The Art of Making Custom Jeans
By Maurice Malone Published Dec. 25, 2020
I love art, building things, architecture, mechanics, and science. In my trade, I'm defined as a fashion designer with particular expertise in denim.
I do love working in denim. I love how it changes over time – conforms to your body. I love its beauty in both raw and manipulated forms. I love making jeans by hand, a few at a time, from the cutting, to finally attaching the buttons and rivets. Making jeans is my art.
I personally photograph every pair of custom jeans before they are shipped, just in case there comes a time when they need to be authenticated. I believe when I'm gone, I will most likely be remembered for my work in denim. This is why one of my favorite things about the brand's custom made jeans at this moment in time, is the autographed pocket bags. This is my special gift to our customers.
I know there will be a time when I can't sign every pair. A few months ago, custom makes were signed "Handmade by Maurice Malone." It took me weeks to several months to make jeans. I just didn't have time to sew every day.
Moving forward, I don't know if anyone will get that signature again. Now the signature reads "Handmade by Maurice Malone & Staff," because I finally forced myself to be patient and let my staff learn and make mistakes. Over the past few months, I trashed a lot of nearly completed jeans, panels, and parts. A few years ago, I tried this but gave up after a month of losing time & money.
I now teach my staff to focus on perfection. Do it again, if it doesn't look right. I stressed them to realize the further we get along in completing jeans, the higher stakes are to get them right. This is because you don't want to spend 6-hours making a pair of jeans and screw it up when you're nearly done.