The concept behind Joy Bryant and her stuntman husband, David Pope’s newly-launched line, Basic Terrain is simple: do one thing, and do it well. Developed within the confines of the couple’s dining room, the inaugural collection features a single wear-with-anything pant – a take on a pair of Thai fisherman pants Bryant brought back from a trip to Cambodia — done in 6 washes and two lengths.
Read on for Bryant’s styling tips, design insights and her (surprisingly simple) answer to the age-old question, “how exactly do you tie those things?”
Meet the Eden pant… “The Thai fisherman pant style had been around forever and is meant to look slouchy and loose. It’s a style that looks universally great on people of all shapes and sizes. As far as tying them, all you need to do is hold, fold and tie. That’s It! We also put up visual instructions on the site.”
On teamwork and the initial design process… “After learning that he’s good with a thread and needle, I got David a sewing machine for his birthday and he just took over the dining room table and started creating. I pulled out a bunch of stuff from my own closet for him to play with — one of them was a pair of Thai fisherman pants. I suggested he recreate the pants in denim and he just figured out a way to piece them together. Our friends had a great response as soon as I started wearing that first pair.“
Joy Bryant wearing Basic Terrain Eden pants
The scoop on sizing… “Traditionally, the Thai fisherman pant is one size. We offer two catchall sizes: extra small/small and medium/large — we’ll be introducing petite for Spring 2015. The idea is that one person can wear both sizes depending on the look they want to achieve.”
On sourcing and phoning a friend… “When we started, we really knew nothing about the business — other than modeling, I’ve had very little experience in the fashion world. What we did know were people, so we asked around what to do and where to go. That’s how we found a fabric agent who helped us find this lightweight denim from Spain.”
What’s in a name… “The company name is a product of an hours-long brainstorm session at our house. We knew we wanted it to have something to do with travel and adventure — that’s pretty much us in a nutshell. The logo was actually inspired by our Aquarius tattoos, which totally resemble mountains and waves. Again, us in a nutshell.”
Eden Pants In Army, $180.
On working together and hopes for the future… “In our line of work, we spend a lot of time apart. The fact that we get to spend this much time together working on something we both love is pretty amazing. This project is our baby, we’re just trying to nurture it and hope for success.”
Joy’s expert styling tips … “I like to wear mine with a cropped jacket over a tank that skims the waistline of the pant. I’ve also worn them with a longer, tucked-in tee and heels. Playing off of the somewhat voluminous dimensions, you have to include something cropped or structured.”
The Basic Terrain girl… “She’s someone who’s into style but also into comfort — someone who wants to branch out from the skinny jean chokehold.”
On taking the next steps… “For Holiday, we’re planning on applying leather and wool jersey to the existing silhouettes. Come Spring 2015, we’ll introduce a more tailored pant as well as a few tops.”
Eden Pants In Vintage, $180.
