This could very well be a citation from my mental denim dictorary of ‘Tellason’: an All-American denim brand from the hometown and birthplace of jeans, San Francisco, that is steadily turning into one of the most successful commercial high-end heritage denim brands. The two founders, Tony Patella and Pete Searson, have been friends for two decades and they have, “always had an affinity for all things well crafted and authentic,” as they put it. After 20 years the apparel industry working for other brands, they felt it was time to take things into their own hands and make something for themselves. I visited the Danish distributor of Tellason to have a closer look af the products.
In their search for something authentic to put all their energy into the simple answer for Tony and Pete was a proper pair of men’s jeans, so they took it from there and went out to make jeans that matters. They have created a range of jeans that compromises great contemporary fits made of beautiful denim from Cone Mills’ White Oak plant in Greensboro, North Carolina that is cut and sewn in San Francisco, California.
They take great pride of making 100% American made jeans. As a matter of fact they’re probably making more jeans in the city of San Francisco today than any other brand. The thread used in the jeans is made in North Carolina, the pocketing is made in Tennessee, and leather for the patches is made by Tanner Goods in Portland, Oregon.
The success of Tellason has been almost immediate and today some of best denim shops in the world including Tenue de Nîmes and Unionmade stock the brand. By doing limited collaborations with retailers Tony and Pete have also found a clever way to engage and commit their customers. Buy a pair of Tellason-collaboration jeans from ei’kon or Wardrobe 19, or get a “regular” pair online from Garment.
In the philosophy of Tellason denim should rarely, if ever, be washed. And if you must, they recommend to turn them inside out and hand rinse them in cold water with very little soap and air dry. Remember, the less you launder your jeans, the more authentic and interesting wear the patterns will be. The selvage fabric used is sanforized, so the shrinkage will be minimal. Also, raw denim stretches where it needs to. To bring your jeans back to their original size, follow the wash instructions above.
Now, let’s have a look at the four different Tellason fits, the first one is the Ankara straight leg:
The slim stragiht John Graham Mellor:
The slim tapered Ladbroke Grove:
The new super tapered Gustave fit:
The Tellason x Smith & Butler Chore Coat.
99.9% of all denim used by Tellason is from the historic Cone Mills’ White Oak plant.
Here’s little video about the brand, the founders and their love for San Francisco denim (clicking the image below will take you to Vimeo). You can also read more and locate a retailer close to you here.
Written by Thomas Bojer.
Thomas Bojer
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