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Interview with Chaser

Jon Berrien
Latest posts by Jon Berrien (see all)

 

 Raised on rock and roll and dedicated to the evolution of style, Chaser is one Los Angeles based clothing line that is consistently pressing forward. Dressed up or dressed down, Chaser is always on the grind, get familiar with this one of kind clothing brand now! 

Would you please tell us a little bit about Chaser, the brand – how long the company has been around, we would love some back-story about the company in your own words.

Chaser as a clothing company has been around for over 20 years, rooted in Rock and Roll, the brand takes it’s name from the Thelonious Monk song, “Straight no Chaser.”

Chaser has been a contemporary line, in it’s current form for the last 5-6 years.

Who would you say the Chaser consumer is?

The Chaser consumer is a contemporary customer who values style and quality.  She is edgy but also likes newness – she is modern and likes to pair an old pair of levi’s with designer shoes, she has a soft spot for all things vintage, yet seeks fresh takes on the classics.

In your opinion, what are five key pieces to add to this year’s fall wardrobe?

This fall we focused on velvet and georgette to pair with our basics and graphic tees. We also have some great yarns that we used in our sweater collection.

 If I had to list 5 items, I would say, the velvet blazer CW5583, slouchy georgette pant CW5593, open cardigan from our Guatemalan blanket sweat group CW5599, our “howl and the moon” muscle tee from graphics CW54410CHA611-BLK, and our fleece moto jacket CW5367

From checking out the look books, you really have some cutting edge designs and looks  – where does that inspiration come from and how do you take that creative image in your mind and transfer to a Chaser garment?

 Tricks of the trade – years of experience and keeping fresh, always looking for inspiration everywhere, music, travel, vintage, runway, blogs, personal archives, art, architecture, street style, and classics.
 It’s a process that takes on a life of it’s own that then gets edited down and merchandised into an assortment that makes sense together, staying on brand always.

Chaser is known for being fashion forward especially with their tees & basics – when did you decide to move forward with  Chaser Collection and expand the line?

 Tees and Basics are the core of the line, but at some point you want more, we want to be  a head to toe resource  for our loyal customer and we want to attract new customers with items that they can’t find anywhere else.  we love to experiment with new materials, different dye techniques, special yarns, this holiday we have a feather jacket in the line that is very Chaser, hand painted feathers take the shape of a very Stevie Nicks inspired silhouette.  

 We have gold and black velvet that is reminiscent of the late 70’s – Mick and Bianca Jagger come to mind – extravagant fabrics, dressed down with deconstructed tee shirts and most of all a rock and roll attitude that carries it all off flawlessly.  The collection really began to take shape 2 years ago, starting with Spring 12.

Chaser fabrics are the softest —  most luxurious  – what do you look for when you source your  fabrics and other embellishments?

 The goal is to see as much as possible, travel the globe, see fabrics and trims, embellishments and techniques from absolutely everywhere, hand feel is supreme, it must be as soft as possible, and from there I follow my instinct, and select based on my gut, when you see something that is right, you just know it.

We saw the 2014 Spring Chaser look book   – which looks amazing – is it a challenge to design a line that far out in time?

 It is always a challenge to design in advance, but we have to follow the calendar to meet our production deadlines, I would love to design up till the last minute – but that simply doesn’t work, you have to put your faith in your instincts and follow it through to put a collection together every season that you feel good about, you try to out do yourself each season, sometimes it works sometimes it does not, but all in all, each season you continue on your path, in the vision of Chaser – building and continuing a legacy.

Finally where is the best place for our readers to hear about the latest Chaser news, where to buy,  etc.

 The best place to find Chaser is on our website www.chaserbrand.com, but you can also find a lot of key items at www.revolveclothing.com and www.bloomingdales.com