Today, BoF is pleased to bring you the exclusive premiere of a film by The Little Squares about rising luxury business, The Elder Statesman

LOS ANGELES, United States — “Ever since I was a little boy, I always gravitated towards well made things. Always. It was innately in me,” says Greg Chait, the amicable and charming founder of The Elder Statesman, in For The Record, an editorial newspaper to be distributed during Paris mens fashion week, alongside a new content rich website launching today.

A collection of ultra-luxe essentials — heavy gauge cashmere blankets, intricately shaped buffalo-horn eyewear, four layer cashmere wool hats — The Elder Statesman introduces an understated, laid-back aesthetic to the world of luxury. “About 10 years ago I was given a really beautiful cashmere blanket,” explains Chait. “I then started collecting blankets from France, Italy, Scotland, even Ethiopia, and I wound up with a great collection, but I could never find the one that I really wanted for myself. It had to be utilitarian as well as the ultimate in terms of luxury, so I found a collective in Canada doing handspun wool and they were working a little bit with cashmere and I asked them, ‘can you create a really heavy gauged yarn for me?’”

The Canadian collective said yes. “I didn’t know a lot about yarn at the time, but somehow I figured out that it was ‘about the yarn,’ it has to be about the yarn. It’s the D.N.A. of everything,” he goes on. “So they hand spun a yarn for me, which we then hand knitted into a blanket that weighed ten pounds! I made two of them for myself.”

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Jeff Rudes | Chief Executive Officer, J Brand Jeans

LOS ANGELES, United States — While preparing for our FASHION PIONEERS interview with Natalie Massenet over the summer, I had the chance to spend quite a bit of time at the stylish new Net-a-Porter offices. Apart from the funky furniture, bright airy atmosphere and technology, the other highlight of camping out at Net-a-Porter is to see what employees at the most powerful fashion e-tailer are wearing.

Without a doubt, the most ubiquitous piece of clothing at Net-a-Porter over the summer was the Houlihan trouser by J Brand Jeans, known for its low-rise and skinny cut. Everyone from Ms. Massenet herself to scores of others in her team wore the Houlihan like a defacto office uniform. Word on the street was that the Houlihan was the hottest thing running, selling out offline and online, all over the planet, racking up a staggering 200,000 pairs sold.

But of course, this is the era of fast fashion and the days of the hot Houlihan are waning. That’s okay, CEO Jeff Rudes was already thinking of his next signature silhouette ages ago. With thirty years of denim experience he’s the guy to talk to for insights on how the denim industry has exploded into one of the most important fashion categories, recession or no recession.

I caught up with Jeff on a recent trip to New York to get some lessons on the premium denim business and to get his take on where the denim market will go in seasons to come.

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Dov Charney, CEO of American Apparel | Source: Guest of a Guest

“A lot of assumptions that I grew up with are no longer reality. Those were things that we could rely on: that lenders will always be there, that they’ll behave ethically and they’ll always have money, that you can trust that as the sun comes up the consumer will be healthy, that we’ll always be close to full employment in developed nations. Now there are no certainties.”

Dov Charney, speaking to Bloomberg Business Week, on the deteriorating finances at American Apparel, which today reported a $5-7m loss for the second quarter of 2010

Scott Sternberg at Lego installation at Opening Ceremony | Source: Selectism

Today, BoF brings you First Person with Band of Outsiders’ Scott Sternberg, followed later this week by the exclusive global debut of a new Band of Outsiders film directed by Debra Scherer for The Little Squares.

LOS ANGELES, United States — What made a 20-something junior agent at CAA, with no background in clothing design, think he could just up and create a fashion company and make it a viable business?

“Good question,” says Scott Sternberg, who in 2004 did just that, ditching his desk job to launch the LA-based Band of Outsiders with a limited collection of shirts and ties. Four years in, Sternberg won the CFDA Swarovski award for emerging menswear designer; last year he shared the top award with Italo Zucchelli of Calvin Klein. This September the hip brand, found at dozens stores around the world, will debut its fourth imprint, the entry-level womenswear line, girl.

Viable indeed. A runaway success, more like it.

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Creative Recreation Barneys exclusive, spring 09

LOS ANGELES, United States — When the cast of Saturday Night Live flies you across the country to have you design a pair of shoes, you must be doing something right. The specially designed shoes were featured in the finale of the legendary American sketch comedy show’s 34th season.

The Creative Recreation story began in 2005 when Robert Nand and Richard Cofinco set up Creative Recreation in a small office in Orange County, California, benefiting from their shared experience as shoe designers at Vans. Their aim was to go beyond the traditional separation of men’s athletic and dress shoes to focus on the intersection of the two, thereby creating a brand new market segment which has subsequently been targeted by high-end fashion brands including Lanvin, Jil Sander and Pierre Hardy.

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