The L.A. Designers Behind Dimepiece Talk Miley Cyrus And How They Became A Celebrity Wardrobe Staple [Interview]
Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, and Jourdan Dunn in Dimepiece.
Photo: Splash News/Dimepiece Tumblr/Getty Images
Unless you've been living under a rock the past couple of months (or somehow managed to miss the whole Instagram boat?), chances are you're already well-versed in the total and absolute coolness that is Dimepiece. After all, we first called out the Los Angeles-based streetwear label last fall, when famous face Cara Delevingne snapped herself wearing lots— and we mean LOTS— of these rad athletic-inspired pieces backstage during Fashion Week. Since then the brand has cropped up on Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, and supermodel Jourdan Dunn, and is swiftly integrating itself into pretty much all of young Hollywood's closets. And why shouldn't it? Dimepiece has an easy, wearable vibe, practically oozes attitude, AND designers Ashley Jones and Laura Fama are exactly as awesome as you'd hope. We got proof of this when we grabbed coffee with the co-founders and longtime friends yesterday during their brief visit to Manhattan, where they spilled on the company's humble beginnings, cult celeb fan base, and their strategy for getting their duds on Beyonce. Get the scoop below!
Ashley Benson in Dimepiece.
Photo: @Itsashbenzo Instagram
MTV STYLE: Even though Dimepiece itself has been around for several years, the brand really started to blow up a few months ago. How'd that happen?
ASHLEY JONES: Yeah, it's crazy! We've always been fine, business-wise, but now things are next-level. I honestly think it all started with Cara [Delevingne], because she wore the "Ain't No Wifey" tee backstage and the next thing we knew it was all over the internet.
LAURA FAMA: It's funny, though, because Cara actually bought her stuff; she placed a huge order online. Normally whenever anyone does that, we always get really curious, like, "Hm...who are these people?" It's often a celebrity.
MTV STYLE: Now it seems like tons of young Hollywood is obsessed, which is great.
AJ: It's just weird because it happened so organically and also so fast. Our new collection has been out for probably three weeks, and now we're just trying to keep up with orders. A lot of the success is thanks to Instagram, and celebrities who take photos of their outfits [laughing].
MTV STYLE: Going way back to the beginning of Dimepiece, how did you guys first meet?
AJ: We met through friends in LA. There was another clothing company that we were trying to do that didn't work out. We weren't super serious about it, so we branched off and started our own thing about 7 years ago.
LF: We actually came up with the brand name while we were bored in the car one day, driving back from Vegas. We were just throwing out about possible names, and I guess you could say that was the official beginning of Dimepiece. After that we started putting slogans like "Ain't No Wifey" on American Apparel t-shirts.
MTV STYLE: Speaking of "Ain't No Wifey," the story behind that?
LF: That was from our first collection! It actually arose from a Lil Wayne interview, where he kept talking about "my wifey" this, and "wifey" that, so we were like, "F*** that! Who says you HAVE to be a wifey?" We've had that slogan around forever, but once Cara wore it it totally blew up.
AJ: Even though a lot of our stuff is about girl power, we're not setting out to be a feminist label. I think that with designers, you can't help but have a little bit of their personality seep into the clothing.
Looks from the new Dimepiece collection.
Photo: Courtesy of Dimepiece
MTV STYLE: How has the Dimepiece girl changed since the beginning?
LF:Well, she hasn't changed too much! Before, we had tried to do some crazy stuff with more complicated patterns, like blazers and weird pants and things like that. But now we've reverted back to basics like t-shirts, hoodies, stuff that cool girls wear every day.
AJ: We're also into doing 5-panel hats, beanies, and cell phone cases. Those are some of the things you can order online where you don't have to worry about sizing.
MTV STYLE: Besides Cara, Miley Cyrus has been a huge fan of the brand. How did you link up with her?
LF: Miley and I had been DM'ing on Twitter for a while, she hit me up, like, "Can I call you?" So she called us and asked us to send her some stuff. The conversation literally lasted one minute, but we ended up sending her tons of stuff and she's worn it all!
AJ: We love Miley. She's really coming into her own right now, and she looks hot. She fits our aesthetic really well.
MTV STYLE: Which celebrity are you still dying to get your clothes on?
LF: We've wanted Rihanna for a long time, and then just recently she was photographed with our iPhone case, so we were super excited.
AJ: We'd love to have some more international celebrities, like in Japan and China. A lot of our London success is actually thanks to Cara!
LF: Beyonce hasn't worn it yet. We want Beyonce! [laughing] We'd also love to dress Kate Moss of course, and think Ciara is really cool. It's great because streetwear is having a huge moment right now, with Rita Ora, Rihanna, those girls wearing sneakers with everything. It all just comes together really well.
Shop the new Dimepiece "Womanhood" collection here.
