Or is it?

By: Brent Tuttle | March 08, 2011 | Fashion

Q: What’s the whole concept behind The West is Dead?
A: Well first and foremost, every piece in our line is made with highest quality raw materials we could possibly find, and made here in the US. The aim is really to bring the rugged, authentic styling and construction that American clothing was known for 100 years ago, and adapt that into more relevant fits. Every vintage detail we’ve added is meant to be as subtle as possible, for the scrub who actually bought the pair of jeans, and not some advertisement for the clothing company. I guess you could say we’re the antithesis of exaggerated stitching and loud embroidery. People are getting tired of that.

Q: Where did the name come from?
A: We were brainstorming at Will’s apartment in Salt Lake, flipping through a book of Charlie Russell’s work and came across an excerpt from a letter he had written to a friend. “The West is dead my friend…you may loose a sweetheart, but you won’t forget her.” It was just too perfect, summing up exactly what we were trying to keep from happening.

Q:What inspired you and Will to join forces and start the company?
A: I’ve always had a passion for the American West. Will and I met in Western Montana a few years ago, and so before we even decided to begin working on a men’s heritage line, our foundation was really finding a way to protect our natural resources and somehow manage to keep the American tradition of craftsmanship alive. We both had a sort of infatuation or pull with denim, so we decided that this was the best place to start: something we cared about.

Q: Tell me a little bit about your line, and where it will be available?
A: We’ve got a fairly schizophrenic offering, but we literally started working on a few cuts of denim jeans and then began brainstorming different pieces that Will and I would wear with these. Like I mentioned, our design emphasis is really in showing the user that we put the extra thought into some seemingly insignificant detail that’s obviously something that only they would notice: rivet placement, bar tacked hemming guides, chainstitched waistband etc. Everything is cut, sewn, washed, and dyed here in the US, even using some knits from South Carolina. Our denim is mostly Japanese selvedge with some Italian denim as well, but one of our biggest hits so far has actually been our lightweight canvas chino pant.
Our online shop will be up end of April, about the same time we begin shipping some of our pieces available this Spring/Summer. Our full Fall line ships in August. So far we’ve opened accounts here domestically in the US, as well as in Japan, Canada, and parts of Europe. Once we actually ship, we’ll have a stockist list online.

Q: Being a start up denim company is no easy feat. What do you think differentiated your brand or your products to help you guys find success?
A: This is going to sound strange, but I think the single most valuable or unique thing Will and I bring to the table is our lack of the traditional fashion background. Neither one of us has any formal training, but when we brought our scattered list of ideas to our pattern makers, we were coming from an outside perspective. We didn’t have to fabricate the heritage, workwear image, we were just lucky enough for the industry to be heading in our direction at the right time.

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you guys have faced so far in getting your product out there?
A: Aside from finding funding, really just learning the ropes of getting a line together and ready to present to retailers. It’s definitely been a trial by fire, and we honestly couldn’t have done it without a lot of help from people we met along the way. We’ve never really had any issues conceptually, but being new comes with more logistical headaches than you can imagine.

Q: What organizations are you working with to preserve, protect, and reclaim the American West?
A: Our first partnered organization this year is with the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Cooperative, a group of 57 American Indian Nations reestablishing the American Buffalo back onto Tribal lands. The buffalo’s story is an incredible example of squander and irresponsibility, and how better for us to give back than to the animal we’ve chosen to represent our brand. We’re going to keep supporting and highlighting groups and individuals preserving and reclaiming the American West as long as we can. As we grow, we’ll keep updating our website and blog with the new developments.