Ep 67—FRESH BLOOD, Part 6: Rebuilding Local Manufacturing with Justin Bastarache

Ep 73—FRESH BLOOD, Part 7: From Upcycling to Opportunity with Landon Williams

FRESH BLOOD is about renewal. Every industry either regenerates itself or slowly hardens. In this Jeansland series, Andrew steps back to listen to the next generation already working inside denim’s supply chain, upstream in fibers, sourcing platforms, laundries, and raw materials. In Part 7 of the series, Andrew sits down with Landon Williams, denim designer, artist, and founder of Nolia James. Landon grew up in Mississippi, surrounded by generations of makers, repairers, and creatives. What started with altering and repairing clothes eventually led him to Levi’s, denim production, upcycling, and a growing interest in how garments can be transformed rather than discarded. Andrew and Landon talk about denim fit, manufacturing in Chicago, indigo dyeing, upcycling, and why he believes the industry needs to think differently about waste, materials, and the lifecycle of clothing. They also get into new fibers, secondhand fashion, the future of retail, and why some of the most interesting opportunities may come from finding value in what already exists. For Landon, waste is not the end of the process. It is where the next idea begins. And maybe that is exactly where the industry needs to look next. Thank you to our sponsor Inside Denim [https://insidedenim.com/?develop=true]. Landon Williams Founder of Nolia James Nolia James [https://www.noliajames.net], Landon's Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/landontate/], Nolia James' Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/noliajames/], X [https://x.com/LandonTate_] Please follow us on: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jeanslandpodcast/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579050507485], and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jeansland-podcast/?viewAsMember=true].

Ep 72: The End of the Everlane Experiment

In Episode 72’s Andrew’s Take, Andrew reflects on the sale of Everlane, one of the most visible transparency-focused brands of the last fifteen years. For years, Everlane tried to bring sourcing, factories, pricing, and production into the consumer conversation. Whether you agreed with everything the company did or not, it stood apart from most apparel brands by making transparency part of its identity. The discussion looks at what the sale might tell us about sustainability, consumer behavior, and the economics behind doing things differently. Not whether consumers care about these issues, but whether they care enough to change how they buy. At the center of it all is a larger question. If transparency only works when consumers are willing to pay for it, what happens when they aren’t? Thank you to our sponsor Inside Denim [https://insidedenim.com/?develop=true]. Please follow us on: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jeanslandpodcast/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579050507485], and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jeansland-podcast/?viewAsMember=true].

Ep 71: Designing Denim Through Change with Lucia Rosin

Some people enter denim through fashion. Lucia Rosin came to it through patternmaking, textiles, and the discipline of building a garment from the inside out. In Episode 71, Andrew sits down with Lucia Rosin, founder of MEIDEA, to talk about craft, sustainability, education, and the long path from technical knowledge to industry perspective. The conversation begins in Veneto, where Lucia grew up in a farming family outside Treviso. From there, it moves through technical fashion school, early work in Italy, formative years in India and Bali, and eventually Benetton in the 1990s, when denim, fabric development, and creative freedom were all part of the same conversation. Along the way, they discuss sustainability, Made in Italy, the changing expectations placed on brands, and what happens when technical skills become harder to pass on. As a teacher at IUAV in Venice, Lucia also offers a perspective on the next generation entering the industry, and why curiosity, patience, and hands-on experience still matter in a business increasingly shaped by technology. This episode is about how knowledge gets built, how industries change, and what is worth preserving as they do. Thank you to our sponsor Inside Denim [https://insidedenim.com/?develop=true]. Lucia Rosin Founder of MEIDEA | Founder & Designer at BLU’N ME MEIDEA [https://www.meidea.it], BLU'N ME Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/blu.nme/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucia-rosin-6a230121/] Please follow us on: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jeanslandpodcast/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579050507485], and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jeansland-podcast/?viewAsMember=true].

Ep 70—FRESH BLOOD Revisited: A New Generation of Mills with Lucille Ix and Lucas Van de Woestyne

Before we continue with the next episodes in the FRESH BLOOD series, we’re revisiting a conversation that helped define what the series is really about: listening to the next generation already working inside the industry. Andrew speaks with Lucille Ix and Lucas Van de Woestyne, two young professionals who grew up around fabric manufacturing and are now working inside it themselves. It is a useful reminder that denim is a huge industry, but also a small community, and that its future depends on whether people like them choose to stay. Lucille, 22, is based in New York and works across China and Vietnam. Lucas, 27, is based in Ghent, Belgium and works for a denim mill in China with a focus on Europe. Their families have been in the business for generations, and they have known each other since childhood. Their fathers worked together in denim mills in the United States. We talk about what surprised them when they entered the industry. How denim can be massive in volume but small in practice. How relationships hold over decades, even across competing companies. We also talk about how young people are received at shows, and why many veterans want new people to enter the industry and stay. We get into sustainability in plain terms. What their friends actually care about when they buy clothes. Why quality and longevity are easier for consumers to hold than technical claims. Lucas points to a structural gap: mills are expected to innovate, but brands do not always want to pay for the price of that innovation. We also touch trade and geopolitics, the way duties and tariffs can change decisions overnight, and why being informed is now part of the job. We end on what success looks like to them: community, continuity, and the people behind the product. Thank you to our sponsor Inside Denim [https://insidedenim.com/?develop=true]. Lucille Ix Marketing & Sales Assistant, Advanced Denim Advanced Denim [https://advancedenim.com/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucille-ix-514029220/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ix.livinginblue/] Luccas Van de Woestyne Marketing Director Europe, Freedom Denim Freedom Denim [https://www.freedomdenim.co/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasvandewoestyne/] Please follow us on: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jeanslandpodcast/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579050507485], and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jeansland-podcast/?viewAsMember=true].

Ep 69: How Denim Gets Its Blue with Paul Cowell

Paul Cowell taught Andrew a great deal of what he knows about indigo. In Episode 69, Andrew sits down with Paul Cowell, whose career has moved through ICI, BASF, DyStar, BluConnection, and Archroma. His work sits at the intersection of chemistry, denim processing, mills, brands, and the commercial reality of making innovation work at scale. The conversation begins with chemistry. How synthetic dye development shaped modern textiles. How indigo works. Why pre-reduced indigo changed denim dyeing. And why the fact that most synthetic indigo still comes from China should concern anyone who depends on blue jeans. From there, they get into the strange logic of denim itself. A dye with poor affinity for cotton. A process built around reduction, oxidation, dipping, skying, washing down, and removing much of what was just put on. Inefficient, complicated, and still one of the most beloved systems in apparel. They also talk about bioengineered indigo, the real barriers to cleaner chemistry, and why sustainability in textiles is never just about one product or one claim. It is about clean chemistry, efficient manufacturing, durability, regulation, and whether the industry is willing to pay for better systems. There is a bigger question underneath it all: what happens when the future of fashion depends not only on fiber, fabric, and design, but on the chemistry most consumers never see? This episode is really about indigo, and the complicated system built around making denim blue. Thank you to our sponsor Inside Denim [https://insidedenim.com/?develop=true]. Paul Cowell Global Textile Chemistry & Marketing Strategist, Paul Cowell Consultancy LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulcowell/] Please follow us on: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jeanslandpodcast/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579050507485], and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jeansland-podcast/?viewAsMember=true].