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Conversations with the Inspiring Amy Leverton

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Leverton.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Amy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I trained as a fashion designer and graduated from Kingston University in London in 2002 but my first real job as a designer was for casualwear brand Oki-ni. Oki-ni was special and ahead of the curve in that we were a collaboration only brand, teaming up with existing names such as Levi’s, Evisu, Adidas, etc to create limited edition runs of special exclusive product. Bear in mind this was the early 00’s. Now, that concept is everywhere but back then Oki-ni were pioneers. Oki-ni was primarily casualwear and denim so I quickly learned that side of the fashion business and loved it. In 2004, we collaborated with British brand, Duffer St George and created a special jean made from Cone Denim (Cone was America’s longest-running denim mills, it closed last year) and it was on a trip to the denim mill in North Carolina, learning about the process of making denim that really struck a cord with me. I’ve had the bug ever since!

Fast forward to 2007, I’d been working as denim and casual wear designer for a few years and an opportunity came up at WGSN, a trend forecasting agency. I worked in denim and soon ended up running the denim and youth departments at WGSN and Stylesight (the US competitor) for some years. Trend forecasting is amazing fun: we study and analyze consumer behavior, the way people wear their jeans and track emerging brands and trends in color, silhouette, and styling. I have specialized in denim trend the past ten years and have become a super-geek in fabric and weave, wash and laundry, fit, finish, sustainability and technology… all aspects of the denim industry.

In 2014, it struck me that my main love (street style) and then all the contacts I’d made in the industry meant I would be in a great position to put together a book. I found 15 photographers in 15 different cities around the world and we shot 85 guys who either design denim, own brands, run stores or are simply obsessed with jeans. I started with ‘Dudes’ because the denim industry is such a male-dominated world. But I was determined to follow it up with a book for the ladies because there are so many incredible and overlooked women in this industry. So, Denim Dudes came out in 2015 and Dudettes in 2018.

Since the books came out, my Instagram following grew, I started up a website and ended up hosting panel discussions, attending events and sharing my experiences all over the world on my platforms. I left WGSN and set up Denim Dudes as an LLC in Los Angeles, moving here from London in 2016. Now, I travel to about 20 cities around the world per year (Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, San Francisco, London, etc.) looking for denim innovation, visiting stores and factories and sharing those experiences with my followers. My day job is still trend forecasting and I have personal clients including Levi’s, Lee, Wrangler, etc. who I work with on a seasonal basis. I got my first employee back in September, Sam Trotman, who worked with me at WGSN and so now, my one-person company has doubled! 2019 is going to be an exciting year for us.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, no, not really a smooth road! The fashion industry is a competitive world so even finding a job in the first place was tough. But I do believe that if you are truly passionate about something, no matter what it is, if you persevere and you work hard, you will get where you want to be. My old boss once told me a story that helped her along her journey. She was working for DKNY at the time and the current head of design was in her early 30’s. She asked her how she got so far, so young and her reply was simply ‘work twice as hard’

I still bear that advice in mind today. If you want to raise your voice above the others, you need to be passionate, be inquisitive and most importantly, work work work. Sure, there are a couple of regrets and missed opportunities in both my books and I’m sure there are people out there who could criticise them, thinking ‘I could have done better’ but the fact is, they didn’t, I did! That always makes me laugh and feel better if I am feeling delicate 😉 I’d rather create something for people to criticise than be a person doing nothing and criticising others.

Nobody creates a perfect piece of work. Striving and moving forward is enough. Otherwise, we’d all stop! Imperfection keeps us moving and learning.

And now, for being a woman in all of this… well… just add an extra 20% effort I guess! I didn’t notice the gap until I was in a more senior position but there definitely is a gap. However, would I have felt the drive to put out two books if I was a guy being praised and awarded with my voice heard? Probably not. Adversity pushes us so I always run towards the things that make me feel out of my depth or worried or uncomfortable: that’s where the treasure lies!

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I specialize in all aspects of the denim industry: fabric, fit, finish, styling, etc. It’s Denim Dudes’ job to analyse everything from runway to street style to new emerging brands and talent. After working for ten years for larger agencies, I began to feel that there was a personal element lacking in trend. Ten years ago, trend was really different; there would be a certain fit, color or detail that would emerge and that would be the look that everyone wanted that season. Now, people dress much more individually and whilst there are still trends, they are more diverse and varied. So, what brands struggle with the most is what trends to jump on and what trends aren’t for them, so it got more complex. The brands who do well these days are the ones who are in touch with their DNA and don’t flip-flop, trying to jump on everything.

So, it’s that bespoke thought that Sam and I are able to provide: working with brands to determine what’s right for them. And we also get very geeky about the lifestyle, cultural shifts, the way people interact with each other, how social media, mental health, and wellbeing can affect the way people spend… it gets really in-depth!

A major trend that we’ve noticed over the last few seasons is the fact that consumers are actually becoming way more engaged with where their jeans come from, how they are made and by whom. This transparency in the industry means that we have decided to write more and more about the business elements of the denim world on the Denim Dudes blog. We talk about sustainability, technology and all the behind the scenes subjects as well as of course runway trends and hot new brands.

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
Both my parents were teachers and so I was bought up as a hard worker. Then, Kingston university was a pretty tough and competitive fashion school to go to. I think we started with about 40 students and ended up with 25. It was a challenging course and people either got kicked out or left! It drummed into me the fact that fashion is a competitive world and unless you worked hard to be in the top percentile you wouldn’t make it. I would say this though: our year of graduates were amazing friends and 20 years later are still buddies. Just because fashion is competitive, it doesn’t mean you need to compete AGAINST each other. There was so much mutual support that it made us stronger as individuals. We all found our niche in this industry and have very different styles so have continued to offer help and encouragement to this day.

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Image Credit:
Ryan Lopez, A Current Affair, Cutch Cafe London, Denim Dudes, Denton Taylor, Lisa Kato, Lisa Kato, Team Peter Stigter, Team Peter Stiger

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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