Designer genes

It all began, really, with a 15-year-old. There was one seminal moment in the early ‘80s when every single girl above the age of 12 wanted to look a certain way – with tousled hair, lean body, sex kitten-pout and jeans that looked like they were glued on. The hair, body and pout belonged to then 15-year-old Brooke Shields and the jeans were Calvin Klein’s. In the Richard Avedon-directed magnum opus, Shields purred coquettishly, to the consternation of conservatives everywhere, "You know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."

After CBS, the network known for its squeaky clean lineup at the time, pulled the commercial in November1980, the buzz that followed was worth more than any pricey guerilla campaign could’ve scared up. Suddenly, every girl wanted to be Brooke – to have her face, her hot Blue Lagoon-fueled career, and her oh-so-chic Calvins. The advent of the designer jeans came about because of a little ad that barely saw the light of day.

Today, designer denim is a major industry, thanks to the Calvin Klein juggernaut media campaigns. From Seven for All Mankind, a California-based label that’s become a cult hit, to Rogan, a lowkey label devoted to Americana denim, to Paper Denim & Cloth, which comes in hand-abraded Italian, American, and Japanese ring-spun denim, to Loomstate, jeans made from 100 percent organic cotton, jeans are suddenly inspiring the kind of ontological debates found at a philosophy major’s study party. From the varying washes, cuts, detail and fit-related questions, it’s come down to what’s got more buzz. Women are now left scratching their heads wondering if the curlicue back pocket stitching of a pair of Sevens will give them more mileage than, say, the red-line selvedge denim used by APC. With the price tags that come attached – costs usually start at $100 to as much as $400 – the number of jeans available to the average Jane is usually limited. Which begs the question, why not invest in a pair of jeans by a local designer?

YStyle asked several local designers to come up with their own pair of bespoke jeans, with results ranging from Puey Quiñones’ hippie low-waist version with hand-stitched details to Joey Samson’s punk interpretation, which uses reversed denim fabric that creates a grainy striped effect. Avel Bacudio, meanwhile, opted for loose and baggy, accenting the waistband with bright pink satin, while Ivar Aseron went in the opposite direction and cropped his jeans to a ridiculously cute knee-length. Designer denim isn’t new to Manila’s shores, what with Ino Caluza’s line of jeans, called Viktor, which comes in a variety of washes – you can choose the fabric, from white denim to hot pink – and accessorized with a bright red V at the back.

Rather than opt for imported high-end jeans that are, at the end of the day, still ready-to-wear pieces made for the upscale market, go for custom-made pieces that are made to fit. With style and fabric totally up to you, the end result is bound to be way more authentic and bespoke than a pair of Sevens.

For most women, the only thing that comes between them and those hot designer jeans in the store display window is the steep price. With these local designer versions now available to any denim aficionado at a lower rate, anyone can be like Brooke – except you’ll have the luxury of knowing you got the look for less.

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Contact the designers for appointment: Ino Caluza (0917-8504543), Avel Bacudio (0917-8866968), Joey Samson (0918-9592541), Puey Quiñones (0916-7763098), and Ivar Aseron (0927-2736583).