New Denim Brand: TallGeneZ & Exclusive Interview

Here is an interview with the founder/designer of the new denim brand TallGeneZ. This denim brand seems really unique and fits a market which isn’t that popular among other designers. Keep reading for the interview and information about the brand. What do you think? Isn’t it a great idea? A brand of denim made specifically for really tall women with premium denim which is glued at the seams instead of stitched. The woman with the worlds longest legs, so long in fact that she is in the Guinness world records for having the longest legs. Just ordered a pair from TallGeneZ, she has never been able to wear jeans before due to length. She wore home made jeans but never properly designed ready to wear jeans.

DB: What inspired you the most when creating your brand?
My wife Amy who at 6ft5 with a 38” inseam personified my whole future client base.

DB: What has been your favorite memory/experience since your brand was founded?
I believe it was seeing the first samples on each model and the ecstatic expression on each models face at having jeans long enough (40 inseam & 42” inseam) in a premium fit. I also feel the use of Kaihara denim helped!

DB: Do you have a favourite cut you have designed?
My personal favourite is the Coube mid boot in dark rinse, the Kaihara denim in a dark rinse is probably one of the most beautiful denim fabrics I have ever seen. The jean is elevated from a working jean to being able to stand toe to toe with couture level garments. It’s 11oz weight Kaihara denim. The next range will also include the 11oz and also a 10oz. The 10oz is very addictive!

DB: What makes a pair of jeans the perfect pair? (fit, wash, cut etc)
The perfect pair is really based on the individual. Tall women can pull off the straight leg jean to perfection. The straight leg is a safe bet for tall women of any shape and size. Boot cuts I suggest for slimmer more athletic figures, even then I prefer the slight
boot cut. I will create jeans upon request, but that is just my personal opinion. For rises nothing too high even, though a longer frame can pull it off I find high waisted jeans to look ghastly. Mid rise is ok, but for my mid rise jeans I make them slightly lower than a normal mid rise. I also never like to go ultra low, a good balance of class and figure dis-play are taken in to consideration in each design. Washes! My favorite part, Robert White who runs his own denim production operation in El Paso Texas is your main man when it comes to denim washes. Both being Brits in the USA Robert has shown me many techniques when it comes to washes. I have to say I can’t admit to having a favorite wash, I like the vast amount of options, so my clients will have to individually answer that one. Personally a wax Finnish jeans is incredible. Also oven baked tech-nique which gives the jeans a leather quality also is high on my list.

DB: How many pairs of jeans do you own?
How long do you have? lol In my wardrobe right now (and across many of my rooms) I would estimate a good 30 or more. I wear any brand really, diesel I feel is a good fit for men.

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DB: What is your brands over all goal?
To give women (and soon men) with longer inseams a choice in designer denim. To cater to all tastes and enable a range of prices from your $49 – $65 per pair Basicz range. $80 to $160 ready to wear range and then your $200 plus TGZ Couture exclusivez range. This way I can cater to all pockets no pun intended.

DB: Your jeans are for very tall people, why did you decide to create jeans with such long inseams?
After fashion school I decided the best way to learn every aspect of my chosen path, would be to work retail and then move on up through management levels to eventually build my own business. From working in Gap, Next, then to working for tailors, I noticed that most days I was confronted with the question “Do you have these in a 38” inseam or higher?” or “ Can you take the hem down for me? After three years of the two question staring me in the face, the penny finally dropped! Base your business on designing clothes for taller people. Being that I always thought specializing was the key I picked a garment that every one wears. Jeans!!! The idea of TallGeneZ was born.

DB: Are you going to do jeans in regular and petite lengths?
The areas are covered by other businesses but for couture I create jeans for any shape size and length. Petite is around the corner though and is something that I am considering. It would be good to hear back from Denim Blog subscribers as to the de-mand of a petite range. THe seamless range coming out very soon i am thinking about creating for all people as Robert White of PPR LTD has the exclusive rights to this method giving me also the exclusive rights. The seamless is a whole interview in itself
which I would be more than happy to talk about on Denim Blog.

DB: The boyfriend jeans trend has been a huge hit this season, will we be seeing anymore of this trend from you for the taller ladies?
Very good question, my first range has had what I call the back bone styles Straight leg and mid boot. I put out a very small selection to show what TallGeneZ can do focusing more on wash techniques than full range choices. Working on a 7 week turn around I can have any style design samples perfected and ready to order in 7 weeks. Agility is my businesses strength. I have had no demand for that style but can design and make it upon request.

DB: We all love denim, but what is it that makes denim so important to you?
For me, denim is the crazy uncle of the fashion world. No matter what elements of fashion are in demand or what looks is currently in wardrobes across the world, denim always does it’s own thing. Denim for me has a rugged, yet lovable personality. From rich to poor most people own at least one pair of jeans. As my metaphor suggests, every family has a crazy uncle. Denim just happens to be the crazy uncle of the fashion world.

DB: Can you tell us a bit more about your brand?
The TallGeneZ brand (TGZ) does not really take on the characteristics of one brand but rather developing many persona within itself, to cater to each taste of the TallGeneZ client. As every two months pass TallGeneZ will create style upon stye to suit the requests of the ever growing client base. I do have an addiction to Japanese denim so most styles will be made using kaihara denim. I am looking also at possibly using Cone denim for certain ranges, but my heart is in Kaihara. The inseams start at 36” inseam going up to 50” inseam if needed. My couture ranges allow me to express my true love for fashion in design through denim.

DB: What makes your brand so different from the others out there?
The clear essence that separates my brand from any other brand, is that I start at 36” inseam going up to 50” inseam. Each pair have a made in the USA label, which although many premium denim brands have, mine include made in the USA for the Basicz line also. As mentioned briefly in a previous question the agility of TGZ enables me to create a whole new style line from scratch in 7 weeks. Being an online based business right now, I will no longer charge for shipping in my new range coming out November 1st 2009. It will allow my clients to try the jeans on knowing they do not have to pay for shipping to and from their homes. Pricing also I can charge less because apart from the denim production I solely run the business and design section myself so I can offer a fair price on all ranges.

DB: Lastly is there anything else you would like to add that we haven’t asked you?
I would like to briefly talk about the seamless line. Robert White of PPR LTD in El Paso Texas, has the exclusive rights in the U.S.A. to the new method of creating jeans without any stitching on the seams.This automatically gives TallGeneZ the rights to
creating the seamless jeans. An Italian technique of constructing the jeans using the same construction methods used when creating scuba wear gear. In fact this method is stronger than normal jean stitching. I have included photos of the seamless samples. This method creates a beautiful silhouette for whoever wears them. For this range (which I will announce now to denim blog readers) I will create for all sizes and shapes and lengths from petite (28 inseam and below) to inseams from 29” inseam up to 50” inseam. Male and female. For the seamless I will use my own name Roy L. Parkin, simply called ROY.