HBO Does Denim
Would-be denim maven, Ben. (Image courtesy of HBO)
Denim is full of intrigue. There are lawsuits and rivalries and feuds that often outlast the brands that spark all the drama. And there's the talent and magic it takes to turn bolts of rough blue fabric into sexy/cool status symbols for in-the-know guys and girls.
So, really, it should be no surprise that HBO has created a new series about two guys trying to launch a denim line with nothing but a bolt of stolen selvage and absolutely no clue what they're doing. "How to Make it in America," starring Bryan Greenberg as Ben, a Barney's worker bee malcontent, and Victor Rasuk as Cam, a born hustler, follows the two as they decide to make it big. In denim. In America.
That's the whole plot. Except they are Lower East Side hipsters that buy their denim, Japanese selvage from a vintage left-handed loom (or something like that), from a guy who stole it. And they are funded by Cam's ex-con loan-shark cousin. And people like John Varvatos, a friend of a friend, agree to give the two advice after meeting them at a bar. It's TV; there has to be a little fantasy. But some parts of the show ring true. Like the part where a Parsons professor tells Ben that all the best denim guys live in L.A. And the part where Varvatos' fictional right-hand man tells Ben and Cam to give up the dream because many people with actual funding and experience have failed at the same enterprise.
Two guys, one dream. (Image courtesy of HBO)
There's some fun insider bits, too, razzing things like the notoriously secretive practices of some denim-makers. One tight-lipped designer sends Ben and Cam on a wild goose chase into the boroughs after they get too nosey about his contractors. And the fictional head of Varvatos' denim department explains pattern-making versus actual production - something the two newbies had no clue about. My favorite is a bit where a cheesy older dude at a deli points to his overly embellished butt and declares that "cool pockets" sell jeans.
So it appears that viewers will get a premium-denim education alongside Cam and Ben. I'm waiting for the moment when they get a cease-and-desist letter from Levi's. That's how they'll know they've made it.
