DRENCH: How much more difficult would you say breaking into the fashion industry with jeans instead of t-shirts is?
Ande Whall: I would say its easier to start off with t-shirts as you don't really need any garment construction and pattern making experience as such....unless you are making fully cut and sew t-shirts of course. Denim is one of those crafts that is truly endless in what you can do with the cloth, knowing its properties and how to use it to its full potential.

DRENCH: What do you hate the most about jeans?
Ande Whall: When they don't fit right! Back to the drawing board.

DRENCH: What has denim done for your life?
Ande Whall: Yeah it is alot, all day long and for the two minutes at three am when I take a piss. Incessant rambling thoughts of what to do next, cuts, details, branding, thread colours.....endless.

DRENCH: How many models of denim does your line have so far?
Ande Whall: There is not much available at present. There were five cuts when I first started out but have recently cut the modern collection down to three, true straight leg cuts that will be gradually released in limited edition collections. I have been changing over the patterns to inch measurements, even though I was taught in the metric system...jeans will always be in imperial. I also hope to draft up some vintage style cuts in the near future as well, along with jackets and shirts.

DRENCH: How successful do you believe the original Grifter model was?
Ande Whall: Grifter is a successful cut, its just a good slim, straight leg pair of jeans. Its the most popular cut I have put out, some guys have purchased two or three pairs. So hopefully it will continue to shine.

DRENCH: What was the intention behind the limited numbers of the Grifter Streaky?
Ande Whall: Pretty much because this one supplier only had 90 meters of that particular cloth left, and I did want to use it again one day as Mr. Diamonds from Superfuture's pair from way back wore out so nicely. Also its really quite boring making the same pair/setup of jeans for months on end, thats why Its cool to make these limited runs.

DRENCH: What would you say the best feature of your brand of jeans is?
Ande Whall: Probably the hand made thing, not just the actual garments but everything ground up - patterns, artwork for the labels and tags etc.

DRENCH: Are you planning to release any other denim articles of clothing besides jeans?
Ande Whall: Yep the Jackets and shirts mentioned earlier. Would like to learn more about leather and metalwork...have dabbled, but it would be cool to really get into it. The ultimate would be a small garage factory in the country - weaving and dying your own denim, casting copper hardware, hand crafting leather patches and sewing up jeans....ahhhh to dream. Where was this going, oh yeah leather...would like to make some really nice leather jackets too!

DRENCH: I've noticed you sell a few t-shirts as well. Do you ever think about branching out into other clothing ventures?
Ande Whall: T-shirts are fun to do, drawing weirdo graphics is good fun. Being an oldboy skater the graphic tee has always interested me. But the denim will be taking up most of my time from now on, steering away from the streetwear side. Its a shame, I have loads of good patterns and designs, hoodies, jackets, tracksuits etc. There are only so many hours in a day and denim always rises to the top, so I will be solely focusing on andewhall denim in the future.

DRENCH: What was the beginning of your experience in crafting denim like?
Ande Whall: Fairly dodgy....It was the first year at fashion school and we hadn't yet gotten to the trouser module...think we were still on skirts...anyways, itching to make some denim slacks I stayed late trying to put in a zip fly by reading the book. It came out ok...but wasn't pretty to look at, fit was rather shite, that was the first pair......it has gotten better since then. If you can think 3D and are good at technical drawing its easier to grasp. I think architectural drafts-'persons' would be awesome pattern makers. I wanted to be a draftsman in high school..or a painter...I made blueprints for our miniramp as a lad and my friends dad said he would hire me as a draftsman when I got older....stoked.

DRENCH: What are you trying to accomplish with Ande Whall (the company)?
Ande Whall: To make good honest, well cut clothing. Something a bit more personal, handmade in limited numbers with really interesting, quirky little details.

DRENCH: And what are you trying to accomplish with Ande Whall (the man)?
Ande Whall: Sanity.

DRENCH: Where can people buy your stuff?
Ande Whall: www.andewhall.com.....more stuff soon.

DRENCH: Any retailers, websites, etc.?
Ande Whall: Just the www.andewhall.com store for now. It would be cool to wholesale in some capacity in the future...don't know how or what just yet. Maybe some collaborations with stores, if they will 'av me.

DRENCH: Any final statements? p.s . - Thanks...
Ande Whall: Do what you love and you'll be golden, even when people say you're a crazy idiot.

• end •

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