The Australian-based premium denim brand Nobody has been gaining momentum in the U.S. since February, which creative director Wesley Hartwell attributed to its mystique and “everyman” quality.
“We are desperately trying to make the brand not have a hero personality,” Hartwell said in a phone interview from Melbourne, where the brand is based. “The label isn’t about creating an aspirational marketing technique. It’s about creating jeans. We didn’t want to create a fake hero, so there’s no one person who is the figurehead.”
Hartwell said the Nobody creative force is a team. Jim Condilis manages the Nobody wash facility, where new denim techniques are developed. His sons, Nick and John, oversee daily operations, production and the laundry facility. Leonie Rutherford is the head designer and Hartwell oversees branding projects.
The line consists of three basic fits with three varying leg openings: boot-cut, straight-leg and a skinny style. Japanese, Australian or American denim is used and styles are offered in more than 40 washes.
The wholesale price range of the collection is between $95 and $140. It can be found in Atrium and Bloomingdale’s in New York; Fred Segal, Theodore and Rolo in Los Angeles; Selfridges in London; United Arrows in Japan; Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, and Holt Renfrew in Canada, in addition to doors in Australia, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Russia. The company declined to provide a wholesale projection for 2006.
In an effort to better brand the collection, Hartwell assembled a pool of artists who understood the anonymous concept of the brand and who wanted to collaborate on projects where one single theme was explored. For instance, the theme of the spring collection was “Voltaire’s ‘Candide’ meets the Nineties film ‘Reality Bites,’” so Hartwell created a book entitled “Nothing by Nobody.” Each 16-page section of the book was developed by a different creative team and is interpreted through a fictional character’s point of view, such as Modernist, Avant-Pop, Realist and Romanticist.
A party for the U.S. launch of the book is planned for Nov. 16 at R&R at Rare in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. The next party is slated for February when Nobody celebrates the book launch in London during its fashion week.