Making denim can be quite biblical. at least when it’s done the GUESS way. The GUESS story is a tale of French brothers. They touched down in Los Angeles from the South of France in the 1970s, pitching a rather controversial idea to the American denim market. Put stones and a pair of jeans into an industrial washing machine. Watch the magic happen. 

People didn’t believe it at first. In an American market—where the classic blue jean was king—a worn-in, distressed, stone-washed jean was unheard of. But, when GUESS broke onto the scene by sending Bloomingdales a pair accompanied by a handwritten message, suddenly no stone was left unturned. After all, doesn’t the saying go, “The stone that the builders rejected will become the cornerstone”? 

Stone washing has since become a standard followed with a near religious fervor across the industry—even angels wear distressed jeans. Nicolai Marciano, son of co-founder Paul Marciano and GUESS’ Chief New Business Development Officer, has played a significant role in this unique religiosity, spearheading efforts to bring GUESS to an up-and-coming generation of young wearers. These efforts have taken form in a collaboration with A$AP Rocky that fuses Rocky’s streetwear sensibilities and GUESS classic designs; and GUESS USA: a gritty, mud-splashed collection that takes the brand back to its sexy, weathered beginnings. 

Now, in an unprecedented move, Marciano moves away from the brand’s rock solid roots and gets rid of the stone altogether. With GUESS AIRWASHTM, he fuses technology with modern denim-making, using 80% less water and saving 40% of energy exerted during the typical stone washing method. Distressing jeans with lasers rather than stones, the process allows humidity to react with air particles to create a worn-in look. AIRWASH symbolizes a state-of-the-art disruption of the industry standard. 

Marciano, who was recognized in August as one of Business Intelligent Group’s Sustainable Heroes, speaks about AIRWASH as a defining effort in GUESS’ next 40 years of denim. 

How do you balance staying true to the archival history of GUESS while pushing the boundaries of what’s to come?

It’s a constant balancing act of paying homage to our roots and archives while bringing the brand forward through a new perspective, usually through the content and context.

The boundaries that are getting pushed mostly for GUESS JEANS are all coming by way of innovation, technology, and sustainability. If you were to pull the most important strand from the GUESS D.N.A., what would it be?

Without a question the image. Paul established an image that has transcended time far more than the products of the brand.

You’ve grown up practically infused in the culture and heritage of GUESS. Is there anything about the brand that keeps you guessing?

Over the years, and the more I get exposed to within the company, the more excited and surprised I get by what the brand has become. It’s in over 100 countries and 1,700 stores. The complexity of the brand and footprint is so fascinating. Getting to see the presence in different countries around the world is a very inspiring experience.

What spurred the AIRWASH effort towards fusing sustainability and technology? 

The brand has been focusing heavily on sustainability over the past 15 years. We aren’t as vocal as we should be on this topic. With the rebirth of GUESS JEANS, this is something I felt needed to be a focus for the brand, not something behind the scenes. We have great partners in the industry we collaborate with. AIRWASH is a perfect example of that with Jeanologia. It was a big commitment to go all the way with AIRWASH but an important one looking ahead. 

What challenges did you face acclimating to the new production technology, if any?

There were some early challenges in the development process of AIRWASH. It seemed this breakthrough was very powerful, but limited. I challenged our product development team and the Jeanologia team to really push the limitations. If we weren’t able to use this technology for all our washes, especially the volume-driven ones, I wouldn’t have considered this a success. GUESS AIRWASH^TM continues to expand and surprise us with what we can create. It’s been very positive.

GUESS debuted The Next 40 Years Of Denim Exhibition at Pitti Immagine Uomo 105 in Florence, Italy, and shortly after debuted a reimagined design philosophy where “denim is king” with GUESS Amsterdam. Why is thoughtfully curating the space around the jean just as important as the jean itself?

This is a new chapter for the company. It’s a new perspective. The product is king but the world around it needs to be complete for what we are striving for: a new generation of customer base.

Describe the next 40 years of denim. Describe the next 40 years for GUESS.

The next 40 years of denim will be a sustainable and innovative journey. Maintaining the character of what we love so much about the textile while modernizing the solutions to achieve it is the future of denim for me. The next 40 years for the company will be a very exciting few chapters for the company and the platform we have. We have great aspirations and ambitions on many fronts.

Written by Julia Zara