The People: Jonathan Cheung: “Only the most adaptable to change survive” (2024)

Former Levi’s head of design Jonathan Cheung will be one of the guests at the next Denim Premiere Vision, participating in the new talk format “Hey, Denim, what’s up?”, along with other key personalities within the upcoming edition of the show taking place in Milan’s Superstudio Più on November 22 and 23, 2023.

The designer and jeanswear market expert has been one of the authors of the iconic Americandenimbrand’s recent comeback. Prior to Levi’s, he worked with two iconic designers, Franco Moschino and Giorgio Armani.

He now works as a consultant for various brands, and he also works as an advisor to companies including Unspun, Hilos, Pangaia, Bluebird Climate and Bolt Threads. He also recently collaborated on Tomorrowlab, a special project celebrating AGI Denim’s 30th anniversary.

When did you start working for Levi’s?
I was hired by Maurizio Donadi—who really had a big influence on my career—in 2009 and worked at Levi’s until 2020.

That’s not to say that there aren't new innovations, exciting products and brand evolutions out there. I think, as Charles Darwin is often quoted as saying, in volatile times, it’s not the strongest that survive but those that are most adaptable to change.

What brands and collaborations do you especially like—apart from the ones you are working at?
Outside of jeans, like everyone else, I’m loving Miu Miu, and their business results speak for themselves.

As someone who lived in Milan in the '90s, the current collection really takes me back. It feels like the essence of Miuccia Prada and a modern embodiment of refined, cool Milanese style.

And just as we chat today, Phoebe Philo’s long-awaited return has come. She’s the designer’s designer. And, as we all expected, her collection is beautiful - but just as interesting is her business model: selling direct and making less than there’s probably demand for.

In the early days of Vetements, I remember Guram Gvasalia once telling me that his and Demna’s aim was to “make one item less than we can sell," and I think that’s a brilliant idea.

Otherwise, I really like the Tekla x Bikenstock collaboration. So tastefully done. And in terms of brands and designers, I’ve got my eyes on Bettter, Entire Studios, and Seour, and I love what Bukki Ono is doing with Seventh.

Finally, not fashion-related, but I’m so happy that Lego x Animal Crossing is finally happening.

What trends do you like best today?
I’m liking the swing of the fashion pendulum back to a more minimal, looser-fitting style—the Quiet Luxury trend—that still holds on to some of the casual comfort from the Lounge and Gorpcore trends of the COVID years.

And what do you not like at all?
Things I’m not keen on? The "ironic bad denim wash"—you know what I mean—is the heavily green-cast or brown-cast denim with very heavy-handed potassium permanganate bleaching on the back side and down the back legs that looks like it’s been painted on with an aerosol can. That makes me cringe a bit. LOL

What elements will determine the evolution of fashion and jeanswear most?
The big macro trends like comfort, versatility and the casualization of office work clothing is here to stay. Luckily, denim is a part of that movement. So I think denim as a category is going to be OK, even in the long term.

Within denim, there’s a lot of innovation going on, especially with materials–regenerative cotton, recycled cellulosic like Infinited Fiber, Evrnu, Renewcell, Circ and Spinnova, and then the future dyestuffs, like Nature Coatings, Our Carbon, Huue and Colorifix.

Then, in terms of design, production, marketing, and, importantly, inventory management, AI is going to have a huge impact.

How can sustainability become more relevant in fashion in the future?
We can define trends as changes in people’s values and expectations. For example, for most of the 20th century, smoking was considered cool and even healthy. That’s changed now—awareness has changed, legislation has changed and business has changed.

The same could be applied to sustainability in fashion. The more general awareness there is, the more pressure there will be to change legislation—the European Union is already implementing many new laws—and this provides the incentives for companies to change and for new companies to emerge that provide the infrastructure for things like recycling. Awareness will also change demand, just like we’ve seen the growth of organic food.

How could the consumer be further engaged in it?
I think it’s important for brands to just lead and do it, not just wait for consumer demand to catch up. I think the definition of a great brand today is one that is making real, positive changes in their materials and supply chain and whose designers continue to make beautiful, desirable, useful things.

How can sustainability influence fashion’s aesthetic and functionality further?
Hopefully, it won’t change much in terms of aesthetics and functionality. I think the two biggest changes we can make in the industry are: Number 1, make less. We’ve all read the statistics that 30% of everything we make doesn’t even get sold - so we could drastically reduce waste without selling less just by making less.

Number 2: convert all our agriculture to regenerative farming methods. This will increase biodiversity, increase the drawdown of carbon from the atmosphere, help regulate temperatures and grow our soil. And everything comes from soil.

These two big changes won’t affect any style or functionality - although I do think designing clothing that is versatile and has high-functionality and durability is also a very positive thing.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?
That’s a good question. I’m fascinated by how other creatives find inspiration, and I’m always reading interviews about how writers, songwriters, game designers, and artists, just to name a few, draw their inspiration. I think it comes down to two main things, being always curious and having a very open mind, so new ideas don’t get dismissed.

For me, inspiration is triggered by the usual things like books (but, importantly, usually non-fashion books), people, taking random meetings, the internet (YouTube is my TV), and travel—anything to increase the surface area for serendipity to happen.

Are there places or contexts that influence and inspire you most?

Steve Jobs used to say: “Expose yourself to the best things humans have done, and then try and bring them into the things you are doing.” That’s why great chefs taste a lot of food, great songwriters listen to a lot of music, and great writers read a lot of books. That’s why all designers love going to Japan, because the refinement of design and fashion is so high there that it raises your own bar.

Most recently, South Korean culture - food, music, fashion, beauty, TV, and film—has been a huge influence. So let me add Seoul to the list. Any excuse for some Korean food.

There are some materials that have become brands in themselves, and they matter–like Gore-Tex, Vibram or YKK. I think some denim mills have some public recognition, like Cone Denim, Candiani Denim, and Kaihara, and I think some of the new materials in the denim space may become versions of those branded materials—including Infinited Fiber, Circ, Huue or more.

I know you asked me not to talk about brands that I’m working on, but I have to mention Pangaia. That’s where I think Pangaia has been so brilliant—making the materials the stars and combining them with beautiful, modern design. Pangaia’s denim is some of the best in the business, too.

That said, it’s hard to name manufacturers that have risen to a level of public recognition. My friend Sanjeev Bahl, with Saitex, has done an industry-leading job there, and I was super impressed with AGI during my recent visit to Karachi.

If you had not been a designer, what else would you have liked to do?
There was a time I wished I’d designed video games. And I think every designer would like to design furniture or houses. But realistically, I think I’d make a half-decent cook. So, a cool noodle bar owner.

How do you dress?
Jeans—almost always Levi’s, of course! Recently, I’ve been wearing organic cotton work pants from Carhartt, too. I’m just a jeans and T-shirt person.

Are you collecting anything?
I try not to! I’ve read and listened to the brilliant Robert Sapolsky talk about the Hedonic Treadmill, which describes how collecting things is so addictive. We seek the dopamine hit from the anticipation of obtaining something more than the object itself. So I’ve actively tried to resist collecting things.

Having said that, I’ve definitely been a jeans' collector in the past, mainly Japanese selvedge and old Levi’s. (What else?). I have a fascination with outerwear—a lot of Japanese stuff, but increasingly South Korean brands—and I can trace that obsession back to being a big fan ofthe menswear at Aspesi, designed by my friend and design hero, Andrea Gallieri.

Watches? Let’s not journey down that rabbit hole! I’ll just say I’m an admirer of the design ofolder Seiko and pre-Richemont IWC, particularly the titanium pieces.

If I collect anything, it's probably books. They are everywhere in our house. There are lots of cookbooks, too.