AMAISEING
16 December, 2008
In just under two years and four collections later, Maise has received a very enviable amount of attention for such a young label.
With features in Sportswear International, Denimology (UK), Dirrty Glam (France) and NYLON (US) its influence extends further than just Australian shores, and all before the label had even picked up its first stockist outside of Australia. Pretty impressive stuff.
Chatting with Maise designer Claire Greaves, Nicole Glavan from Under the Wing found out a little bit more about her latest denim collection (hitting the Grand Social end of January), her foray into the competitive US denim market, and men wearing Maise….
Nicole: Hello! Sum up your new denim collection for me in one sentence
Claire: A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Overall it’s still the clean, streamlined look Maise is known for – but with a bit of punk and grunge thrown into the mix, I wanted a bit of Axl Rose in this collection…So lots of ripped denim, peach marbled wash, black denim, bleached out washes.
N: Where do you think denim is heading for next season? What would you say your key styles are?
C: The cropped jean was a huge hit – the Sloan with zip ankle detail in the black ripped denim and the super high-waisted, very tight Finborough in jet black. Relaxed fits and button front jeans are definitely back too.
N: You're working with an agent in the US – what's the response been like over there?
C: AMAISEING
N: Ha! Any celebs ordered your jeans yet? We love that stuff…
Zoey Deschanel, Chloe Sevigney, Alexa Chung, Rose Byrne, Gemma Ward and a few others
N: Fancy! I've heard there are some guys wearing your jeans around New York…can you elaborate?
C: Maise jeans have been a big hit in the male "I like my jeans a little too tight" conglomerate
N: Remember the time we saw that homeless guy in Surry Hills wearing those really cool acid wash jeans? We should find that guy and give him some Maise jeans…
C: Definitely... old homeless men are my next target market!
N: Next country on your hit list for denim domination?
C: Japan...
N: They love Australian denim over there. How about you ask me a hard question now and I'll answer it?
C: Why do you love interviewing people? Is it for the fame or fortune?
N: Fortune over fame! I watched 'Britney: For the record' last week, and it was a bit scary. Maybe a tiny bit of fame?
C: Good answer!
KEEP AN EYE OPEN FOR THE NEW MAISE STORE LAUNCHING AT THE GRAND SOCIAL IN THE NEW YEAR!!!
