Designer Q & A - Denimfactoria
1) Why do you think after 200 years jeans are still one of the most popular items of clothing?
Claudia: Jeans are a very versatile piece of clothing: you can dress up or down, you can wear it by day or night, out to work, at nightclubs. Today we can wear jeans (almost!) everywhere.
Maribel:. You might own jeans from 10 years ago and they can still look amazing. You might wear a pair of jeans till they have holes all over and be falling apart and it is the one piece of clothing you won’t look like a nut wearing out in the street.
2) Last time I counted there were over 200 brands of premium denim jeans, what makes your jeans stand out from the rest?
Maribel: Our aim at DENIMFACTORIA is to create one of a kind jeans. We want every one of our styles to be remarkable and unique, we steer away from boring jeans (but we have nothing against boring jeans! We just don’t want to make them!)
Claudia: We care a lot about special detals. Our Alpha jeans have hand-embroided details for example and really huge, exaggerated cuffs.
We care about the environment and we give away a really cool reusable tote, 100% biodegradable, with the purchase of any jeans. We are really concerned with the amount of plastic bags used and discarded each day so if people reuse this bag it might help a bit.
3) Who do you imagine is a typical customer?
Maribel: a woman who wants quality and well-made jeans, with a great fit. Someone who likes fashion but is no slave to it, mostly someone who is on the hunt for fun jeans.
Claudia: Our customers vary a lot. I’ve seen women wearing our jeans very stylishly at nightclubs but I’ve also seen young professionals wear them to work and even 50+ women rocking them while shopping at Madrid’s Golden Mile.
4) Where do you get your inspiration from?
Claudia: I am usually inspired by people I see whilst travelling. Every city has its charm and offers different colors, lights, fabrics, textures.
Maribel: I like looking at vintage magazines, pictures of rockstars and models such as Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg. But I’ve got to say that the internet is an amazing tool were I get inspiration all the time, there are so many great sites out there… The Sartorialist is a great example.
5) Which style and wash of your jeans are flying out of the shops the quickest at the moment?
C & M: Our Alpha style and our Bravo (see above) have both been hugely successful.
6) Are there any essential jeans that everyone should have in their wardrobe?
Claudia: Well, for me skinny jeans are an essential part of any wardrobe mostly because I walk all over Madrid and with them I can easily wear flats. We were waiting to design our first pair because we wanted to make a really special pair and now that we’ve finally made it it comes out in spring 2009.
Maribel: For me there are no "essentials" I am always on the lookout for different styles.
7) What are the first pair of jeans you remember?
Claudia: Levi’s 501
Maribel: I don’t know the brand but I was about 4 years-old and wore frayed bell-bottom jeans. I wish I had them now.
8) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have owned and why?
Maribel: mmm there are so many! Let’s see: a Marc Jacobs super light wash pair I wore to shreds, a really cute Gap pair with no back pockets (our Bravo jeans also don’t have them! They give you an amazing butt!), my Sass and Bide Frayed Misfits, etc
Claudia: Well I’ve always had a love for Levi’s jeans, they fit me like a glove! I’ve also had a great pair of Seven jeans, amazing Goldsign skinnies and great Joe’s jeans bootcuts.
9) What have been your favourite pair of jeans that you have produced and why?
Claudia: For me it must be the Charlie style, really tight jeans which flare at the knee with huge cuffs and our new skinnies which are called Delta.
Maribel: I have to go with the Alpha model (see above). I have always been on the lookout for great mens jeans but the fit was always wrong so we came up with this style inspired in menswear.
10) How many pairs of jeans do you currently own and which are your favourites?
Maribel: about 30? And most definitely my favourite are ours!
Claudia: I think I am at about the same range, maybe 25, and my favourites are of course my Charlie and Delta jeans!
11) Are you a "wash your jeans after each wear" person or a "wear your jeans for six months before you wash them" person?
Claudia and Maribel: We couldn’t make it to six months. For the most part we wash them after about 3 or 4 wears.
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?
Claudia: for night, for day, for high-heels, for flats, for staying in the city and for those weekends I spend going to the country, also I have a few I only wear either in winter or in summer!
Maribel: for airplanes!! I have some jeans which are comfortable enough to endure 12+ hour flights between Mexico and Spain. Also jeans I wear only with superhigh heels and vintage jeans for 70’s looks.
13) Which is your favourite jeans shop?
Maribel: I like buying my jeans online! shopbop.com is a good shopping site. In the US I go to Intermix or Barneys for jeans. In Madrid I usually go to Casandra.
Claudia: Scooter in Madrid, Harvey Nichols in London
14) Which celebs are currently wearing your jeans?
Nieves Alvarez, Martina Klein, Laura Sanchez, Genoveva Casanova, Ines Sainz, Priscila de Gustin, Ana Boyer, Paloma Cuevas, Anne Igartiburu, Gala Gonzalez, Mireia Olleretc.
15) How important big an effect does it have on your sales when a celeb is seen wearing a pair of your jeans?
Claudia: There is a huge impact, people respond to what celebrities wear and get inspired by their looks and style.
16) Who is your current favourite denim icon (male & female). I am thinking the person who has the most denim style?
Maribel: for me the Olsen twins, Chloe Sevigny and Daria Werbowy.
Claudia: Kate Moss, Nicole Richie and, Gala Gonzalez
17) Which person living or dead would you most like to see in a pair of your jeans?
Maribel: Anita Pallberg, Clemence Poesy, Alexa Chung.
Claudia: Penelope Cruz , Ali McGraw,and I would’ve love to see Lauren Bacall in the Alpha model.
18) What is the worst denim crime?
C&M: For us it’s wearing jeans which are too small, we hate seeing the waist bulge on low-rise styles.
19) If jeans had not been invented, what would we all be wearing?
Claudia: I think they would eventually have come up with them or something very similar. Clothing in a durable fabric is indispensable for so many kinds of things.
20) And finally, any predictions for denim in 2009
Maribel: boyfriend jeans will be everywhere but also higher waist and wide legs.
Claudia: Short shorts and long shorts both for summer and winter (in winter worn with thick woolly thighs), flares in both light and dark washes.
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