RUF DIAMONDS
From modest beginnings (just four pairs of jeans), Rufskin now celebrate 15 successful years. Hubert Pouches and Douglas Coats are the photography and design dynamos behind the sexy, sometimes subversive, global menswear brand. Together, they look back at
Rufskin celebrate 15 successful years, and Hubert Pouches and Douglas Coats, the photography and design dynamos behind the sexy global brand, look back at their achievement.
DNA: How did the Rufskin story start? What inspired you to create the first pieces, and what were they?
We started the company with denim, actually. Hubert was helping a friend with his line and designed four jeans in addition to his own collection. Our friend decided to go back to car design so we went ahead and honored the orders we took at Magic in Vegas [an international fashion expo].
You have the Rufskin Denim jeans range, you also had a denim bikini brief at one point. Is denim still a favourite fabric?
The company was created around denim and the stretch denim underwear line came immediately following because it was the primary concept of Rufskin. Hubert, while working in Brazil, allowed us to add the underwear, swimwear and the sportswear collections soon after. But the company itself prides itself on Rufskin Denim. What were the options for sexy men’s jeans back in 2001?
Almost non-existent and that was the reason behind these first four items. A few months later we went on to create the brand Rufskin.
Where does the name Rufskin come from?
It comes from casca-grossa, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu term meaning “tough skin”.
What were the early days of the business like? Was there a period of trial and error before you found your groove?
The early years were as one can imagine a startup business to be; long hours, frustration and lots of hard work. We created a small studio in our garage and packaged and shipped our goods from there. We were lucky that we decided to manufacture our denim jeans locally so we were able to keep a better eye on production. We were both juggling between our other jobs until we finally realised Rufskin was taking over our lives completely and that we wanted to dedicate our time to something we owned together. Besides, working from home turned out to be really satisfying.
Who were your first customers and how fast did the business grow?
It was a handful of respected men’s wholesale accounts we met at that trade show earlier in the year. They came from all corners of the globe and it was exciting enough to keep us motivated. We started to receive emails from distributors, licensees and larger companies almost immediately and we honestly weren’t ready for it. Remember, globally, this was also the time selling retail online was just in the starting phase. >>
Hubert has no restraint for mixing unusual colour combinations. Interestingly, he always wears black.