Carrie and Matt Eddmenson’s remarkable 12South atelier, Imogene + Willie may define the future of denim as we know it. In an era where some of us still simply assume we have to go out of town to find the best, it may turn out that the country’s coolest, most vibrant trend in high-end denim is developing right under our noses.
Here, in a former garage, the Eddmensons have created an entity that blends a tailor’s shop, replete with industrial sewing machines humming, and a premium denim and clothing retailer, divided by a casual parlor where customers can lounge, be fitted for custom clothing or chat with the owners. It’s abuzz with buyers moving through the open roll-up garage door—some after the elite handful of brands Imogene + Willie carries or their special vintage pieces, some craving truly custom jeans made in the shop by the fledgling company.
The couple comes by their interest in jeans honestly. Carrie's father Dale Sights, whose career had included textile rental, banking and the political arena, sought out a fresh business perspective. With an idea he conceived with his brother Jon (now of SITEX CORP.), utilizing their experience washing textiles, he took advantage of the late 80's trend towards pre-aging denim via acid- and stone-washing, using industrial machines left over from a former textile rental laundry.
With Carrie’s brother Bart interested in the design integrity of denim, the company became a development arm for many of these companies, with manufacturers visiting the Henderson, Ky., plant to develop washes for fashion’s nascent premium denim movement. “Earl Jeans came,” says Carrie, “then Ralph Lauren, Paper, Denim and Cloth, you name it.” With the advent of NAFTA in the early ‘90s, the company spread across the globe, with factories in Istanbul, Bangalore and Mexico. Carrie, when fairly new to the company, found herself in Istanbul, opening that end of the business.
Meanwhile, Matt Eddmenson, who’d known Carrie since she was 10, took a job with Sights (making use of his artistic and design skills) in 2003, just as Carrie was returning from overseas. The two became a couple, then as Sights began to wind down its manufacturing role in favor of consulting (headed up by Carrie’s brother), they decided to strike out on their own.
Imogene + Willie takes its name from Carrie’s maternal grandparents (not the grandparents with the textile washing business). This is important, Carrie says, because “my grandmother Imogene was about the most stylish person I’ve ever known.”
The couple wanted their own collection, after working for others for so long, and also dreamed of opening retail. Moving to Nashville to start made sense with the business model—aside from being midway between New York and L.A., making transit between fashion spots easy—the city was filled with stylists who could make use of their services, either to provide or make clothing.
Matt says they started out last year, literally by building a blog (cheaper than a Web address) and setting up a Paypal account, then emailing the details to everyone they knew, knowing they could raise initial capital by selling custom jeans a pair or two at a time. At the end of the first day, they’d sold 30 pair (their second sale was to designer Billy Reid and his wife). In 30 days, they’d raised the $25,000 they needed to start the company, hired an accountant and an attorney, and gotten things rolling. “We just did it,” says Matt. “We turned off the TV, ignored the economy, and just made jeans. We had a reputation and connections, but at the end of the day, there was no guarantee.” Their efforts, however, paid off.
The retail end of things includes brands they believe are special—like the elite RRL Ralph Lauren label and the French APC—distinctive vintage finds, especially jeans and boots, and their own private line, which is not distributed. “That,” says Carrie, “makes us a destination. There’s no wholesale. It keeps us focused. There are so many denim brands out there, we don’t want to get lost in them.” In terms of what you’ll find in the store, “if we love it, we’ll sell it.” That means you’ll find eclectic extras—select pieces from Red Flower body care, exquisite Turkish-made bath towels and whatever strikes their fancies.
Matt is the creative mind behind the line, and his work is design-driven. The couple was lucky enough to persuade Nestor Maranan, the gifted pattern-maker who worked with them at Sights, to join them in this venture, along with his wife Gloria, the principal stitcher. “Nestor has the skill to execute whatever we dream up, he can tell us where the faults lie—we’ve worked together for years, we know each other, it’s a priceless relationship. We can create something together and in a day it can be in our shop.” There is, as Matt points out, an amazing advantage to that—an instant public response that’s genuine, not the result of an expensive PR campaign.
Maranan is a craftsman of spectacular credentials—if you wear a premium denim brand, chances are good he had a hand in patterning it. His presence is an extraordinary coup for the Eddmensons and for Nashville. He understands the art of tailoring, and can hem, adjust and fit exquisitely—a forgotten skill customers appreciate. Maranan’s patterns hang en mass on the upper level of the shop. Their presence, along with his wife’s visibility as she constructs, allows guests to identify with the artisanship involved in creating the perfect pair of jeans.
Matt makes his own aesthetic clear instantly—something you can observe just meeting Matt and Carrie—their notion of what good denim is all about is based not on ephemeral ideals, but in the exceptional denim of the post-World War II era. “We base our lines on 1940s and 50s American work wear, when boots, jeans and chambray shirts were really the heart of design. A pair of 1947 Levi’s still fit better than almost anything else,” says Matt. They based the model for the women’s fit off an early 1960s mid-waist jean. “It makes a woman’s body look right, proportional,” he says. The heritage vibe is clear—it’s easy to imagine Marlon Brando or Natalie Wood circa 1958 fitting right in.
Matt and Carrie also believe in “rigid” denim. If they make a pair of jeans for you, what you get is going to be unwashed, raw fabric from the last remaining denim mill in the U.S. (in Greensboro, N.C.). “The indigo from the dye chips naturally,” says Carrie. “It’ll develop it’s own wear pattern.” Bought skin-tight, the pants mold to the body, the wear patterns come from actual wear, you wash them rarely (really, it’s OK) and the look is pretty amazing.
“Look, you don’t have to buy six pair of jeans from us,” says Matt. “Just one, and you’ll wear it all the time. Once you go this way, you won’t go back.” He imagines a retail world in complete contrast to a corporate aesthetic of planned obsolesence. Quality counts.
Imogene + Willie encourages customers to drop in and find out what it’s all about, there’s no retail snobbery to be found—they’re here for everyone, and their perspective is like no other. While your there, you might also check out the back yard, which, as it turns out, is a picture-perfect small event space too. Maybe you can be all things to all people, and still be pretty wonderful.
Imogene + Willie, 2601 12th Ave. S., (615) 292-5005.