Anyone in Brazil who is old enough to remember wearing jeans in the ’80s, will remember Zoomp’s denim craze. Similar to what Diesel is today—but on a national level—Zoomp was the most covetable brand of denim and its designer, Renato Kherlakian, became the jeanswear king of Brazil. Sadly, after being sold, Zoomp’s glorious era perished in a soap opera-worthy decline underlined by scandals and debts. Given the circumstances, we assumed the last thing Kherlakian would ever consider doing again was jeanswear, but he’s back in the game and has opened his showroom to a selected few, presenting a deluxe denim brand that takes jeanswear cut and fit to its highest level yet.

Titled after his initials, Kherlakian studied the aesthetic lifestyle choices of the women around him to determine the perfect fit. “To improve a denim cut became an obsession for me, and the study of this new anatomy and proportions gives RK denim higher fit level,” he explains. He proudly added that RK differs from national and international jeans because of its special washes (some taking more than 60 hours to be completed) and sartorial techniques adapted to create flattering lines and unique comfort.

Although RK is available in luxury multi brand stores like Daslu and Jeans Hall—both of which are known for selling premium jeanswear from around the world—Kherlakian considers the premium jeans concept to be worn out, massive and not living up to its label. “Today the international luxury brands that dominated the market are focused on the high price and international trends. For me, the product, the brand and exaggerated quality levels are linked in such way that the pieces can be presented backwards and will still surprise the buyer for its finishing,” he says. Kherlakian also believes his pieces will set a new weight for the national jeanswear segment. Putting his past behind him, we can only wait and hope to fit into his jeans.

—Flávia Mendonça