Alexander Digenova: Blending Couture and Chaos in his SS25 Collection

During the last Paris fashion week we got the opportunity to visit Alexander Digenova’s showroom and view his latest collection. We were treated to a deep dive into his artistic vision and the story behind some of his latest pieces. Digenova discusses how his upbringing in the cultural melting pot of California shaped his design ethos, and how he’s transforming vintage and surplus materials into contemporary fashion statements through the use of innovative crafting techniques.

NW: It’s a pleasure to be here today. This piece immediately caught my eye, can you give us a little backstory about it?

AD: So, this collection includes a jacket based on the N2B pattern, which is a US military design. However, we made some modifications. Instead of the hood with a zip on top, we changed it to a regular mock neck with a standard hood. The edges and cuffs are all raw leather hide, ensuring that there are no leather scraps during production. This black version features those details, and the removable hood can be detached using buttons on the inside.

NW: Speaking of military surplus, there seems to be a resurgence in that style, more so in its raw look. I’ve noticed it everywhere. Do these trends transition into the work you do? Are there any other cultural or musical inspirations behind this collection?

AD: Living in Los Angeles has exposed me to a unique blend of styles. Our office is in the Arts District, while my home is in the Fashion District, adjacent to Skid Row—a densely populated area with a significant homeless population. The streets there are crazy, and the homeless dress out of necessity, layering and wearing all of their clothes at once to stay warm and protected. The way they dress served also as a reference to some of the washes we did. 

Take this one, for instance—a dirty gray wash that mirrors the colors you’d see on a worn out and torn piece. We repurpose scrap leather from the  jacket production, ensuring that no material goes to waste. The black version also utilizes leftover leather. 

And check out this classic rib tank top with a double air motif. We’ve flipped it, emphasizing the edges rather than filling it all in . And the skins t-shirt’s we got are a reference to British TV show, that was popular some time ago.

NW: How did your upbringing influence your journey in fashion? Did it play a role in creating your collections?

AD: I grew up in a beach city—it’s really steeped in skater and surfer culture. Yeah, well skaters and surfers might not be explicitly into high fashion, they’re definitely particular about the clothes they wear, you know what I mean? 

The way they dress is important for both skating and surfing. So I think I was naturally drawn to clothes from a young age because of that environment. Plus, being so close to Los Angeles—one of the major areas for fashion—definitely played a part. Yeah. It’s probably a combination of those factors that got me interested in fashion in the first place. 

So, yeah, Guillermo Andrade - he was one of the first people I met when I visited his original store on Fairfax. His work really inspired me as well. So, yeah, it’s a mix of different influences, I think.”

This one right here is the main selling piece- the double layer ma1 bomber with the oil wash. So the inside is naturally orange, it starts orange but then once the oil wash, you get this like dirty colour in it.

NW: Are there any other pieces in the collection that are more sentimental to you or some piece that’s less known that holds more sentimental or personal value to you?

AD: Well, since the collection is seasonal, it’s the first time for all the pieces, except for a few, for example this one (the bomber) . We made versions of it. One where the bomber is grey and grey oil wash but this is the first one to be in black. I mean it’s like our standout piece, the brand’s DNA. 

Also these pants are based off of my personal pair, the Black Raw Canvas, which I wore every day for two or three years.

NW: They do look in very good condition for three years of wear.

AD: Everyone always asks me if they can buy this pair that is on me, already looking washed as it is and I tell them it’s because I wore it so much. That’s the reason we made this washed variant. 

NW: So those were originally very dark black?

AD: Yeah, precisely, now we made a pair that starts super worn in.

This is probably my favorite piece from the collection, it’s a suit, the whole set. It’s laser cut and then distressed as well, making it less uniform. The fit of the jacket is pretty slim fit but the pants fit slightly oversized and very long stacking on the shoes. So the bottom contrasts the top in a more relaxed manner. 

NW: It looks raw, yet appropriate enough for a suit. It also stands out to me from all the other clothes here.

AD: It’s the first time we did any tailoring, you can see the tape seams on the inside too. It’s some beautiful construction. 

NW: Since it was your first time working on a two piece suit was it a new challenge in a way?

AD: Definitely. In Los Angeles we have some really good manufacturers, we make everything there. Yet they specialise in jerseys, hoodies, pants. We have really good washhouses and printing, but we don’t have much tailoring manufacturing. Most of the good manufacturing for tailoring is done in Italy, Korea or China. We don’t really have specific manufacturers that do suiting in Los Angeles, so it was definitely difficult to do it. I'm honestly happy with the overall quality of it. This flat pocket is really nice. There is a small possibility that we are gonna move the manufacturing to Italy, but that is not 100% sure, we’re still trying to figure things out. 

NW: Going back to the early days of your career, screen printing t-shirts, growing up in Los Angeles, the surfers and skaters, to now having showrooms in Paris. Could you explain the process of evolution from then to where you are now? How did you master the needed skills?

AD: You know it takes time. It takes time, a lot of dedication and focus on your craft. Working every day on one thing. If you say «Ohh today I’m making clothes, the next day I want to be a rapper and a photographer the day after», you’ll never be good or exceptional at anything. We have been working every day for years and right now we’re just getting good momentum. We’re just getting a bunch of stores, I know I’m repeating myself, but it’s true, it takes time. And regarding the original styling and reference, the surfers and skaters, the way that they wear clothes, it has an effortless look to it. Cause they are not into fashion, they just pick what they like and feel comfortable in, creating this effortless look. Some people can put the clothes on and it just looks perfect, some people try picking all the pieces trying to make an outfit and it doesn’t look good, because they don’t have that effortlessness in their style. 

NW: The Lithuanian cross reference. You know that hill over there? it’s covered in all kinds of crosses. 

AD: Yeah, the hill with the crosses. That’s where my mother is from- Lithuania. We did a bit of the Lithuania references throughout the collection, you can better see the cross on this one (shows pink variant of the double layer hoodie). The crosses are from a book that had all Lithuanian crosses in it. There are so many crosses I didn’t even know about.

NW: Creating all these clothes requires so much knowledge and time, only gathered by you through research and determination was there any particular designer you would look up to?

AD: Yeah, when I was younger I was really into Hedi Slimane.

I liked Dior Hedi and then I really liked Saint Laurent Hedi, which is funny because it’s such a skinny silhouette, which is not what I’m making at all. I think when he was at Saint Laurent, the clothes were from a different era obviously, so that was the popular thing back then, but it really had that effortless skater, surfer look which I grew up on. I believe that’s why I really liked it at the time, and I still do, even though I wouldn’t wear it personally. 

I must say the photography he did  for the Saint Laurent era I really liked as well. I still keep it in the back of my head for references and what not. 

NW: Could we do a short rundown of your personal style because I feel like most of the clothes, if not all that are here, are pieces you would wear yourself. How important is it to you for your clothes to fit and correlate to your own personal style?

AD: Honestly, I just make clothes that I like to wear. I think I rate the pieces and how good they are depending on how much I would want to wear them myself.  For example, those pants, I wear them all the time, so the pants are really good, which is the standard fit that we call the underground pant. Same with the bombers, I love the fit of those bombers. And the new hoodies, I’ve been wearing them a lot. If I make a piece of the collection and do not personally wear it a lot, then I won’t reuse that motif in the next collection. If I do wear it a lot, I’ll reuse it.

NW: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, young Eastern Europeans would only wear what they could afford, for example gym clothes, caps and any army/military wear they had left over after serving. Demna brought back the Adidas track suit look, is this style in general also a reference point?

AD: I personally like to dress very uniformly. When I go to work I like to wear the same black t-shirt, these black pants and black boots. Without having to think too much of what I’m wearing. Even these pieces that are more crazy, like this camouflage set or the bomber, they’re still uniform based and are easy to wear. They look good with pretty much everything. 

NW: Some of the clothes to me look post apocalyptic or as if they were worn in a war. Do you ever try to express your sentiment on global politics through the clothes you make? Or any other economic or social issues that are going on. 

AD: In terms of what’s going on in the world right now, I don’t think like «This political thing happened, now let me make this» . I'm a designer and I love making clothes, there are other people out there that do politics and that’s their business. 

NW: My previous question originated from fresh memory of the ASAP Rocky show who addressed themes the homelessness in New York and American political problems.  

AD: The homelessness, it’s bad in California, especially in Los Angeles, for me I have my own opinions, but I don’t put political or economic things into the clothes I make. I believe someone who does politics everyday is more knowledgable and it’s their mission to tell you. I believe I don’t know everything, so it doesn’t make sense for someone who’s working on clothes everyday to tell you about politics. Obviously you see stuff and you think a certain way, someone might disagree and you should respect everyone’s right to think the way they want. If anything else I’d say is no to war, that’s best. We made a lot of camo stuff and it isn’t specifically any message, it’s just clothes we made a lot of camo stuff and it isn’t specifically any message, it’s just clothes like this one made with military blankets. It has these sections, so that if you get patches you can put them on here. 

NW: Did you make any patches to go with it or is it up to the customer to customise the piece further? 

AD: It’s up to the customer, they could do whatever they want with it. If they want they can cut the sleeves off. 

That’s pretty much all of the dark clothes, here are a few accessories and boots. Here is the lighter necklace made with scrap leather in collaboration with my brother. 

NW: I see some chains and a belt over there. Looks military as well.

AD: Actually the buckle is made to look like a can cap. The necklace is a scissor, there’s a few medical references throughout the collection. Here too, this hand wrap.

NW: Smaller pieces like this help to give a collection character. On a side note though, is there’s anything you like doing outside of making clothes? It doesn’t have to relate to fashion at all. 

AD: Umm I really enjoy good food and soccer.

NW: Soccer?! What’s your favourite team?

AD: It's gotta be AC Milan and Chelsea as well. 

Yeah, when I was little I thought I was gonna play for AC Milan. Hahaha. So I played my whole life.

NW: You still play?

AD: Yeah I still play nice but just for fun. I used to play competitively when I was growing up. At last, this jacket is based off of the N2B as well.

So it has a different hood style, it’s different from the black and brown variants. Those are leather versus this Japanese twill here. Also this tank top here with the cut out effects.

NW: This tank top looks more pinkish than white.

AD: I think it’s just the lighting in here. It’s actually optic white which means pure white. All the rest look kind of off white cause most of the pieces went through stone washing, which tints the fabric and gives it a slight hint of yellow. All these pieces were optic white originally, we washed them and they turned to this vintage white colour. But the ribbing we don’t stonewash cause it stretches it out. 

NW: Just to finish up, it’s not your first time in Paris right? 

AD: We’ve been here a couple times to show collections. We showed our first collection here and this is our third. 

NW: Since Paris is a big city that holds significance to many as the epicenter of fashion, are there any places you visit in particular? Any specific food you enjoy here? Maybe you manage to watch a football match here and there? 

AD: We haven’t done any football matches yet, maybe in one of the next trips, which I would love to do. When we have more time, it’s just so busy with work here. I like going to dinner, the city is truly beautiful and the buildings are amazing.