Trust Us, These Should Be the Next Pair of Jeans You Buy

In fact, his chic inner circle—which includes stylist Vanessa Traina, actress Zoë Kravitz, and the women on his design team—proved to be a valuable sounding board on several fronts. "From observing them, I noticed that a lot of jeans are cut too narrow at the bottom to go over a boot," he says. His solution is a slightly wider taper from the calf down. He also cut the waistline high for the slim-fit and slouchy for the relaxed and boy-fit. Finally, Wang chose matte black rivets "so they fade away, rather than the usual copper or gold."

A longtime friend of Wang's, model Kasia Struss (who tried out the jeans for this story) says she couldn't wait for the designer to debut denim: "Half of my closet is filled with his stuff," she says. "I've been waiting forever for him to do jeans, so I'm really happy they're finally here."

Wang's Denim Tips

And because most of us don't sit around at home naked with jeans pulled down to our ankles (wait—do we?!), how does Wang envision his jeans being styled? "I never like to dictate," he says, "because the minute I do, someone inspires me by doing something different."

That said, here are a few Wang-approved guidelines:

Wear denim with classics you already own. "I love boy-fit [jeans] with an extra-roomy men's dress shirt and a heel," he says. "Skinny looks great with a tight little Henley or slip top, and I love a relaxed fit with an easy T-shirt and flat sneakers. For me, it's all about being simple."

Ready to step up your denim game? Take a cue from Wang and learn how to cuff your jeans like a pro—one simple step that can change your entire look. If you're cuffing a pair of boy-fit jeans, Wang recommends folding the legs twice: "You want a little dimension."

So what's a brand-new jeans designer's own favorite pair? All-American, vintage Levi's—Wang says he used to wear his all the time. "Mine were super oversize and had a lot of life in them. They were torn and had paint splatters," he says. Wearing your jeans to shreds? Yeah, pretty sure Wang's fans will be doing that too.

—with reporting by Priya Rao