News & Features March 1, 2010, 3:39PM EST

Scott Morrison on Brand Evisu

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Can you describe a little bit the process of designing a pair of jeans?

The process really depends on the designer, but for the most part, with us, we start by trying to focus on newness and need. What can we do that's new, or is there an opportunity to do something new, use a new technique, new fabrication, etc. We also try to find a need in the market, whether it's girls wanting jean leggings, or guys wanting to move on from skinny jeans. From there the process is usually straightforward. Select your denims, start working on fit and designing the jean itself (what is it going to look like) and then develop the wash. Sometimes this takes more time, and actually become the focus of the jean, and other times it's just something to complement the design.

Can you think of a celebrity or cultural figure which you could envision embodying the new Evisu?

I can't imagine any one person embodying the concept of Evisu, as I really think it's about lots of different people, and designed to be multicultural and diverse. If I had to pick an example of someone I personally admire or find inspiration in, someone I've always respected is Morrissey—whom I've outfitted for several of his US tours in the past few years. He always seems to be relevant, and conveys a sense of timelessness and style which works amazingly well for denim.

I know when you were at Earnest Sewn you came up with the concept store—any plans to come up with something similiar for Evisu? What new directions do you hope to take the company retail-wise?

Right now we have about 30 stores between Asia and Europe, and I'd love to see us get something opened up here in NYC as soon as July, time permitting. As far as a concept goes, I can't imagine that we'll do anything similar to what I've done in the past, but I do think that whatever we do it will be nothing short of inventive and relevant. In the meantime I know we're focused on updating our on-line retail experience and I would expect that exciting change in the coming season as well.

How is designing for women different than for men?

The denim design process is essentially the same as men's, although certain things like fit and finish (how the garment feels and looks) are a bit more important, and therefore emphasized. But with Evisu we took a slightly different approach. Rather than just design a denim line for women with a few tops and outerwear pieces thrown in for good measure, we decided to recruit a really talented young clothing designer, Catherine Holstein, to work on creating a women's collection free of denim essentially. At critical points in the process we would design and add denim into the collection to make it cohesive, but denim wouldn't be the overwhelming focus this season. The first season using this process has produced tremendous results and we're expecting big things for our women's collection in Autumn/Winter 2010.

Thanks Scott!

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