Overview
Amy Leverton is gearing up for design projects that bring her back to her professional origins.
Deep Dive
To truly know a subject inside and out requires different perspectives. For 17 years, Amy Leverton has studied denim in different capacities, beginning as a designer and evolving to trend forecasting before evolving again to author.
The success of her 2015 book, “Denim Dudes,” inspired her to launch a website with the same name and build an independent trend consulting business that helped her form partnerships with prominent leaders throughout the industry.
In 2020, Leverton brought her passion for denim to Project’s Denim Room, an educational hub within the trade show, where she led trend presentations, panels and workshops with everyone from seasoned veterans to emerging names in the space.
Most recently, Leverton worked with digital event Kingpins24 to present the complete Fall/Winter 2021 Kingpins Denim Trend Forecast, and she’s gearing up for a year of design projects that bring her back to her professional origins.
What will the denim industry be like in the next 18 months?
I hope to see some big changes in the denim industry over the next 18 months. We all had a lot of time to re-think and re-set and I hope that the positives that came out of this time are not forgotten in the pursuit for money. We have built something that is too big, too fast and too wasteful and we need to work more openly and collaboratively as a community to clean up our mess. This has to mean less profit but I don't think it has to mean fewer jobs. There needs to be a more even distribution of wealth, and we have the power to make that shift.
What change would you like to see in the denim industry as a result of Covid-19?
We can all look at ourselves and play a part. In 2019, factory owners had a comfortable life—they owned property, ate well, flew often and stayed in nice hotels. Big businesses paid influencers disproportionate amounts of money to do very little. I'm not looking for a total overhaul, but I hope that every business out there can look at some of the extravagances and make adjustments to their business models so that the wealth is more considerately distributed.
How do you define sustainability in a post-pandemic world?
Sustainability is putting planet and people before profit. For instance, we have all stopped flying—something that we thought we needed to do. We are all still here and nobody has taken a flight in months. We have to do the hard work and figure out how to make sacrifices for the greater good, and how to adjust our habits for the sake of future generations.
Describe your dream jeans.
I already own them. I honestly adore most pairs of jeans in my wardrobe for different reasons, and during Covid-19 have edited out anything I no longer wear. The aim is to really think hard before buying a new pair, and to only buy vintage because vintage is king.
What is your most worn pair of jeans, and why?
Right now, I am rotating the same three pairs of perfect well-loved and destroyed vintage cut off shorts as it is hot in L.A. Aside from that, I have to say my Evan Kinori linen denim pants get a lot of wear as they are cool and comfortable and perfect for hot weather—proof that when you invest in something of great quality, you get more wear out of it.
Name one word that describes denim to you.
Democratic.