Interview with Kelli Delaney, Designer of Members Only Premium Denim

DenimBlog: Where can people find you on the WEB?

Kelli: Our website & store is at  www.membersonlystyle.com Our Premium Denim line will be available on-line January 1.

DB: Who is your typical customer?

Kelli: Chic young women who take their fashion cues from Hollywood’s style stars.

DB: What is your most popular cut? Wash?

Kelli: The Ripper Skinny and the Sharpei. All of our jeans are a skinny cut~ that’s what our girl wants to wear right now.

DB: Name your most favorite pair of jeans that your brand has produced?

Kelli: My favorite pair is the Graffiti Girl. I love the mix of pastel sherbet colors against the crisp white denim. They are happy jeans!

DB: With so many premium denim brands, what makes your jeans better than your competitors?

Kelli: I think the MEMBERS ONLY premium denim collection distinguishes itself from other brands because each style has it’s own totally unique personality and look. My goal was to create seven instantly recognizable jeans that celebrities would crave, and paparazzi photographers could not resist shooting!

DB: How many pairs of jeans do you currently own?

Kelli: About 50.

DB: Do you have jeans for different occasions?

Kelli: Yes, but I usually organize my jeans according to which heel heights they look best with.

DB: When do you wash your jeans?

Kelli: I like them to be washed and pressed after each wear.

DB: Name your favorite pair of jeans.

Kelli: I have a fierce, bleached out pair from Stella McCartney’s first collection for Chloe. They have shredded tears in a pattern of a tiger attack!

DB: Whom or what inspires you?

Kelli: In terms of celebrities, Rihanna inspires me the most. I also get inspired by going through all of the Chanel, Versace and Cavalli pieces I have collected over the years. Most of all, I really get the most inspiration from the streets of NY. The fashionable girls here take risks and pull it off seamlessly.

DB: What are the most impactful/memorable pair of jeans you remember? Were they yours or someone else’s?

Kelli: My most memorable pair of jeans were made for me years ago by a brand called Greenhouse Studio. The designer was an artist named Sandra Florez, and she painted abstract flowers directly on vintage Levis that she would cut the waist off of and then sew back on much lower. You had to commission a pair to be made, and it took weeks to receive them. The jeans cost about $900; they were wearable art!

DB: Which celebs are currently rocking your denim line?

Kelli: The jeans don’t hit the stores until January but we already have requests from our biggest stars! Teen Vogue borrowed lots for their upcoming Taylor Swift shoot. The Gossip Girls and Hills girls have already received select styles as well.

DB: Who is your current favorite denim icon? And all-time denim icon?

Kelli: Nobody can rock denim like Kate Moss. Period.

DB: Which celebrity would you like to see wear in your jeans? Why?

Kelli: I love Blake Lively and Whitney Port’s look and style, they mix hard and soft so well together.
Also, I think Mariah Carey’s body is a “Perfect Ten” right now and she will look sooo hot in our Graffiti Girl jean!

DB: Why are jeans are so popular?

Kelli: Jeans are so popular here because they represent iconic American style. Ask any American man what he thinks women look sexiest in, and he will say a white t-shirt and jeans.

DB: What’s the worst denim crime you could commit?

Kelli: I don’t think Baby’s cuffed knee-length jeans from Dirty Dancing should ever come back out of the closet!

DB: Denim Fashion predictions for 2009 Summer? 2009 Fall?

Kelli: I think shorts with tricky washes and pretty colors will be hot for summer 2009. Moving into Fall 2009, I predict that clean jeans will be out, and we will all compete to create the most unique washes and embellishments.

Thanks to Kelli of Members Only Premium for the interview and photos!