Designer Q & A - Sass & Bide
1) Why do you think after 200 years jeans are still one of the most popular items of clothing?
- I think they have been accepted as a co-ordinate/basic after their long history, and whilst mainly indigo in various guises, I believe their indigo-ness and even their fade thru dark incarnations are now accepted as part of a monochromatic palette... therefore they work with everything. Their basic-ness makes them an easy wardrobe staple. They don't have to clash with an ensemble, they blend if necessary. Jeans wear and age with us, the fact is their wear is an accepted seductive quality to us. The fact that historically the jean has been a figurehead of celebrities though cinema, music, era's of revolt and fashion's own whims ensure they have paid their dues as a stalwart of our attire, and those same incarnations give great footholds for us as we develop our fabrics and styling for the now and the future.
2) Last time I counted there were over 50 brands of premium denim jeans, what makes your jeans stand out from the rest?
- I believe sass & bide has its own high end footing, and whilst a relative newcomer in the grand scale of brands, we aren't any newcomer to those that have had their eyes on great denims for the last near decade. Our brand has always been one for the girl that has something and wants to show it. sass & bide understand a good cut enhances everything about the wearer's own personality, and will attract attention to them in the way anyone does great art or aesthetics. We cut our jeans on real figures, and test them so our fabrics and our make stands up to the stretching out in a day's wear that most jeans companies don't attend to enough. We use techniques that cost a little more (fitted waistbands, cut on the straight, so waistbands don't sag out), we ensure our girls have jeans that fit even those blessed with forever legs, and we are always working on silhouettes that are going to be the next big "it fit". When Heidi and Sarah-Jane commenced the label with their first jeans, girls immediately noticed their style, and the zeitgeist of the brand made inroads amongst the cognescenti and the aspirational alike.... and we still cater to the leaders in the premium denim market. Our range seasonally scours the offerings from the best mills of the world, and then we develop our finishes and fits, and that offering always captures some of the leading edges the rest of the market often can't cater to. We are always striving to offer a little edge, yet realizing the best pair of jeans is one that is able to be worn every day under a variety of guises.
3) Who do you imagine is a typical sass & bide customer?
- A girl woman that loves to look great, very knowledgable of the market's great brands and directions that haven't yet become trends. Beauty is a quality she lives with, not aspires to, and we are part of how she presents her beauty. Our customer also appreciates fun, and can laugh at a feeling, not being precious. Any woman that appreciates time spent on fit and the finest attention to detail will give her a look that will be beautiful, sexy and mostly always svelte. Our girls are out at the clubs, in the shows, shopping the best stores, eating at the best restaurants....digging the new music from the pop girls to the alternative folkie and rock boys.
4) Where do you get your inspiration from?
- Over discussions with Heidi and Sarah-Jane, we form a theme or 2 which might be from history or fantasy times, somewhere between dreams and fashion, photographers of bygone times, samples scoured from the Rose Bowl or other antique markets, and the occasional nudge from seeing streets of the world with eclectic purveyors of fashion or nonchalance.
5) Are there any essential jeans that everyone should have in their wardrobe.
- Probably a pair of jeans from each of the 50's, 60's and the 70's.....all somehow finished in the colour prevalent of that era. A relaxed pair of flares, a straight leg fitted or slight anti-fit, and a pair of high waisted jeans (yehh, even maybe for the boys), just to throw in a previously disregarded category. Probably everyone should own some truly vintage Levi's (its what brings us together in denim-amour) must be pre-mid 1970's, preferably with a lovely aged patina and body wear marks, you'll always come back to them, whether they're old bootcuts from the 60-70's or 501xx's..... vintage will always be a friend.
Hulsey Strutter in Attica Blue
6) Which style and wash of your jeans are flying out of the shops the quickest at the moment?
- At the moment our high waisted Hulsey Strutters (see above) seem to be making the most noise, and getting our celeb friends frothing and smiley loveshaking. They were introduced in a deep raw-ish indigo shade, called Guardian Shadow, but the vintage washed, mid shade of Attica Blues is getting all the press.... they look all worn and faded, are a really tapered leg, and have front patch pockets that give them a signature look. They also fit most bodies incredibly flatteringly!
7) What are the first pair of jeans you remember?
- A pair of vintage 501xx's, I could never take them off on weekends. They were selvedge and so faded, but were perfect for the weekends I'd spend down the coast, or dreaming of being there..... I used to either repair the holes myself if they were in a bad place, or love watching tears get bigger. I remember when the seat on them was so threadbare they split 3 ways off my ass, and I figured I couldn't line them or repair them... it was a trying time searching for their replacements!
8) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have owned?
- Umm, too hard to answer. Possibly a pair of Levi's that Ron Herman Vintage had done some work too, they were slouchy bootcuts, from the early 70's.... thrashed and vintaged, faded and with tears at the knees and a little handstitched repair and embroidery that I added to.... I bought them around 1999, will never be getting rid of them, even though its now been a few years since I've worn a bootcut of any type.
9) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have produced?
- With sass & bide definitely the Hulsey Strutters, a high waisted slim fit jean with patch pockets. Especially in the black denim with the finish we called ONYX, it has a certain sheen to it that makes them look a little more dressy than average denim.
10) How many pairs of jeans do you currently own and which are your favourites?
- I own a lot, but its no obsession, I call them archives....I've been adding to and editing my jeans collection for the last 15 years.... (never counted them though). My faves are:
- Some shrink to fit levi's which have never been washed, all personalized body wear, whiskers and turtling, great shading. at least 3 sizes too big, but that was how I used to wear them, they've had 5 years of wear without washing... you KNOW they're good
- A pair of Ralph Lauren doubleRL raw selvedge slim jeans, they're wearing in well... That company is certainly doing a beautiful job on their denims and their authenticity!
- A pair of s&b (mens, no we DO NOT make them, they were just for all the guys in the company) jeans that my colleague Paul made up for us in Kaihara denim, selvedge and raw, they're really looking beautiful now, I have lived in them for a while now, and have paid them exceptional disrespect, they are rewarding me now in every perfect aesthetic worn way.
- A couple of pairs of Tsubis too of course (from while I was working with them) everyday good jeans!
- APC jeans, in the new cure finish, super clean, super simple. I wish they could make a pair of jeans that legs wouldn't twist though!
11) Are you a "wash your jeans after each wear" person or a "wear your jeans for six months before you wash them" person?
- Mainly a wear them lots without washing type of guy, I like to develop my own wear, but with vintaged faded jeans I like to wash them to keep them evolving....
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?
- yes. Jeans for all occasions. It changes with the fashions of the era or the 5 minutes though, as to which are allocated to which events.
13) Which is your favourite jeans shop?
- I really like the authenticity of a lot of the japanese denim stores, like 45RPM. I think its good to see product as in American Rag's World Denim Bar, but I also like more creative stores, the ones that have thought about merchandising away from the norms.
14) Which celebs are currently wearing your jeans?
- Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Hillary Duff, Kate Bosworth, Alison Lohman, Mischa Barton, Chloe Sevigny, Daisy Lowe, Stella Tenant, Theodora Richards, Kirsten Dunst
15) How important big an effect does it have on your sales when a celeb is seen wearing a pair of your jeans?
- It really has the ripple effect, the cult of celebrity is bigger and more important than blatant advertising for our company. Our friends that are in the public eye bring incredible attention to us when they are photographed in our jeans, and our customers love to affiliate with those celebs and their choices. We love the fact that celebs also choose our jeans over all the brands they have available to them in the market and from PR companies, we take it as a compliment to the attention we give to our product in design, fabrication and fit.
16) Who is your current favourite denim icon (male & female). I am thinking the person who has the most denim style?
- The girl that has unfortunately the most exposure and is always rated has to be credited, I think Kate Moss has an incredible denim style (sorry that's a fairly standard answer, but she does wear denim SO well!). Not so sure of whom my fave denim guy icon is.
17) Which character (male & female) from a movie had the most denim style?
- Brando-on the waterfront, the Wild One. Steve McQueen and musically The Ramones and Sid and Johnny in the Sex Pistols and drawing blanks for others actually... I don't want to mention any 80's films that are cheesy style.....
18) Which person living or dead would you most like to see in a pair of your jeans
- Can't think of that right now, sorry
19) If jeans had not been invented, what would we all be wearing?
- Bikinis and boardshorts if I had my way and summer was forever long. Probably otherwise anything in chino coloured hues... I know whatever we'd be wearing as a basic would be a lot more natural hued that indigo shaded.
20) And finally, any predictions for denim in 2007
- New palettes of denims, we'll be back to vintaged finishes, and 100 new jeans brands will raise their heads for the attention of us all!!!
Comments
Great interview!
I'm including a link to it for my Weekend Pulse of the Blogosphere on the main blog for Pierce Mattie PR. Look for it 2/26. :)
Posted by: Shannon | February 26, 2007 12:37 AM