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Owning and designing one of the most undeniable denim brands in the industry for 27 years seems like it would come with a lot of pressure, right? Requiring lot of rigorous study and careful calculation to remain ahead of the curve, relevant, and profitable? Actually, for Jean Touitou, founder and owner of A.P.C., it's not that big of a deal. Call it arrogance, but Touitou believes that A.P.C. does the denim thing, from fit to fabric to price, better than anyone in the world, and he doesn't care what the rest of the business is doing. You can't really blame him for being so confident in his product. Countless men have first discovered the joys and thigh-chafes that come with slowly breaking in their first pair of selvedge jeans while wearing A.P.C. That's why the brand's product is sometimes even referred to as "The Gateway Denim."

Stubborn as he may be, Touitou is still evolving. A.P.C. recently introduced stretch denim, which many raw denim fanatics consider heretical, but is simply indicative of Touitou's changing attitudes. The renowned minimalist even said during his most recent men's presentation in Paris that he's "done with minimalism," though he finds it difficult, as many do, to explain the je ne sais quoi that makes simplicity beautiful. Here we talk to the always brutally candid Touitou about A.P.C.'s success, why they introduced stretch denim, what he thinks about being called normcore, and just how often the man who started it all washes his own New Standards.

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How has the denim industry changed since you founded A.P.C. in 1987?

I don't look at the denim industry. It's not interesting to me.

You don't look at what any other brands are doing at all?

No. No, because that is not interesting to me. If I were a customer, I would do a survey about the brands that are out there. Why should I look at that if I am doing it myself? A baker makes his own bread. He doesn't go to the other bakeries for bread.

Don't you want to know how other people are trying to do denim better than you?

I don't want to know how other people are trying to knock me off. That's a bit disturbing. But I don't give a fuck. I don't care. There's nothing that could make me jealous. Sometimes if there are good jeans I see, the price is not correct. I believe you not only need a good cut and good fabric, but the price has to be human. Otherwise, I could do tons of incredible things. But if the price is not human, the mission is not accomplished. The same thing goes for bags for women. Anybody with a regular amount of talent can do a beautiful dress. Okay, maybe not anybody, let's say 100 people on the planet. But if these dresses are three or four thousand dollars, it's only going to be possible to buy for a very small elite of the world. Frankly, even if I have the means to buy a pair of jeans for $1000 dollars, I wouldn't do so, because nothing about that is appealing to me.