We don’t often do interviews at Denim Geek but when we do, we like to push the boat out a little. Continuing the trend, we managed to grab some time this week with Rey Gautier, the Creative Director at Edwin Europe. Rey was appointed in January 2009 and has helped push the brand forward in the last year and a half. An all round friendly guy and denim expert, he did his best to answer all of the questions we threw at him about denim care, the current collection and the future….
The Edwin Spring/Summer 2010 collection and lookbook seem to be focused around a maritime theme. Where was this inspiration drawn from?
The collection is always based on lifestyles revolving around five pocket denims. High quality fabrics, high quality construction and human workmanship. We are not numbers. However, the Spring season’s clothing collection did indeed have an element of maritime running throughout. I think this was mainly down to having read ‘The Old man and the Sea’ by Ernest Hemingway during the time we were working on the collection. It is an incredibly moving tale, a very powerful story and something we felt had a connection with what we were working on at the time. In many ways, books such as these, first released in 1952 simply do not date, they still bare immense relevance today. Dateless. We make and remake five pocket denim jeans and this also has a longevity.
The look book itself was shot in Brittany, France using friends and our cameras. This coast line is called ‘La Cote Sauvages’, and is one of the most beautiful and natural coastlines in France. The light is incredible, even when raining. It rained quite a lot during the few days shooting and we had to just go with what nature was throwing down and get on with it. This was probably a blessing as it meant we had little time to think it through, it just had to happen as it happened…
For our readers who can’t get to fairs and events, can you give us a little information about what to expect for F/W 2010?
With winter its always easier to play with heavier fabrics, linings and details which may be more difficult in summer. The collection remains rough around the edges, a ‘hobo’ collection of sorts. Lots of layering pieces, blanket lined, cord collared denim jackets, leather flight jackets, heavy wool checks, boiled wool and recycled yarns on heavy cable knitwear pieces. It is loosely inspired on post-war Vietnam, where the U.S refused to deal with the dysfunctional aspect of retuning veterans and these people were left alone. Heroes now representing an ashamed government.
It concentrates on the escapism aspects and the accidental freedom of the road, somewhere where ‘brotherhood’ could be found during the ‘hobo’ style wanderings in search of work. It’s not escapism in the running away sense, but more embarking on a journey of self discovery. The denim collection reflected this spirit with washes in Japanese listed fabric such as the ‘biker repair’ ‘hobo’ and ‘oiler’ washes. Heavy duty, quality denim. Not fashion but more ‘style’ based on something real. This is important to us at EDWIN. Its not so much the ‘heritage’ or ‘vintage’ aesthetic feel which has invariably become a trend, but more the fact that its genuine product, the real article. The company could claim it’s stakes in heritage having started in Japan 1947, but that’s only really relevant in the sense that we have been making five pocket jeans since then, so one would hope that we have learned something along the way.
If one of our Denim Geek readers was after a new pair of jeans, why should they choose Edwin over cheaper alternatives?
The quality of the yarn used to spin the denim we develop with the fabric suppliers.
The quality of the dying process the denim fabric sees before we cut to construct.
The quality of the trims we use on our denim jeans.
The quality of the construction of our jeans that are made by people who have been making jeans a long, long time. Real people, not machines.
The quality of the washes we develop take years to perfect by hand.
The Tinker Tailor Ltd project was launched in last couple of weeks in your quest to find the perfect wash. Are you looking forward to seeing how the project progresses over the next year and can you tell our readers a little more about it?
This is an interesting project designed to create a sort of ‘modern vintage’. We are currently developing a new line within EDWIN Europe, based on premium denim fabrics and washed using real reference points from modern living. In other words, we are creating a ‘modern vintage’ program. It is not called this, but it’s the best way to describe it at the moment. Effectively, we select a denim contributed by a willing participant and base a wash on their real life usage. The wash is then named using the initials from the contributor and placed within the new line. The reference piece will be traceable along with its owner on the Tinker Tailor site with a feature alongside.
The TTLD project is the start, where we selected random individuals somehow connected to EDWIN. They simply document their lives in EDWIN jeans and at the end of the year, we will showcase their wear patterns and works in exhibitions held in Paris, London, Berlin, Stockholm and Milan.At this point, we will open up the availability for anyone willing to contribute by signing up to the project online and posting photos of their lives in their denims. If we find some interesting, we will propose to use their denim as the basis for a wash featured in the following collection. So, together we create a sort of ‘modern vintage’, we will be calling EDWIN INDIGO ‘ORIGINS’ for obvious reasons. Not dug up in a mine, but contributed by someone’s ‘present day’ hard work in breaking in dry denim in order to create their own piece of history.
Already this year we’ve seen collaborations with Folk and Pendleton Woolen Mills. For you personally, which other brands are catching your eye at the minute and who would you love Edwin to collaborate with?
We will be continuing the work project with Pendleton Woolen Mills and we are also currently working on a project with a globally renowned footwear company who similarly to Edwin, have been doing what they do for some time also.
For EDWIN, the idea of a collaboration is about working with specialists in their given field. Sharing ideas with people who know how to make, what they have chosen to make. It’s specialising in experience of manufacturing. There are many projects we would like to realise, however we will take it a step at a time. To work with a watch maker would be something interesting. Time will tell…
A lot of people still aren’t sure of how to treat their newly bought pair of raw Edwin jeans. What tips and recommendations would you give to them to get the most out of their jeans?
It is very personal really, but truly the best is to put on you dry denims and crouch down bending your legs, then rub the leg area vigorously. After that, simply don’t take them off for years. No washing, just let them AIR CLEAN by hanging them outdoors to air. The best personal blueprint will be created by wearing them and not washing them as the indigo fades and drops out and the contours start to form. Best of all, is that this natural wash is unique to the wearer. Wonderful !
However, most people like to smell good and keep their friends close. Maybe put on your dry jeans, jump in the shower, crouch down and rub the leg areas. Some of the indigo will drop out, but this process kind of domestically seals the denim. Then hang dry them in the open air. And wear them in…
On the other hand, if you want to simply buy a pair of EDWIN dry denims, wear them, wash them, live in them then that is totally acceptable also! When you wash them for the first time, wash separately, inside out and hang dry in open air. Some like to dry clean their denims, some like to not wash at all, some like to wash in the home machine as often as possible… In all cases, just remember that if you chose to buy some denim, please buy quality from a real, authentic jeans brand where you can be sure the manufacturing is ethical and clean. You wouldn’t buy car tyres from the pub would you? On the other hand, maybe you would… There’s always someone selling something down at our local!
And finally, what direction would you guys like to take the brand in the next few years and what are you predicting for the future?
We want to stick to the same direction we have been working on since the late 40’s. Good quality, honest and reliable five pocket denim. Having a damn good time learning by discovering and accepting new technologies, developments and theories along the way. The past is good to learn from, and the future has always been inspiring as we are all shaping it in the present.
If you don’t already know, you can catch up with the latest Edwin news at http://www.edwin-europe.com.
