Dominic Poon of Level 99 on Sustainable, Modern Denim
Dominic Poon, CEO of Level 99, has created a jeans brand that’s easy to love. Designed to make women look sexy and fashionable, while remaining affordable and wearable, Level 99 has held a strong place in the denim market. In recent collections, the brand has furthered the sustainable denim conversation by focusing on carbon offsets, sustainable fibers and environmentally responsible dyes.
Carved in Blue sat down with Dominic to discuss new denim silhouettes, the future of eco-conscious manufacturing and his celebrity clientele.
Carved in Blue: What is the first thing a consumer thinks about when looking to buy a new pair of jeans?
Dominic: Basically there are two different groups: one looking for the trend, fit and washes, and the second for what do they not have in their closet.
Carved in Blue: What do denim brands have to do to compete with athleisure or activewear?
Dominic: They don’t have to since it’s totally different – like you don’t wear a denim legging to the gym. However, designers can be more creative and make more of the denim-friendly styles that look like leisure or activewear.
Carved in Blue: When did you start working with TENCEL® in denim and what led you to use it?
Dominic: We started using TENCEL® in denim at the beginning of 2007 and the whole idea is to create denim with a much more fluid, sexy and luxurious feeling!
Carved in Blue: What percentage of your product includes TENCEL® and can you see this number growing with new product lines?
Dominic: Currently, 35-40 percent of the whole line is either using 100 percent TENCEL ® or TENCEL ®/cotton. Our plan is to increase the product mix to 60-70 percent which will include Lenzing Modal® and Lenzing Viscose® too.
Carved in Blue: What silhouettes and shapes do you think are about to make a breakthrough?
Dominic: The two best-selling fits are still skinny or straight and bootcut. Then the boyfriends are doing pretty good and even though there’s talk about flare, it’s not for everyone.
Carved in Blue: Is sustainability key to premium denim today?
Dominic: Premium denim should not be just price and quality! Environmental or eco-awareness, trend setting and sustainability should be included too.
Carved in Blue: How do you think denim will continue to innovate with sustainability in the future?
Dominic: When the industrial standard is tightened, denim manufacturers will have to follow, as well as figuring out better and more efficient ways – such as waterless, dyestuff sustainability, home laundry improvement, etc.
Carved in Blue: Your jeans have shown up on everyone from Beyoncé to Sarah Jessica Parker, why do you think the product resonates with a celebrity clientele?
Dominic: Our designs are not only edgy, they also fit well and are easy to wear, this increases our demographic largely.
Carved in Blue: Which person would you most like to see in a pair of your jeans?
Dominic: Jessica Alba. She used to wear our jeans a lot but now she has her own label.
Carved in Blue: How many denim pieces do you own?
Dominic: Too many – 30-40 pieces.
Carved in Blue: If you had to pick one denim fit to live in forever, what would it be?
Dominic: Skinny straight.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Dominic: From the industrial perspective, we know it’s indigo!