GQ Sits Down with A.P.C. Founder Jean Touitou to Talk Normcore and Stretch Denim

A.P.C. has long been known as one of the leading brands within fashion, recognized for its minimalism and quality, and the man driving those principles is its founder Jean Touitou. GQ recently had the opportunity to speak to Touitou about the success of his brand and his attitude towards his own product, and it turns out to be related to such disparate things as sarongs, a Japanese weaver-samurai, and baking bread. Read the excerpt below, and head on over to GQ for the full interview.

Do you think in general jean prices have gotten more expensive?

Well, yes, because denim is a goldmine. But also because at least one or two days a week now, a gentleman will wear jeans. It’s impossible for a brand to exist without jeans now. But there are too many signs on them now. People want to put their own signature on them now. Ours have no signature, except their quality.

Even at school, kids, who are maybe 13 or 14, they can tell the difference between A.P.C. and something else. These other companies don’t invest the same amount of money and time into the fabric, so it just falls apart. So even for babies, it’s easy to see that when it’s not the real thing, it’s not the real thing.

What are the things you do that separate you from other brands?

It’s the cut and quality of the fabric. Nobody can compete. There is nowhere else that people can find this denim. Also, this fabric has a special recipe that has been put together by me and the weavers back in the day in Japan. The weaver is a real samurai, and he doesn’t give the secret to anybody. He has a long line of people who ask, “Can we have the A.P.C. fabric?” and he will answer, “No! I gave them my word!” There is something secret in our fabric that nobody knows. Even I try to forget the secret so I’m not tempted to reveal it to anyone.

You mentioned how bad jeans can smell if you won’t wash them for a long time, but A.P.C.’s care guide tells people to not wash them for a very long time. How often do you wash your jeans?

It’s totally hypocritical of me. When I go into my closet, I have a pile of five jeans that are numbered one through five in Roman numerals, because I don’t want to wear the same pair too many times. But whenever they start to smell a bit, I wash them in the machine but with cold water and very little detergent. And I use Woolite so the soap doesn’t attack the textile.