April, 2008

Ali Fatourechi, the creative director for Genetic Denim was recently interviewed by Fox News, and I thought I’d share this with our readers.  I actually have a pair of Genetics myself and I love them!  They’re super soft and whenever I wear them I get tons of compliments and I’ve been told they make my legs look longer!  You can find Genetic Denim at ShopBop if you are interested in picking up a pair yourself!

Q: What is your name, company and position?

A: Ali Fatourechi, Genetic Denim, Creative Director

Q: Give us a description of your company and its success.

A: Genetic Denim is a premium denim brand. We launched two years ago and have exceeded 200 stores domestically and have entered international markets such as Japan, Canada and Australia. I partnered up with Shaun Hurley, an industry insider, who is our president of Sales, and Scott Sartiano, who is president of Marketing. We initially started with a strong marketing force that got Genetic Denim in various publications nationwide that helped make Genetic Denim a recognizable name. I worked on designing and creating a line that would be recognizable for its lightweight, soft fabrics and impeccable fit. Finally, Shaun — with his denim knowledge and great reputation amongst buyers — debuted our line at Intermezzo, which is a trade show in January 2006.

Q: Describe what a typical day is like for you as the Creative Director of Genetic Denim.

A: A typical day starts with answering e-mails and following up with development and production issues. Then I sit with my associate designer and discuss our development for the upcoming season. After, I sit with my partner Shaun Hurley and we discuss sales strategies and how the line will be represented to the buyers for the upcoming season. That information then gets passed onto our sales reps and showroom in New York. It is very important that they understand the inspiration for that season which they use as a selling tool. I generally take a couple hours to do tears from magazines for inspiration and ideas. I then spend about an hour at my manufacturing facility doing wash development and fittings on styles that we are producing for our stores.

Q: Tell us a little about your background before you launched Genetic Denim.

A: Before launching Genetic Denim, I spent a year studying my consumers. I started a mobile denim store. I traveled from New York to Texas and visited 42 cities in search of what women want in a pair of jeans. I funded the tour by buying my competitor’s brands and selling them to college students across the country for a discounted price. I bought overstock and styles from previous seasons at a discount and sold them for half the retail price. After two semesters of traveling, I realized what women want in a pair of jeans, moved to Los Angeles and started Genetic Denim with my two partners.

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