Vogue’s spring denim series launched today, and it includes a dozen videos of models, musicians, and artists in every kind of jean imaginable: vintage Levi’s, baby-pink boyfriend jeans, denim trenchcoats, white tuxedo jeans, and even maternity jeans, in Chanel Iman’s case. The takeaway isn’t that you need them all—in fact, maybe you just want one jean (or jacket, or skirt) that feels the most “you.”
Many women in the series spoke of a single pair of “perfect” jeans they wear every day. For Paloma Elsesser, it’s a treasured pair of custom Levi’s 501s, while Yuka Mannami literally owns a single pair of jeans (the convertible, multi-pocket cargoes by Balenciaga). For Slvrlake cofounder Louise Edgley, the ideal jean is a high-rise, straight-leg style in a soft, baby-blue wash—and when she couldn’t find it, she decided to make it.
With a background in denim, she had exacting standards: “Whenever I found a pair I liked, the fit was wrong, or if I liked the fit, the wash was wrong,” she explained. “Or they were too slouchy, or too wide in the hips . . . I wanted a pair that felt tailored and would lay flat against my stomach, with buttons that don’t gape, and pockets that make my butt look a bit higher.” A tall order? Maybe. But her resulting London jean checks all of those boxes—and despite its timeless, streamlined silhouette, it’s something of an outlier in today’s market.
Louise’s husband and business partner, Gary, also had experience in the denim industry. As the former denim-buying director at Browns and Selfridges, he noticed a shift in quality at many high-end brands. “We felt like premium denim lost its luster a bit,” he said. “It didn’t feel so premium anymore. Companies moved their production offshore, so the quality was lost in some cases. We were feeling like there was a real need to take things back to craftsmanship, and to focus on producing the perfect pair of jeans.”
In addition to the aforementioned London style, the couple has developed cigarette jeans, cropped flares, and military jackets in Slvrlake’s special open-weave cotton, which they developed in Italy. (The jeans are all manufactured in Los Angeles.) Every pair looks convincingly vintage, but without the hassle of digging through a thrift store bin. The denim is ultra-soft, too, and some pairs have a tiny bit of stretch, so you don’t have to suffer the breaking-in process of rigid cotton.
Gary and Louise aren’t just turning out vintage replicas, though. They prefer to think of Slvrlake as a perfect marriage of old and new: “We’re drawing on the past to re-create something new for the modern woman,” Gary said. Louise added that she’s mainly inspired by the ’90s, specifically Herb Ritts and Peter Lindbergh photographs. “In that era of the supermodel, they would just wear jeans with a white T-shirt and sneakers, and they came across as so strong and empowered,” she said. “There was a confidence in the way they wore them—it was natural, not over-styled.”
Slvrlake launched exclusively with Intermix this season, so you can shop the jeans and jackets in-store and on its website now. Later this year, Louise and Gary will launch their own e-commerce site with even more keepsake denim pieces—including a pair of wide-leg, workwear-inspired jeans we can’t wait to try.
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