Amelia Gray Makes Good Jeans

Perennial It Girl Amelia Gray has taken her off-duty model expertise into the FRAME design studio and created her first-ever denim line complete with ultra low-rise jeans, jorts, and a classic slim-fit style that’s perfect for go-sees. For the accompanying Chris Colls-lensed campaign, Gray modeled her own designs, styled by denim expert and Interview editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg. Ahead of the drop, the duo got on the phone to talk good jeans, perfect tees, and Lisa Rinna’s closet. 

———

MEL OTTENBERG: Hey, what’s up? Congrats on your denim collab.

AMELIA GRAY: Oh my god, I’m so happy we got to do it together again.

OTTENBERG: Me too. What are you looking for in a pair of jeans?

GRAY: I’m looking for a lot. I’m looking for comfort. I’m looking for duality. I’m looking for elevation. I’m looking for a pair of jeans I can wear to a rave, but also to an interview at Vogue.

OTTENBERG: Totally. I designed a pair of jeans last year, and I was like, “Okay, it’s got to be like this.” Did you have some fave jeans you used for inspo? Because I’m looking up the pictures of the campaign we did together, and there’s a really low slung one, like right above the cookie…

GRAY: Yep. That’s my favorite pair of jeans. I based them off of a pair of jeans that I love that could have been better.

OTTENBERG: Right. And are they better now?

GRAY: They’re perfect.

OTTENBERG: Thank you, Frame. One thing we really fuck with is a low waist, but these are really Britney jeans because they’re wider. They’re butcher, but insanely low. Go with me for a second, they’re like a 2003 really, really low slung hip hugger, but for a guy, and then redesigned for a woman as opposed to having a tight boot cut.

GRAY: Period. You got that so right. Growing up, my mom basically only wore that jean, and they were always called a “boyfriend” jean. I was like, “Mom, why is it called a boyfriend jean, who’s your boyfriend?” And she explained to me that she just wears men’s jeans. But I don’t want these jeans to be for men or for women. They’re for anyone, and that’s what I love about them. 

OTTENBERG: When do you want to wear baggy jeans?

GRAY: See, it depends. Tonight I’m going to go to Tame Impala. I’ll probably wear the baggy jeans with a little ballet flat and maybe a cropped shirt, so it’s more feminine on the top. The skinny jeans are also a great concert jean. I just love comfort. Some jeans are just painful. And I wanted a jean that I could wear anywhere.

OTTENBERG: I do like jeans that are uncomfortably tight when I first put them on, but I don’t want to be uncomfortable. I don’t want to be in pain, babe.

GRAY: Sometimes when you sit down it’s just not an ideal feeling in the whole downstairs region.

OTTENBERG: How do you know that you’re not giving butt crack when you’re wearing these super low pants or do we just not care?

GRAY: Oh, we don’t care if we’re giving butt crack, but that’s also why we made a belt.

OTTENBERG: I should try your jeans on. I feel like they aren’t going to work on me because I don’t want to show butt crack.  But this is not about me. This is about you and your generation, babe. And I think that washed black denim with some leather and a black T-shirt is a hot look. It looks good on you.

GRAY: Well, thank you very much. We really made that pic hot. I think my favorite picture is the one in the black denim. Love.

OTTENBERG: Let’s move back to your origin story. Your parents, did they wear jeans?

GRAY: My parents only wear jeans. The reason I made this collection is because of my mom’s jean closet. Every jean that I made, I once saw on her. The baggy jean is actually based off of my mom’s OG baggy jean style from the early 2000s. And then now she’s wearing this cute boot cut skinny that I also love. My dad just wears skinny jeans. He’s like 74. We give him a pass. [Laughs]

OTTENBERG: Yes, it’s okay.

GRAY: We’re not necessarily inspired by dad’s jeans, but we love him.

OTTENBERG: Thank you, Harry Hamlin. And thank you Lisa Rinna. Okay. So what are we sick of in the denim world? What can you not deal with? For instance, I can’t deal with holes in my jeans. I have to get them fixed.

GRAY: I can’t stand when the fabric is too thick. And then it’s all about the bottom of the jean because I’m not a girl that’s going to wear heels on a day off. I need a jean that I can wear with a sneaker, a flat, and a boot, not just with a heel. And I feel like right now in denim, every jean is made to wear with a heel. 

OTTENBERG: Yeah, you want a jean that’s both for going out and for literally not going out.

GRAY: Exactly.

OTTENBERG: I respect that. On that note, are your jean shorts for being a slob or for looking cunty?

GRAY: Both. You can wear those jean shorts on a Sunday to go get your bagel. Or you can wear them on a really hot vacation with a bikini and a heel. 

OTTENBERG: How long did it take to develop these jeans?

GRAY: The whole process has almost taken about a year. When I was researching jeans. I was like, “What do I like?” Went through my whole jean closet, tried on every single jean that I own, broke it down to which ones I wanted to perfect and make mine. 

OTTENBERG If you’re not used to making jeans it’s hard to not see the magic at the beginning, but then when it comes together—

GRAY: Yeah, designers must be so fulfilled all the time because it starts with an idea in their head and then it gets created into this real thing. Seeing the clothes that I designed for the first time on a beautiful model and then trying them on myself was the most exciting feeling ever because just everything I tried on, I loved and it felt so truly like me. I was comfortable and confident. And that’s a feeling that I’d never really experienced before.

OTTENBERG: I love that for you. Wait—are the T-shirts and the leather jacket part of your collection?

GRAY: Yes! I didn’t have the perfect tank or the perfect top. And these tanks and tops are so soft. They’re literally like butter. I have sensory issues for real. The average person can just probably wear any type of T-shirt and be happy. I cannot be uncomfortable. And the tops that I designed are the perfect cut for the jeans that I designed. Sometimes I’m in a rush. I need to put on an outfit to run to a fitting and I don’t have time to think about it. I just need to wear the perfect jeans, the perfect top, and the perfect leather jacket, and leave. I look cool and elevated and I’m comfortable. That’s all that matters. 

OTTENBERG: Do paparazzi pictures of you ever dictate how you dress?

GRAY: Every single paparazzi picture of me, I’m in my sweatpants. Now I have jeans that are comfy and I can leave the house in those instead of sweatpants. I would wear these jeans on the plane, the baggy ones. And that’s a crazy thing for me to say because I do not wear jeans on the plane. That is my biggest sensory overload. I cannot do it. In these jeans, I will.

OTTENBERG: I love that. Alright. Well babe, I think it looks great and you did a good job.

GRAY: Thanks for doing it with me.

OTTENBERG: You’re so welcome. It’s my pleasure.