Interview: Edison from Urban Lupe
We appreciate individuals that appreciate quality products and also happen to own a fantastic boutique menswear store in Melbourne, Australia. We picked the brain of Edison from Urban Lupe to find out about his store, raw selvedge denim and more.
What is your name and role at Urban Lupe?
I am Edison, the owner and proprietor at Urban Lupe.
What can we find at Urban Lupe? What makes the store special?
Urban Lupe is a boutique store that sells premium men’s clothing brands. We specialise in primarily stocking products that are made in the USA with super slow production runs, they pay high attention to detail and product quality. Many of them are small businesses in California with owners that are passionate about what they do.
The major brands stocked in Urban Lupe are Bradley Mountain, Comfy socks, Free & Easy, Railcar Fine Goods, Rogue Territory (RGT), Tellason and Velva Sheen.
While the interior of the shop has been designed to feature a Californian/Americana style.
What started your love for selvedge denim? How did you get into it?
My interest in denim started back in 2006 when I was in college. At the time Japanese street fashion was huge but not much raw denim was around at that time, the jeans just had super sick wash marks, and all we were looking for was a pair of jeans with sick wash marks.
Then I noticed most of the Japanese jeans were showing a very clean white and red edge, so I started to learn about it. I dug out all the information about Japanese denim I could find, where it came from, and why were they doing this.
Afterwards, I started to learn how to get sick wash marks, and realised it isn’t actually created by a designer. It was the natural fades from a pair of raw denim.
In 2008, I started wearing raw denim. The brands I was wearing were Evisu and LVC but I wore them all oversized (like 2 or 3 sizes up) because the street fashion style at the time was baggy.
The next stage was when I saw Nudie’s TV commercial about wearing raw denim for 6 months without washing it. Then after 6 months you wash your Nudie jeans and those fades will show up. So I got myself a couple pairs of Nudie jeans, but noticed the quality was low, none of them survived a 6 month period.
From there I started looking for a good pair of raw selvedge denim to wear, I started wearing APC jeans, but got disappointed again with the quality.
In 2013, I found my perfect pair of jeans which is still the SK from Rogue Territory.
What do you look for when buying selvedge denim?
To me, the fit is the main key when looking for selvedge denim. At the end of the day, the denim you are looking for will fit the way you want. You’ll be happy to wear it every single day and feel happy whenever you put it on.
I like wearing smart casual style with slim fit silhouette, so most of the clothes I am looking for is fitted.
I do like vintage or relaxed style, but I don’t really try it, to me vintage or heritage style is a very thought out process, it requires a guy to match everything correctly from head to toe. But I just want to grab my favourite items to wear, without thinking too much and always I feel I can look good.
I like Japanese denim products too, but to me the sizes aren’t always right on me, and they are good with production though. Some of the brands have the fit I like, but some of the details I am not really into it, for example Momotaro has sick products, the fit is my style, but I don’t like the battle flag on the right back pocket.
I like low profile style, so when I started buying raw selvedge denim back in 2013, there were two brands that got my attention, they were 3sixteen and RGT. But 3sixteen didn’t have any slim fits, they only had slim taper and straight leg fits. However, RGT had the SK (skinny/super slim) and Stanton (slim straight) range, so I took the risk and tried SK, and it turns out they are my favourite fit.
Do you have any maintenance tips for first time buyers?
Raw denim products are traditionally workwear, so don’t baby the stuff, keep wearing and using it. This way you’ll get your personal touch on the item.
Don’t wash it, but when you can’t stand the smell anymore, just turn it inside out, put it in cold water with minimal detergent and soak it for 20 minutes then hang dry. Personally, this is how I would maintain raw denim, but people have their own experience and opinions. Creating your own way is all part of the fun.
What brands can you recommend?
For entry level these are good options to start with:
- Levi’s
- Nudie
- APC
- Naked & Famous
If want to experience a higher level:
- Rogue Territory (RGT)
- Tellason
- Railcar Fine Goods (RFG)
- 3sixteen
- Double RL (RRL)
- Two Cats Brand / Taking Care of Business (TCB)
- Full Count
- Momotaro
- RATS
- Stevenson Overall
- Evisu
- Levi’s Vintage Clothing (LVC)
The top level to try would be:
- Iron Heart
- Flat Head
- Tanuki
What makes Rogue Territory special?
Actually we consider Rogue Territory (RGT) equally as special as other small boutique brands and store owners. In saying that, I consider the fit and fabric of RGT’s products to be their special touch.
Karl (co-owner of RGT) started working with denim in 2008, the way he got involved in the industry is unique, he started as an unpaid apprentice in 2006 or 2007, by sweeping the floor in a denim makers warehouse. He started making his own jeans in 2008, then worked at American Rag (one of the biggest denim stores in the Northern Hemisphere at the time) as denim tailor. They offered a denim hemming/repair service and custom made jeans for their customers.
Karl started his full production in 2010, he only had several styles and became popular with denim heads. The styles haven’t changed much, but Karl continues trying to create items with different fabrics and materials that he likes.
In men’s clothing or fashion, we don’t really need many different styles like in female fashion, but the fabric is the main focus for quality and how it feels when wearing it is a big factor. And Karl is doing great in this sense, he always tests out the fabric, to see if it will transfer well into his designs. Then make changes after using and wearing it himself.
This differs from other fashion brands we see in department stores, the owners of those brands will never get involved in production. Their designers just make something cool and sell it to make money, this is the hype beast culture. But in the denim world, the owners are behind their brands, they are the people who are actually wearing their own products every day, and they want to share the experience with their customers. They treat customers like friends, this why they are special, cool people. They still make cool stuff and make others cool too.
Tell us what your go to selvedge denim outfit would be.
When wearing denim I don’t have certain style or outfit in mind, but it is easy to create an outfit.
Spring/Summer seasons are easy, start with a white tee or flannel shirt. Then pair up with indigo/black denim, add boots or sneakers for a perfect match.
Fall/Winter is a bit harder, you’ll need to consider the texture and colours. Some people like double denim, which is cool, but it can give people a heavy feeling. I think wearing some different colours/materials is necessary. For example, wearing a brown/tan colour jacket with a hoodie or sweatshirt underneath, then wear jeans with boots. Alternatively you could go with a denim jacket, chinos and sneakers, this is always a good option. Lastly, another good option is to wear black and indigo denim together.
What’s one surprising fact that beginners may not know.
Sizing is definitely surprising for beginners. Most of the raw denim will stretch after wearing them in, as with most fabric, it will stretch.
But raw denim is 100% cotton with no elastic in it, so the first time you put them on, they will feel uncomfortable. This is because with fresh unworn raw denim, it needs to be broken in. I tell my customers this when they are trying on jeans or jacket, but they don’t really understand.
A lot of customers will buy the products with question marks showing on their face, but a couple of weeks later, they will come back to me and say these are the best jeans they ever bought.
What I always say is: you need to earn the fit, earn the look, earn your own style, this the true value behind each product we sell.
Follow Urban Lupe on instagram, or visit their website
All photographs by Dominic Ronzo
Note: Store photos featured in this article are from Urban Lupe’s previous Flemington location. They have a new store located on Gertrude St. Fitzroy, Victoria.
