Archive note: This newly written historical account revisits Scott Morrison and 3×1, subjects of an earlier Grandpa Style entry. It draws on reporting from 2011–2014; the original feature and photographs are not reproduced.
A workshop inside the shop
Scott Morrison’s early 3×1 concept brought the making of jeans into the retail experience. Trendland’s June 2011 report described a SoHo shop where cutters, sewers and patternmakers worked behind glass. Customers could see processes that usually remained separate from choosing a finished garment.
The report connected the name, pronounced “three by one,” to denim’s weaving construction and to Morrison’s third denim label. After his earlier work with Paper Denim & Cloth and Earnest Sewn, the emphasis here was on fabric, construction and participation in design.
Three levels of choice
The early service menu separated several kinds of customization. In Dena Silver’s September 2014 interview for The Daily Front Row, Morrison described bespoke work as starting with an individual pattern and involving several fittings. That is a different level of intervention from selecting details on an existing fit.
Read together, the 2011 and 2014 accounts describe the following distinctions:
| Early service | What the customer could shape |
|---|---|
| Ready-made | Select an existing pair, with choices such as hardware and hemming described in the 2011 report. |
| Custom-made | Start from an offered style or fit, then choose fabric and details such as pockets and thread. |
| Bespoke | Develop an individual pattern and refine the result through fittings, as Morrison explained in 2014. |
These are historical descriptions of 3×1’s early offering. Prices, appointment arrangements and delivery times from those reports should not be treated as a current service menu.
Fabric before finish
In Jane Herman’s November 2013 Jean Stories interview, Morrison described beginning with the fabric. He would make jeans from an unfamiliar denim and wear them over several months, using what he observed to inform later choices about washes and the collection’s direction.
This was his account of a design process. It helps explain why cloth and fit belong in the same conversation: the fabric is part of the garment being developed, rather than a decorative choice added at the end. His personal wear routine is not a universal washing schedule.
What to take from the archive
Our practical reading is to ask what a customization service actually changes. Which parts of the fit can be adjusted? Is the pattern individual? What can a fitting resolve? Those questions make the process easier to understand than a customization label alone.
For another denim project, read about G-Star RAW and RAW for the Oceans. For everyday styling, see watches with denim and workwear, or return to the Archive.