A SCOTS designer who produces handmade jeans for the rich and famous is refusing to tailor denim for fatties.
Glasgow-based Robert Watson charges at least £1,000 for a made-to-measure pair of Rabbie Denim jeans.
Customers include Kevin Bridges and Scotland and Everton star Steven Naismith, and Robert was once flown out to the HQ of Barcelona FC to measure up officials for his jeans.
But the fashion guru, 35, has now decided to do his bit to tackle Scotland’s obesity crisis.
From now on, he says he will not produce jeans with a waist size in excess of size 40.
He explained: “I don’t want someone to die in my jeans on a stoat to the shops.
“That’s fashion responsibility.
“I’ve actually stopped the sizes at a 40. I shouldn’t even be making them at a 40 but I am, sadly.
“Any guy that’s over a 40, he’s not in good health. You’re over 44 inches. You want to be cutting down on the pies.
“By the time you’re over a size 38 you’re not going to look good anyway.”
“It doesn’t matter what you wear, you’re just going to look kind of heavy.”
Asked if he was being sizeist, Robert replied: “Fat rights? You say, ‘I’m not a fattist, you’re the fattest’. And then you run.”
The jeans are hand-stitched by a small team in a Glasgow workshop.
Made from heavy 14oz raw denim fabric, and cut horizontally across the grain rather than vertically, the off-the-peg garments normally cost between £180 and £380 each.
But if Robert hand-stitches the jeans and measures up the wearer himself, as he did for Kevin Bridges, the bill can hit at least £1,000.
Mr Watson launched a new workshop in Glasgow’s Spier’s Wharf area three months ago.
Last week, award winning Dutch breakdancer, Menno van Gorp shot a video there, whilst also wearing a pair of Rabbie Denim jeans.
The Financial Times included Robert among the world’s top luxury denim tailors, saying that he offered the “perfect upgrade from off-the-peg”.
