How A World-Renowned Denim Designer Made My New Favorite T-Shirt

An interview with Asher designer Simon Miller, plus an exclusive 25% off the brand's products.

Jun 08, 2025

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Over the last few weeks I worked on an Instagram project with Shopbop, where, during the planning phase of the gig, I was able to select products from the hundreds on their website to highlight in a series about summer style. As I poured through pages upon pages of gear, I stumbled upon a T-shirt that, at least through my phone screen showed promise—the fit and wash look pretty nice, I thought—but which came from a brand I had never heard of before called Asher.

While I didn’t know anything about Asher, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a chance on a tee, as after all, if it ended up being a dud, I could just pivot to something else to shout out. Luckily, this wasn’t an issue I had to reckon with. In fact, basically the opposite became true. The tee turned out to not just be something I felt good about endorsing in an IG Reel, but one I want to own in numerous colors and wear as often as I can (within hygienic limits).

Dubbed the Noah cotton-linen tee, my initial reaction when putting it on was that it hit that elusive sweet spot in terms of how I want a T-shirt to fit—true to size (medium in my case), not too baggy or too slim, while featuring a solid, non-flimsy neckline, and long-ish, but not too long sleeves. The body had enough length to tuck in, but also was not so elongated as to throw off outfit proportions when worn out. And then there was the fabric—a cotton-linen blend that breathed like a dream while still retaining its shape, and all of which was brought to life in a washed, vintage-evoking faded black hue. Later, I picked up the 100% cotton versions, and again was taken aback, this time by just how soft they felt while still being structured, and how nicely they fit. The idea of a “perfect tee” is different for everyone, but for me, Asher’s line-up seemed to have options that were getting pretty dang close.

Now, I could have just stopped there, had you take my word for it (or not) that these tees really are the truth, and been on my way. Instead, my next thought was to reach out to the Asher team to find out from the source how these seemingly simple knits had been conjured up and ultimately dialed in.

The guy behind them was none other than Simon Miller—the New Zealand-born designer and industry vet who made a name for himself in the late 2000s with his namesake label, which produced some of the best premium denim of the day. If you’re wondering what he’s been up to since then, he launched a new denim brand called Fabric Brand & Co. in 2013, spent a stint as Creative Director at Citizens of Humanity, but popped up in 2023 at Asher—which as it turns out, is a fabric house that’s long been a quiet powerhouse among insiders—to launch its first-ever menswear collection aimed at the public.

These days, that same dedication Miller once committed to jeans that were renowned for wash, fit, and fabric, he is now deploying on things like T-shirts, hoodies, and sweatpants. The perk of being embedded at a fabric house like Asher, he told me, is that unlike typical brands, there are basically no limits to how much tweaking and experimenting they can do to get something right. Sure, he admits he sometimes goes a little overboard, but it’s hard to argue with the results: T-shirts that don’t just look good, but feel high quality and built to withstand years of wears and washing the second you throw ‘em on.

Below, I spoke to Miller over Zoom about how he first got connected with Asher, why making T-shirts with the backing of a fabric house is a “super power” that helps the brand’s products stand out, and why ultimately, the label’s $75 tees are worth it. Below that, you’ll find a 25% code to everything in the Asher offering, which also includes things like hoodies, sweatpants, jackets, work pants, and as Simon told me in our conversation, soon jeans, too.

This newsletter is ENTIRELY funded by subscriptions. I don’t use affiliates, and all of these products are things I’ve endorsed because I actually like them—though in some cases I did not pay for them. Point is, your subscriptions are both extremely cool and very much appreciated. Thank you!

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How A World-Renowned Denim Designer Made My New Favorite T-Shirt

An interview with Asher designer Simon Miller, plus an exclusive 25% off the brand's products.

This newsletter is ENTIRELY funded by subscriptions. I don’t use affiliates, and all of these products are things I’ve endorsed because I actually like them—though in some cases I did not pay for them. Point is, your subscriptions are both extremely cool and very much appreciated. Thank you!

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