Earnest Sewn - Designer Q & A
This week's Designer Q & A is with Scott Morrison, President & Designer of Earnest Sewn.
1) Last time I counted there were over 50 brands of premium denim jeans, what makes Earnest Sewn jeans stand out from the rest.
What I see as setting us apart is our consistency in concept and strong lifestyle identity. Our concept lies in the idea of mixing the Japanese beauty aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi, with denim's Americana past. In staying true to this we incorporate pride in workmanship and commitment to authenticity.
Each garment in actually only worked on by three people.
The Sewer who sews the entire garment from start to finish (instead of a factory assembly line) without any guides on the sewing machine (further adding to the hand made feel of the garment), the hand sander who sands down the jean with sand paper (after completing months of charcoal drawing training before he is ready to work on our garment), and the wet process technician, who washes the jean, resin coats it, and oven bakes it. These three people, along with myself, hand stamp the jean after each step of the process is complete. By signing our names we are committing our reputation to the product and claiming our belief in it.
Everything we do stays consistent with this lifestyle concept, from the design of our new An Earnest Cut & Sew clothing collection, to the brands like Santa Maria Novella (the oldest fragrance and beauty line out of Florence), Carpe Diem hand cobbled shoes and boots, and Rogues Gallery clothing and accessories that we carry in our flagship store in NYC. The focus is on superior product quality, and strong brand integrity.
2) If you had to choose one of the following which would you say is more important - the way a pair of jeans look or how comfortable they feel.
I honestly think both are important. In this day and age with the influx of new denim brands saturating the market the consumer has the luxury of demanding exactly the fit, wash and hand feel that suits them. We take pride in each of these steps, to ensure that each jean fits, and is finished to perfection.
3) Which style and wash of Earnest Sewn Jeans are flying out of the shops the quickest at the moment?
For the past two seasons our Harlan 18 women's tapered leg Japanese stretch denim jean has been our top selling style. Earnest Sewn was one of the first brands to come out with this silhouette, and since it has launched it has been a top seller at all our key accounts, not to mention a favorite among the Hollywood set, such as Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, Lindsay Lohan, Seinna Miller, and Drew Barrymore to name a few (we can e-mail you pictures of these celebs and more wearing this style if needed). For Spring we have incorporated many new washes and variations of this popular style.
4) Do you have plans for any other retail stores?
Yes, due to the success of our lifestyle/concept store in New York City, we have plans to open 4 more stores worldwide in the next few seasons.
5) Are there any essential jeans that everyone should have in their wardrobe.
My personal favorite will always be the classic 5 pocket boot-cut silhouette.
I may be a traditionalist, but this classic style has its routes in American work wear, and I tend to always favor authenticity over trend.
6) 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?
I have well over 300 pairs of jeans. Some from my vintage archive collection that I use for wash inspiration, a few from my days as the designer and president of Paper Denim & Cloth, and some from the past few seasons of Earnest Sewn. However, as many jeans as I have in my closet, I tend to have one or two favorites which I basically wear every day for virtually every occasion. I definitely a typical jeans, t-shirt, button-down type of guy.
7) What are the first pair of jeans you remember?
My first pair that I can remember buying were Levi's of course, but the first pair that actually made me think differently about denim were a pair of Replay 914's. I loved those jeans.
8) What have been your favorite pair of jeans that you have owned?
There were a pair of Evisu jeans I bought from Evisa Tailor in Japan, back around 1999, and those were pretty amazing after I processed them at our laundry in Kentucky, but without a doubt the Earnest Sewn 'Hutch.89' fit is my all time favorite jean. It's in one of my favorite Japanese denims, and the fit is exactly what a comfortable boot cut should fit like. It's one of those jeans' that is truly timeless.
9) What have been your favorite pair of jeans that you have produced?
See answer above. Earnest Sewn Hutch.89
10) How many pairs of jeans do you currently own and which are your favorites?
I'd guess that I own more than 300. I haven't counted in years, and it's tough to call anything your favorite, especially the stuff that you design personally. I imagine that it's like trying to decide which is your favorite child ... 1) it shouldn't be done, and 2) it's impossible to decide.
11) Are you a "wash your jeans after each wear" person or a "wear your jeans for six months before you wash them" person?
I'm a "never ever wash your jeans" type of guy. I believe in letting your denim wear in and age as it will. The great thing about denim is the more you wear them in the better they get. If things get really unsanitary, I either spay them with Fabreeze or hand wash them and line dry them by hanging them from Earnest Sewn's signature locker loop on the center back waistband.
12) Who is your current favorite denim icon (male & female). I am thinking the person who has the most denim style?
I can't think of any one person, but from time to time I see a really amazing stylist do something with denim on a celebrity or a model that I find inspirational or interesting. But typically when I think of denim icon's I think of industry people, people most readers wouldn't know.
13) Which character (male & female) from a movie had the most denim style?
Marlon Brando or James Dean, without a doubt. Ronald Regan did it pretty well though, and just about any character out of 'Once Upon a Time in the West' did denim justice.
14) Which person living or dead would you most like to see in a pair of Earnest Sewn Jeans?
Hemingway, Dean, Brando (in his 20's), maybe Johnny Depp.
15) If denim jeans had not been invented, what would we all be wearing?
I can't even begin to imagine.
16) And finally, any predictions for future trends in denim jeans?
I believe the short term trend in wash will continue to lean towards a cleaner, authentic look.
I also believe with the saturation of new labels in the market, the consumer is becoming more and more sophisticated and has a greater sense of product quality. The long-term prediction is that denim won't die, and more likely than not, it will embrace many future generations in the same iconic way it has the past five or six.
Scott Morrison
President & Designer
Earnest Sewn
