jean genius

My new Madewell jeans are the rare kind that make me stand taller and feel slimmer. The fit is so precise, so right--but also one size up from my normal! So, they've prompted me to ask: what changed? Turns out, the answer comes in the form of one man—Benjamin Talley Smith. Known as the “denim whisperer,” Smith has worked behind the scenes for nearly two decades, quietly shaping the jeans industry from luxury labels to mass-market retailers. He’s the fit-first architect behind those original Khaite jeans—the ones that had editors in a chokehold and inspired countless knockoffs. He’s also worked his magic for brands like Reformation and Ulla Johnson. And now? He’s turned his attention to Madewell, consulting on their fall denim assortment to make the fits sharper, the proportions more flattering, and the wearability effortless. You feel it the second you zip them up—no gaping waist, no awkward bunching, no mysterious extra fabric in the wrong places. Just clean, modern lines that hug exactly where they should. It’s the kind of fit you expect from a $400 designer jean, smuggled into an under-$150 price tag.