What does it take to rebuild an industry? Maybe it starts with teaching someone how to make a pair of jeans. In Episode 92, Andrew is joined by Maurice Malone, a pioneering denim designer, entrepreneur, and one of the original figures in American streetwear. With more than four decades in the business, Maurice has seen just about everything. And he's certainly done a few things differently along the way. His story begins in Detroit, where a teenager with ambitions of becoming a Hollywood special effects artist found himself making hats in his mother's basement. One thing led to another, and before long, he was selling clothes, building brands, promoting hip-hop events, and helping shape a streetwear movement that would eventually become a global industry. There's plenty of history here, including Detroit's legendary Hip Hop Shop, the early days of urban fashion, New York Fashion Week, and the remarkable rise, disappearance, and reinvention of the Maurice Malone brand. But Maurice isn't particularly interested in living in the past. Today, he's behind Williamsburg Garment Company, a Brooklyn-based denim brand and manufacturing operation specializing in American-made jeans, custom fits, alterations, and small-scale production. He's also building something rather unusual: a destination for people who genuinely love denim, where shopping, manufacturing, education, and community all come together. And then there's Denim Workshop, his ambitious nine-week program teaching people how to actually make jeans, from digital pattern-making to working with industrial sewing machines. Andrew and Maurice explore what happened to American denim manufacturing, why finding skilled workers has become so difficult, what the Japanese denim industry gets right, and why today's explosion of independent brands might create an unexpected opportunity to bring production back home. They also look at the changing retail experience, the importance of craftsmanship, and why a good pair of jeans should be about more than a label. What's particularly refreshing about Maurice is that after more than 40 years, he's still learning, experimenting, and coming up with new ideas. And now he's determined to pass that knowledge along to the next generation. It's a fascinating journey through hip-hop, fashion, entrepreneurship, and the evolution of American denim, with someone who helped shape the industry and continues to challenge what it can become. More than anything, it's a story about experience, reinvention, and the importance of passing knowledge on to the next generation. Maurice Malone Founder, Williamsburg Garment Company Founder, Denim Workshop Williamsburg Garment Company | Maurice Malone | Denim Workshop Please follow us on: Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
