Guest in Residence
We collaborated directly with founder Gigi Hadid over roughly a year to build Guest in Residence’s inaugural women’s denim line. Led by Gigi’s vision for her personal uniform, pairing live-in jeans with core cashmere, Benjamin Talley Smith brought his two decades of technical denim design to the partnership. Together, they developed four essential silhouettes engineered for immediate softness, precision fit, and instant familiarity.
OVERVIEW
When Guest in Residence set out to expand beyond its iconic knitwear, Gigi Hadid spearheaded the launch of the brand’s specialized denim category, bringing in Benjamin Talley Smith to collaborate on bringing her vision to life. Working closely together, Gigi guided the line's creative direction and everyday utility, while Ben translated her ideas through his deep technical pattern architecture and industry design background. Combining Gigi's clear personal style with Ben’s technical expertise and vintage reference archive, they co-designed four distinct, lifestyle-driven styles.
Under Gigi’s creative direction, Ben helped curate all raw material choices and wash finishes, selecting premium 100% rigid cottons and custom cotton-lyocell flex blends from Turkish mills to achieve an ultrasoft, lived-in feel right off the rack. Drawing from authentic vintage references, they developed dimensional washes, spanning near-white, '70s vintage blue, and sun-faded black with subtle whiskering, alongside corduroy and garment-dyed options. They finalized every signature detail together, including custom logo buttons, rivets, back waistband pocket geometry, and a custom leather branding patch.
The collection is available through Guest in Residence flagship stores in New York and Los Angeles, GuestInResidence.com, and select wholesale partners.
STRATEGY & TREND
Strategic design collaboration for category expansion led by Gigi Hadid
Joint collection architecture and line planning
Vintage archive curation and wash development direction
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Design Direction
Denim Trend Forecasting
Color & Wash Palette Creation
Identity Systems: Logo & Trim Design
Illustration & Line Art
Technical Packs & BOM Creation
Fittings, Size & Grading Specs
Fabric Selection & Testing Protocols
Lab Dips & Color Approvals
Logo & Trim Development
Prototype Evaluations
PRODUCTION & SOURCING
Domestic & International Sourcing Base
Assessment of Mills, Laundries & Factories
Introductions to Mills, Laundries & Factories
Sustainable Sourcing Options
Production Approvals
Final Quality Control