Nearly a decade ago, London fashion brand With Nothing Underneath (WNU) launched with a mission: to create the perfect shirt. Over the years, it’s built a fanbase that includes Catherine, the Princess of Wales, Cara Delevingne, Meghan Markle and Florence Pugh, and has expanded its range with lamb’s wool jumpers, linen dresses, seersucker shorts and tailored trousers. Every item hews to the brand’s ethos of using natural fibres to create quality clothing that lasts. Now, WNU is coming for our denim: it’s just released its first line of jeans.
WNU founder and CEO Pip Durell, who cut her teeth in the fashion industry as a Vogue journalist and a Tatler editor, says the launch is “an obvious move” for the brand, and that she’s proud of the meticulous approach her team has taken to ensure the shapes, fabrics and price point (all styles are £150 each) follow the blueprint that’s made her company a success.
The collection has launched with three approachable styles, named after three female icons of the entertainment and fashion industries: the classic, straight-leg Crawford; a flattering wide-leg number called Fawcett; and a cropped kick flare that’s an ode to pint-sized powerhouse Stevie Nicks. The Crawford is made in light and mid blue denim, the Fawcett in mid blue and off-white, and the Stevie in light blue and crisp white.
“We knew jeans were right for us, but it is a very, very tricky proposition,” Durell says, explaining that it took the team years to source and decide on the cuts, denim shades, manufacturers and designs that would make the final cut. “We wanted to make sure that we really, really had it right before we went to launch. There was no point in doing this half-heartedly.”
WNU’s jeans are manufactured in Turkey, where products from other brands like Levi’s, 7 For All Mankind and Calvin Klein are also made. The Crawford and Fawcett are made in 100 per cent cotton, while the Stevie has a bit of elastane for stretch. “Just like with our shirt shapes, my view is that anyone looks good in one of them. And I hope that with these three jeans shapes, whatever shape you are, one of them should be perfect for you,” Durell says. Future releases will include more styles and leg lengths.
“We’re making sure that these jeans are yours to live in,” she says. “They were the original workman’s outfit, so I want these jeans to work hard for you, like our shirts do. I want you to be able to put them on day after day, and just love the way they feel, and work, and move with your body, and [that they] last. That’s the point. You should be keeping a good pair of jeans for years and years and years.”
