G-STAR RAW WANTS YOU TO UNLEARN DENIM AS YOU KNOW IT

G-Star Raw's Aitor Throup looks like a skater dude and talks like an anthropology professor. The executive creative director throws out phrases like "the great unlearning" while fidgeting with a neon baseball hat. He's won prestigious fellowships and directed music videos for Kasabian. Oh, did we mention he made the District 13 uniforms for The Hunger Games?

This steady streak of success might require some Type A discipline, but Throup is actually pretty funny—calling my interview questions "super personal, like third date questions!"—and walking us through his first-ever womenswear collection for G-Star Raw Research.

"I'm obsessively interested in design principles like ergonomics, 3-D design frames, and holistic construction, and those ideas are as relevant for men as for women. So why are words like utility, function, multi-purpose—why are those words only used for menswear? Functionality isn't masculine," he insists. "It's just cool."

Also cool: many pieces from his maiden collection, including coil-stitched pants, acid orange jackets, and raw ivory denim so fine and soft that it mimics parachute material. "I'm in love with this one, because when we think of raw denim, we think it has to be heavy, stiff, and really deep blue. But that's a mind map that we have to destroy. Denim's actually a fabric. That fabric is 3x1 twill made from cotton. And beyond that, it's up to you.