Farewell, Roy

Rest in peace Roy Slaper

When I bought my first pair of jeans from Roy, it was a financially risky move. I’d recently totaled my Honda Civic and used the insurance money to buy a vintage Mercedes convertible that sucked ass. I was living on the razor’s edge of complete financial ruin. It just so happened that’s when the newest drop of Roy’s jeans came in.

I was working at Self Edge at the time and in two or so years, we hadn’t received any jeans from the notoriously private Roy Slaper. I knew of him, of course. Like many online, I worshipped him, and hoped against hope that one day I might grab a pair from his small and infrequent releases.

In the William Gibson book, Zero History, there is a denim designer called Gabriel Hounds that no one can track down. Their jeans are world-renowned, their marketing is non-existent, it’s all word of mouth. Getting your own pair of Roy’s jeans felt a little like that. Thanks to Kiya Babzani, who had tracked Roy down early in his career, there was a physical location to buy his product, but it would be little more than a quick mention on Instagram and within moments, every pair would be gone.

With all this in my head, I knew when this drop arrived, that I would have to buy a pair, even with my extremely limited funds. Even then, in 2019, there was a sense that Roy was tiring of the grind. The drops were growing more infrequent. There was a sense of finality. If I wanted a piece of history, I would have to move fast.

Today

Me, Nick, Roy, and Tilden.

When I learned of Roy’s passing, I was overwhelmed by a tremendous wave of grief. In the nearly seven years since I bought my first pair, I had actually met Roy. He was no longer the invisible Gabriel Hounds, he was flesh and blood, and an astoundingly inspiring person.

Through our video with Tilden Yamamoto, I got to spend time with him and was amazed at his humility, curiosity, and ability to spin a yarn (pun intended) about even the smallest detail in a garment. Roy, who could look so taciturn in photos was warm and kind and even five years after finishing up his own brand was still so passionate and excited about clothing, denim, and factory methods.

In a full-circle moment, I brought my pair of his jeans I’d bought all those years ago and watched him turn them over in his hands. He pointed out seam allowances, stitch count, and details I hadn’t even noticed. The artwork had come home to the artist and I was honored to bear witness.

Tilden (left) and Roy (right)

After our first day of shooting, my videographer, Nick, was in awe of Roy.

“We need to do a documentary all about him,” he said emphatically.

I agreed. But I thought we’d have more time.

Reverse-Engineering the Artist

Roy Jeans (left), Tilden Jeans (right)

Watching Tilden and Roy work, I realized that, like painters, they each had their own unique style. Even though Tilden and Roy collaborated closely on matters of design in Tilden’s jeans, they had very different philosophies. Tilden, with his focus on single-needle stitch, was trying to recreate (and elevate) the methods used by the earliest American denim tailors, who had almost no complex machinery at their disposal.

So if Tilden was a minimalist, Roy, when his brand was up and running, had been a maximalist. Turn a pair of Tilden’s and Roy’s inside out and they both are works of art, but Roy employed archaic and sometimes redundant stitching - references to styles and machines that the rest of us had long forgotten. Roy, with his metal-working background, had approached making jeans from a mechanical standpoint, hunting down, repairing, and customizing vintage sewing equipment to build the perfect pair of jeans.

So if the back pockets had hidden rivets, he might bar-tack them too. The inseam was not only overlocked but chain-stitched twice, in vibrant yellows and blues. But my favorite stitch is the scallop stitching on the inside of the fly. I wish I could tell you more about it, but I can’t. I think it was just another moment of genius from a man who could basically build or alter any machine he set his mind to.

Making Sense of It All

When I heard the news, I found a pair of unworn R01s (in his words, the perfect cut, and the favorite style he’d ever made) and I bought them. They were from one of his final drops in 2020 and I couldn’t bear to see them go. It was hard to explain to other people how he’d made such an impression on me in such a short time. Nick, who was there with me, and I have spent weeks now trying to understand the intensity of our grief.

There are certain people who have it. Roy had it.

Even before I met him, I was awed by his ingenuity and integrity, but that all doubled or tripled after meeting him. I think if his art had been a more accessible medium, there would be more outward grieving, but because of his small drops and relatively niche audience, I fear not enough people will mourn him. And yet none of us will miss Roy as keenly as his friends and family; with only two days and two jeans I have only a glimmer of understanding of the man he was.

A Piece of History

A pair of Roy’s personal jeans. From an interview in GQ.

I don’t wish to make this commercial, but I hope some of you are moved by this and hope to find a piece of Roy’s legacy out in the wild. Look no further than Tilden, whose brand is his own, but who worked very closely with Roy. In fact, many of his denims came from Roy’s personal collection, which is a whole story in its own right.

Tilden’s Shrink-To-Quilt Canvas jeans were another collaborative effort with Roy. These two great denim minds had been working together for days when we arrived in Montana, to figure out how to get the same great fit from their expensive shrinking selvedge denims in less-expensive canvases.

Roy’s jeans surface on secondhand sites from time to time and I would recommend you search for the R01, which he informed me was his favorite design. High waist, straight leg, you can read more about his favorite styles in an interview he gave to GQ last year.

I know they say “don’t meet your heroes,” but in this case, I’m so glad I did. Rest in peace, Roy.