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MOMENT OF THE DAY: DARBY

This is our wonderful friend Michelle's dog Darby, who we spent the day with. She is  cute and sassy and we love her more than any human. Look how much face she gives in that pic—you can hardly tell she's 7 years-old! Werk, Darby—Aaliyah taught us a long time ago that age is just a number. 

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DOODLES: PRINCETON

As a apart of our "Artists' Doodles" series, David Kitz from the band Princeton sent over this sweet collage. You da best, David! 

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THE WARM UP: RYE RYE

For our section entitled “The Warm Up,” we spoke to M.I.A. protégé Rye Rye about one of her earliest gigs. 

One of the first performances that I'll always remember was when I did a show in NYC for Dante (he's a cook) and he put events together where he teaches artists how to cook a certain dish and we help him finish it off with a film crew then we perform at a club. Before the show I actually got sick but after I ate some of Dante’s chicken I was live again lol!  But the show was fun and just unbelievable because I was brand new so I didn’t think people would take to me like that and it was crazy! They were super hype!  I wasn’t too hip to anything back then in fashion so I was pretty basic in my outfit lol!  Orange and green top with jeans and a updo hairstyle! There’s actually a YouTube vid of it ..the crowd was bananas!  

(PHOTOSHOP RENDERING BY RACHEL KARP)

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The Essaye presents: Korn Komix

Janie Korn's brilliant website has us hitting refresh every hour to see what niblets of brilliance she brews up next.

                             "VIRGINIA WOOLF GANG KILL THEM ALL"

Culturally poignant, sarcastic, snarky and downright genius, Korn manages to seamlessly meld her observations with whimsically drawn illustrations.

 Currently on sabbatical, teaching English to Chilean college students, Janie is the coolest, chicest, funniest cartoonist in all the land! A multifaceted chica.

We can't wait for her comic book to drop!

Check out more of her work at www.kornkomix.tumblr.com AND AFTER THE JUMP!!! 

                                            "THE PAULS OF 2012"

                                                        "ICKY AZALEA"

                                      " A CHIC SHEIK"

                                   "THAT FUCKING JERRY MCGUIRE KID"

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The Essaye presents: Jonathan Cohen

 Jonathan Cohen is one of those people who creates waves of excitement because you just KNOW he's going to be it.

We strongly believe in nurturing talent and more importantly, good people.

Jonathan is one of the kindest, purest people we know in "the industry" and his work-well his work is just breathtaking.

Such direction and perspective from a young kid! He is truly beyond his years.

He's a bit Celine, a bit Narciso Rodriguez and a touch Oscar De La Renta (whom he interned for) and a lot of something we can't quite put our finger on. And we love it lots.  Jonathan's collection was recently acquired by legendary San Francisco boutique "Susan" and has been featured in WWD, Nylon, NY Mag and more. 

Seriously, don't sleep on this one, and CHECK OUT THE SHOOT AFTER THE JUMP!

Dress by Jonathan Cohen, boots by Dr. Martens.

Dress by Jonathan Cohen, hat by The Essaye. 

Glasses by Illesteva, Shirt by George Condo, pants by Jonathan Cohen, gloves by Lanvin.

Hat, earrings and bracelet by The Essaye, shirt by Jonathan Cohen. 

Hat by New Era, Jacket is Vintage Speedo (!), dress by Jonathan Cohen. 

Photographer: Leslie Kirchoff

Model: Michelle Von Mandel

Styling and Creative Direction: The Essaye.

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THE WARM UP: THEOPHILUS LONDON

For our first edition of "The Warm Up," we spoke to one of the coolest artists around, Brooklyn-based talent Theophilus London, about the first time he ever opened for someone else. 

One time I opened for Femi Kuti. It was a special show—a one-off in Rio, in Brazil. I had on black pants, a black shirt, and a custom-made jacket with sequins that was dedicated to the state of Texas—it was very colorful. It was my first time in Brazil and I was nervous, but I did what I had to do and it worked out well. I'd been rehearsing all day, but I'd had food poisoning, and a bad case of the hiccups for a few days straight. But it was dope—they showed me a lot of love, Afterwards, we hung out for a little while and then went back to my hotel. 

TEXT: THEOPHILUS LONDON (@THEOPHILUSL)

PHOTOSHOP RENDERING: RACHEL KARP (@RAYRAYKARPEZ)

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The Essaye presents: 3x1

Everybody wants the perfect jean, and in our constant quest for dream denim, we came across 3x1, which we've heard from many makes the best jeans in NYC and beyond. Always a skeptic, I (Alex) went to the company's soho location on 15 Mercer along with my fave photog Leslie Kirchoff to check out all the hoopla for myself—I have to say, I'm obsessed with my customized pair (don't think I'm THAT special, every pair is hemmed and tricked out with its future owner in mind) and haven't stopped wearin em since.

Check out some pics from my field trip, along with a Designer to Designer interview via basics king Benjamin Edgar, who spoke to 3x1 creator Scott Morrison for The Essaye about what makes his jeans so damn great.

 Can you briefly describe how this project came to be?

3x1 was really something I’ve always wanted to do, probably since that first day I walked into a laundry/factory and realized that this incredible world existed. One where you could create essentially anything.  Also having started a couple jean companies in the past gave me some understanding as to what the market really needed and how I didn’t want this project to be ‘just another jean company.’  Back in August 2010, I started contemplating what I wanted to focus on next … and it kept gnawing at me that no one had really tried to elevate denim and jean-making to its highest level.  Within the denim community, like any community, there are suppliers, materials, and processes for making things that simply cost more because they’re better, more exacting, and in my opinion, make for a superior product.  Jean companies do not use these ‘choices’ in most cases, as the final product would be too expensive for their customers.  There were always incredible denims, amazing details that could have been incorporated into the design, or the utilization of special trims and components that couldn’t be used because the price would simply not work at a wholesale level.  So 3x1 as a concept was founded for one simple reason: to make the best jean in the world, using the best denims, components and sewing, while presenting it in a way which customers have transparency and participation in the process on every level.

 My favorite part about what you're up to is the lack of pretension even though its effectively couture in a sense there's highly visible logos, marks, etc., just really great craftsmanship.  Was that intentional? 

Yes, we set out to create what I consider to the best-made jean in the world.  That being said, denim shouldn’t be pretentious, but it should be understood that 3x1 is different.  We have the largest selection of selvedge denim in the world under one roof, as well as our factory sitting behind glass right in the middle of the store.  By design we want to dissect the process of making jeans into a few logical steps and ensure that our customer not only learns about great denim and superior jeans making, but that they’re involved in the process itself and that the product they leave the store with is truly theirs. 

 One of my absolute favorite quotes about denim jeans is from Hedi Slimane: "Jeans for me feel like a real noble item in fashion."  Do you agree?  In regards to them being indispensable and simply having not lost their "cool".

I’m not sure I’d use the word ‘noble,’ but I can see using it if he was speaking about jeans being idealistic and having integrity, but no matter what his intended use, I think jeans are and continue to be more relevant than ever and they certainly have a place in everyone’s wardrobe.  I’ve always felt that jeans have become accepted within most cultures and in essentially every walk of life.  With improvements in cotton growing, dying, and washing techniques (the use of resins, tinting, pigment sprays, ovens and the like) designers have the tools to create more interesting products, which certainly broaden their appeal, and, in the case of 3x1, we’ve seen a real artisanal movement happen on the supply side.  Incredible denims are being woven and dyed, and for the first time ever, a denim product is being made that really is luxury.

Obviously you guys sell distressed denim - what's your personal preference?  I think there is nothing more luxurious than the pairs of actually worn, and repaired, jeans I own - nothing matches them.

Each fabric and subsequently, wash, changes the perception of how the jean feels on the wearer.  We have customers come into the shop that prefer ‘soft’ over ‘authentic’ and in some cases, pre-washed over raw.  I respect both types of products and more importantly, every customer’s right to chose what they prefer – that’s the beauty of denim.  For me personally, I prefer to wear them in from raw…it’s hard to beat breaking them in yourself.

Skinny jeans seem to have some real staying power - though they never left rock and roll.  How long till we're all wearing what you be considered "baggy" jeans again?

Nearly every style that’s had its day will probably have it again, although I’m not looking forward to baggy denim making a comeback.  The beauty of having a factory on-site, and making short run editions or custom made jeans, is that it allows us to offer an infinite variety of styles to customers.  I do believe that you’ll see slim jeans, not skinny (at least not in men’s) continue to be relevant although I think we’re really seeing most interest in a classic straight leg – something you wear to accentuate your style rather than something that wear for style.

You've mentioned in other interviews that 3x1 has a catalog of almost 80 different types of raw denim to work with.  How often is your team out sourcing new denim?  Do you get hands on with the looms creating new weights, colors, types, etc?

I source 100% of our denim – its something I’ve always loved and it’s something that I do on an ongoing basis with more than 18 different mills and denim suppliers.  We currently have more than 135 different denims, and more than 85 different selvedge denims.  I am constantly sourcing and developing selvedge denim from mills in Japan, Italy, Turkey and domestically from one of our favorites, Cone Mills.  Many of the qualities we carry are some of the rarest and most exceptional denims in the world.  In some cases they’re probably some of the most expensive as well.  We try to balance the range by weight (light weights at 7 oz., 12-13 oz. for mid-weights, up to18 oz. for super heavy, novelty weights), then by shades or color (a.k.a. casts) which are variations of indigo hues (red, green, purple, etc.), and finally, by construction.  Construction relates to the twill line itself (i.e. a 3x1 right-hand or left-hand twill), or to the yarns (both in size of warp and weft and in color or tint as sometimes the weft yarns are tinted for added effect), and then, even the selvedge color.   I personally select each of our denims based on uniqueness and quality. 

How long do you personally wear your jeans for before washing?  I love the shocked look from people who are not in the raw denim "club" when they hear we wear our jeans for a year+ without washing.

I rarely wash, if ever.  Actually I can’t think of a pair that I’ve worn in the past 10 years that has been washed more than once, if at all.  I typically have 3-4 jeans in daily rotation and I’ll usually wear them for around a year, at which point I retire them – occasionally I bring them back, but for the most part we’re constantly developing new products which usually leads to me wearing something new, rather than old. 

The first jeans that changed everything for me were a pair of 1947 501 LVC's from Tokyo that I had a proxy buy for me in Tokyo.  I've had Evisu, some other selvedges, etc, but those - the distressing, craftsmanship just totally blew me away.  What was yours?

My first pair of jeans as a child were Levi's, probably around age 2, but my love affair with denim really started with my first pair of Replay jeans. They happened to be a Limited Edition pair made from Japanese denim (which was pretty rare at the time, i.e. early 1990s).  Almost immediately thereafter I started learning more about Japanese denim, took my first trip to Japan, and almost immediately became obsessed with brands like Evisu, Full Count, and Denime…partly because they were so rare at the time, but mostly because those brands and their products elevated denim to a connoisseur level.     

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The Essaye presents: Nettie Kent Jewelry

Nettie Kent's jewelry is soldered with drops of sunshine.

That same sunshine pours through the window of her cozy Greenpoint, BK studio where she makes every piece by hand.

The artist seems to be molded from the same bronze her pieces are cast; glowy and warm.

A Martha's Vineyard transplant ("my family and I were the Island gardeners"), Kent's pieces have the feel of treasures, washed ashore by the Atlantic.

Kent recently showed her A/W 2012 collection at Lincoln Center during New York Fashion Week .

In our shoot, shot by Zac Sebastian we wanted to capture the movement and texture that Nettie's pieces exude. 

You can buy Nettie Kent Jewelry at www.nettiekent.com.

Do it!

MORE AFTER JUMP!

JEWELRY:

Nettie Kent (WEBSITE) (@nettiekentjewel)

MODELS:

Grace Milligan (@gmillsgrillz)

Olivia Muenz (@oliviamuenz)

PHOTOGRAPHY: 

Zac Sebastian (@ZacSebastian)

Styling, Creative Direction  and GIFS: The Essaye

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DOODLES: WAVVES

As apart of our "Doodles" series, Wavves sent us over a sketch they penned on top of their tour set list. 2 cute- thnx guyz! <3

DRAWING: STEPHEN POPE FROM WAVVES

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MEET: ALEXANDRA "GURV" GURVITCH

Check out our friend, student/super-intern/effortless fashion princess Alexandra Gurvitch (who you can follow on Tumblr here and on Twitter here)—She showed us some of her hot lewks and shared their backstoriez while she was back in NYC for spring break. We love you, Gurv!

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OMG HI!

Welcome

The Essaye is a website that’s tired of websites. We take everything you like-music, fashion, art, people, whatever—and put it through a blender… backwards.

Founded in  Downtown NYC in 2012 by Susan and Alex, we’re showing you what we’re into/what you will be into shortly.  

Founders:

Alex Chapman (@alexkchapman) (WORK)

Susan Alexandra (@susan_alexandra) (WORK)