one, I think the denim on denim trend is just starting to evolve & being interpreted and this will be a lot easier to answer in a year or so.

17) Which person living or dead would you most like to see in a pair of your jeans?
Ava Garner. We'd love to style her in our High Rise 5 pkt

18) What is the worst denim crime?
When you wear denim that doesn't fit you properly

19) If jeans had not been invented, what would we all be wearing?
Half of us sweats and the other half dress trousers

20) And finally, any predictions for denim in 2010?
I think Denim on Denim will become a new staple, there is something else but I don't wanna give it away....

AndyK: 28/04/10