Meet Biz Debnath of Heels and Jeans

Today we’d like to introduce you to Biz Debnath.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Life is always exciting! When you least expect it, it throws you the most wonderful curveballs. If your eyes are closed you will miss them and they may even smack you in the face! I can attest to this.  However along the way, I came across some amazing things and places that left a memorable footprint on me.

I grew up primarily in England, London to be more specific, and since my early age I have been curious and excited about new and innovative things. It is also my Achilles heel. Too often I do things without much attention as to whether they will turn a profit, which seems to be the question on everyone’s lip when discussing new ideas.

In 1998 my then wife and I decided to put her flare for fashion to good use.  Soon we had a fashion business and an office!  It wasn’t much, a 6 foot x 5 foot room.  In 2000 we decided to focus on denim, and in short order developed a passion for it.  I was moon lighting at that time, consulting by day and visiting factories by weekend.  I soon found myself on a plane to Bangladesh, sourcing for factories, trying to make something of this newfound passion.

On this trip, I was accompanied by a guy named Semih, whom I had met earlier while looking to source denim products from Turkey.  He would come to be one of my most admired friends as well as my business partner. I remember we were hanging out at the pool and talking about what we wanted to do in life. While listening to him I sketched out something like a dream board, on a small napkin, and gave it to him and said, “Here you go, that’s your life.” I think he may still have that napkin. Part of what we both wanted to do was to build a thriving denim business which would span the globe. I remember coining the phrase, “you needn’t spend a million to look like a million”.

Fast forward a few years. The business grew and with that came the strains of success. Then life happened. My marriage ended and things headed south, and fast. I became despondent and left the company to my ex-wife. Soon after, a friend of mine said, “Since you aren’t doing anything, can you help with a project in the US?”  Not doing anything? Does this guy know how difficult it is to lounge around the whole day? Anyway, reluctantly I came to the US and found myself in the Big Apple, building a consulting practice.

I was preoccupied with this till one day, out of the blue, Semih called to say hi. By this time I had moved to LA. Apparently he had gone on to bring the napkin to reality and had built a successful manufacturing company making denim wear for a lot of major brands. It didn’t surprise me, as he is very talented. He soon brought up our conversation in Bangladesh and asked if I still had that passion for denim. I loosely interpreted that as “Hey, let’s build something in the US”. It didn’t take much convincing, and before long found myself leaving my job to start a denim brand called Heels and Jeans. You can find us online at www.heelsandjeans.com. What is different about us is that we manufacture and distribute our own products. No middle man, it’s just us and our customers. It’s less complicated that way and that makes us a rare breed in this arena.

Heels and Jeans denim products are designed in LA and manufactured in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey has always been strong in the arts and textiles, and makes the best jeans in the world–weaving mills there produce the most amazing denim fabric. However we also source our fabric from other parts of the world, including Japan and Italy. The factory already manufactures for major brands, so we know a thing or two when it comes to anything denim, be it jeans, jackets, skirts etc. Our key challenge now lies in making this young brand known to the masses and that is where we are focusing now.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Life isn’t meant to be smooth, it’s the jagged edges and bumps that can be the best parts. You just may not know it yet! They don’t call necessity the “mother of invention” for nothing, you know. Leaving a well-paid career in consulting, not knowing where my next paycheck was going to come from, was a challenge, but with challenges always come opportunity. So now we are expanding not just the Heels and Jeans brand but the footprint of the manufacturing company in the US, and started working with companies like Amazon, Paige and others to produce and private label jeans and other denim related products for them.

So you ask is it easy. Hell no! But show me someone who was content with an easy life and I will show you an eventual bored person and a boring journey, and that is not what I signed up for!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
At heelsandjeans.com we specialize in denim wear, and simply make the most amazing well-fitted denim garments, no bias here of course! The business is really founded on a friendship. Not dissimilar to how heels go with jeans, so do we as partners. That comes through on our product innovation and quality. Being a manufacturing company also means we are able to respond to trends and changes quickly and give our customers the latest in fashion when it comes to jeans and other denim related products.

Another thing that sets us apart is our philosophy and purpose to give back. We don’t only want to make denim, we also want to help the environment and the communities within which we live. Remember, a lot of natural resources are used in producing these denim garments. There is so much waste in our world, so we want to encourage and make it easy for people to recycle and repurpose their household things, including clothing. We came up with Donate2Share.com, which is an online peer to peer, neighbor to neighbor, donation platform. It connects people who need items with people who have items. This not only recycles and gives new life to items, but also connects people and allows them to help their communities. In addition, it is a tool that facilitates donations to regions in times of natural disasters, like fire and hurricane.  I am particularly proud of this initiative.

When people ask me, “how does it make money?” I am usually stumped, because that isn’t its purpose, which is it to help. As this expands and helps more and more people, I am sure that finding the resources to support our platform won’t be difficult. So, if you are reading this, check it out and tell your friends. We could use your help!

What were you like growing up?
As a kid I was always exploring and had a genuine curiosity to learn about people and things. I remember a time I took apart a TV to see where the little people were. Opening it up I realized they certainly weren’t there, but what was there, right in front of me was indeed a broken TV, having tinkered with it a bit too much. Realizing what I had done I did what any kid would do, I ran and hid, fearful what my mum and dad would do if they found out.  My parents still tell this story to their friends!

My curiosity in technology led me to obtain a master’s degree in electronics and an MBA. In my earlier days, I worked in management consulting, because fixing businesses was and still is interesting to me, and I am very good at it. But I had a broader vision and wanted to create something on my own, and produce a larger impact on our planet.  So I am doing what I do best, enjoying building a denim brand and helping people along the way. I am still as restless and curious as I was as a kid. I encourage you to be the same.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heelsandjeans.com
• Phone: +1 866-252-2063
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/heelsandjeans_official
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heelsandjeans

Image Credit:
Angelica Natalie Photography

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.