"I like being able to change directions on the spot…"

Is it possible for a pair of jeans to be the true object of one’s obsession? Maybe a better question - is it healthy to think of denim in larger proportions than sex, coffee, and television combined? Yes.

Here’s why: Sex involves bodies – bodies that look incredible covered in a sexy pair of humanity’s great universal equalizer. As for coffee, well, it’s the 21st century’s designer drink of choice. Grande-super-low-fat, extra cinnamon, extra hot lattes are of course enjoyed more if their consummate is wearing extra-hot, super-high wasted cigarette- legged dark denim. And television – well, where else are you going to see real people enjoying real life in real time, while exploring the possibilities of looking fantastic in perfectly fitting designer denim for our viewing pleasure?

For Designer Erin Williams, attaining the idealized pair of jeans was more than a lustful affair. It was a foray into a passionate marriage with fashion and design. 12 years old, Erin encountered jeans and other fashion with a bit more flair than usual at a store called Underground. The store carried labels like Diesel and Gsus that were calling to her long distance, but Erin couldn’t afford to take the call. So instead of getting a job to pay for the expensive clothes, Erin decided to learn how to sew.

By the time high school had come around, Erin was beginning to see that fashion wasn’t just a temporary addiction; it could be an exciting career. Erin explains, “There’s a huge realm of possibilities with fashion, you can move into different things depending on the day. I like being able to change directions and emotions on the spot.”

Notably, Erin makes a point of channeling those emotions partly through the vibrant color palette she chooses to incorporate. “I love color. I usually see people who are colorful and I take it out of them and put it into the clothes I make.”

Other influences? Erin reveals, “Other than that my biggest inspiration lately has been Grafik and high fashion mags now and then. Also If you can come up with some type of character, then a scene, and then create a rad outfit for them it’s easier to create knowing all of the surroundings to take into account.”

Currently, Erin is working like crazy having been at the helm of 2 design companies this year, OK Creative and Build a Boy. But it seems like she’s having the time of her life. “I just had a new brand release for OK Creative in Kelowna, BC after I had jumped on the chance to have an exhibit space at wake fest there. I asked a friend and fellow designer and artist Matt Luckhurst to start a design company with me at the end of April, with the intent of creating modern and colorful street wear rarely available to the kids in the city. As the clothing designer for the company, I am very dedicated to producing things people have not seen or thought was possible to find in the street wear market, pattern wise, color wise, cut wise and design wise.”

Erin goes on to explain the difference between her two companies’ fashion, “The difference between Build A Boy and the new label OK, is that BAB has a more modern and simplified cut and style. OK creative is young, fun, colorful and energetic. BAB is a little more mature. I’m in the process of designing and producing my independent line (BAB) hopefully to have in a few boutiques around town in a few months.”

And what happens when Erin loses the inspiration to create? “I don’t know. I just wait around for something to hit me. Sometimes I just go to Chapters and look at the magazines and hang out. Or I just sit there and dream while sitting with a cup of tea.”

What does Erin hope to see in her future? “I want to see kids around town wearing our gear yelling ‘Look how fly I look!” hahah…. not really. But I want to see it in their faces! That will be cool, I saw someone wearing one of our (OK Creative’s) really bright windbreakers the day after we released them in Kelowna at a coffee shop as I was driving by. That was rad. But yeah I don’t think about the future, plans change every month. When this year started I knew it was going to be a big one for me, I had no idea I would own and design for two clothing companies by summer. Hey I've only turned 21 this year! This is fun. But seriously, with OK, we plan on having the brand in about 6 stores through Western Canada by the New Year, and BAB, I would like to have it in a few exclusive boutiques in Canada also.”

Check out Erin’s links for the latest: