Rogue Territory

Karl Thoennessen and Leslie Yeung built RGT piece by piece from Los Angeles. Japanese selvedge denims (Collect, Nihon Menpu) in modern American cuts. "Rogue Territory is about exploration."

Karl Thoennessen grew up knowing nothing about denim. Early 2000s, a friend came back from abroad with a pair of Evisu. That was the trigger. Thoennessen moved to Los Angeles and showed up at Brian Kim's door, founder of THVM Jeans, asking for an apprenticeship. He expected to sweep fabric scraps, but within two weeks he'd made his first pair of jeans. Three months later, Kim moved on. Thoennessen stayed.

He opened a custom jeans workshop at American Rag's World Denim Bar, an LA institution. On his second day, the idea for Rogue Territory was born. For the next two and a half years, he made custom jeans for everyone from movie stars to locals. Firefighter pants from 1960s naval canvas, hickory stripe miner overalls, jeans with oversized buckle pockets. Every piece was a prototype.

Functionality drove everything. Thoennessen was always looking for a pencil when drafting patterns, so he added a pen pocket to his jeans. It became the brand's signature. He worked in parallel on a classic five-pocket he called "the Dean," named after movie stars, before finding it cheesy and renaming it Stanton, derived from "standard." In October 2009, Rogue Territory filled its first order.

HQ was the garage behind his house in Glendale. Cardstock patterns on the wall, Native American lithographs against rolls of Kurabo selvedge, a Bichon terrier darting between stacks of jeans headed for Tenue de Nimes in Amsterdam. Production is handled at a downtown LA workshop, but Karl controls everything. No seasonal calendar, when he has something new, he puts it out.

Leslie Yeung joined as co-founder. Today RGT employs 5 people, office on Glendale Blvd. Denims come from Japanese mills: Collect (Japan Blue), Nihon Menpu, Kurabo. Among enthusiasts, RGT is regularly cited as the best value in made-in-USA denim. Fans call the Strong Taper and Supply Jacket "grails." Stockists worldwide: Need Supply, Dutil, Tenue de Nimes, stuf-f. "I'm in it for the long haul," says Thoennessen. Fifteen years later, he's still in his garage.