Designer Jean Interviews

We caught up with Kei who is the design director of Allan.J Denim to find out more about the brand and what they have to offer to the premium denim world. This is the first time we are blogging about Allan.J Denim on DenimBlog so we thought an interview about the brand would help you all get to know them a little bit better. You can see the collection on their website here.

DB: How did your career in denim/fashion begin?

My interest in denim as an individual consumer and also as a fashion designer has been lasting for 15 years while studying and working in Japan. I’ve been always thinking about the new ways of expressing the things that are different from existing ones through denim.

One of our starting factors is the question about genuine premium denim. Are they really Premium denim in terms of quality? I wanted to show real premium denim to customers. Obviously, quality is not the priority factor to customers when they actually spend the money. I think that 3 factors are the most important to be a real luxury brand. The legitimacy of best quality and the best value/The authentic brand story/An evolutionary process of growth by trend changing.

The legitimacy of quality cannot be re-built. so, at the first place, I try to give the trust with the quality and next, give the brand awareness and loyalty consistently. Most of people don’t care about quality and raw-material is the first one for branding. Design is considered more importantly than above factors. So I wanted to show to the customers that brand value and legitimacy are more important than price and design. But it does not mean that I do not care about design and price.

I have wanted to make genuine premium denim, the denim with the sensitivity that can be transformed in different ways with the basic concept of simplicity. This idea made me launch the new brand, Allan J. I wanted to create new denim that fits the Steve Jobs’ beautiful expression “INSANELY GREAT”.

DB: What inspires you when designing your jeans?

The inspiration of my design always comes from human nature. The characteristics and tendency vary from different countries and people, and I found it very interesting. It is always an attractive and meaningful work to broaden and diversify my perspectives. It keeps me inspired and looking for something new. My passion and enthusiasm for making new clothes/jeans that I want to make and I can make for them become a new starting-point of my design.

DB: What is the best feature of a pair of Allan J Denim jeans?

Most/All denim brands place major emphasis on “Fit”. That’s because “Fit” is the most important aspect of denim. Our central idea about “Fit” is “Exposure”. Our results about “Fit” are driven from the question, “How to expose the beauty of women, especially the beauty of women’s curves?” All women including me always want to look thin, even skinny, to the extent possible. “To look thinner, to look longer with a slim waist line” Allan.J creates our own fit, pattern and washing. When other denim brands claim the fit, Allan.J claims the silhouette. That is the best feature of Allan.J.

DB : When I look at your collection, there are some factors that are different to American denim brands. Could you tell us more about that?

The basic concept of Allan.J is “Denim styling look”. Since we wanted to suggest more feminine, more elegant and sexier look that is based on denim, we recommended our denim go and be matched with feminine woven items. These ideas made us come up with the various items. We try to make it possible to wear denim at a formal classic party and even make it look better to wear our well-dressed denim than to wear formal suit at the party.

DB: For those who aren’t familiar with Allan J., what makes your brand different from the others?

Some people might think that our jeans are similar to J Brand’s skinny and Current/Elliott’s boyfriend-fit. However, the biggest and important difference is its materials and wearing. Every brand can utilize soft fabric and customers would feel softness. But, the agreeable wearing of our jeans that would make you feel like it’s wrapping up your body. We can surely say that this sets us apart from other labels.

DB: What is your favorite cut you have designed?

Leggings and Skinny. I am sure that once you try Allan.J on, you will notice why I picked them for my favorite.

DB: Could you tell us the difference between your Bone Classic, Fantasy and Fantasy Gold collections?

I would like to say it’s the expression of tradition, authenticity and trend. Bone classic is the story about tradition. Those in Bone collection stick to the essence of denim as we all know. It reflects the idea that nothing becomes meaningful without the essence of itself. As for the Fantasy, we wanted to share our interest and everybody’s hope of “looking stylish”. Regarding the FANTASY GOLD COLLECTION, we wanted to give people a “New” and “Different” experience through the couture-like sense

DB : What do you want to achieve in the future?

We hope to keep telling people the fact that denim can be elegant, our thoughts and sharing about “SEXY” that is different from what other denim brands claim.

DB : Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers of DenimBlog?

I would like you all to stay with denim in your precious time and experiences, to love the fit and brand that you now love, to experience Allan J. yourself, and to love the moment and feelings that the experience with Allan J. provides you!