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KATHERINE DAOU’S DAOU DENIM CO. IS CALIFORNIAN TO THE CORE
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BY M AT T H E W Z A M U D I O
merica’s infatuation with denim jeans goes back to the gold rush, when lusty men came to California from all corners of the world with high hopes of striking it rich. But when jeans were first created by Levi Strauss in 1873, they were a product of necessity rather than style and fashion, made to replace delicate garments worn by gold miners which ripped easily and dried slow. Since the birth of blue jeans, they have become a staple of American culture, earning a status within the fashion industry that has transformed them from worker’s wear to high–class clothing. With intense creativity and vision, designers like San Diego’s Katherine Daou—founder, CEO and creative director of Daou Denim Co.—are guiding jeans into their next phase: the high–end, contemporary and artistic, yet wearable, world of everyday fashion. While fashion often moves forward, it often, too, moves backward, and it is up to designers like Katherine Daou to either progress or regress the state of attire. With Daou Denim, Daou understands her pivotal position in the fashion sphere, vowing to create progressive denim jeans which are comfortable, contemporary and authentic. But before she was the founder of her own fashion label, Daou noticed a void in denim design while working in the contemporary denim market. She set out to show the world what jeans could be with the right creative leadership. In late 2013, Daou Denim Co. was born, and by 2014 Katherine Daou and her product developer went into sample production, creating the very substance that would propel her into the world of design. The rest is history. CONTINUED ON PAGE 46
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“Joey,” a black, distressed skinny jean in Daou’s line, is perfect for casual occasions.