MOTHER’S HOME

With his first-ever flagship store open, MOTHER co-founder Tim Kaeding shares the philosophy behind the brand’s enduring appeal.

This is one big guy the jean-loving American public will be thrilled to meet. Fifteen years after launching MOTHER Denim, Lela Becker and Tim Kaeding recently unveiled the brand’s first stand-alone location, affectionately called “The Big Boy.”

Calling The Big Boy less a store and more of a place to wander, linger, and see what happens, co-founder and creative director Kaeding and his team shaped the flagship to feel like “the kind of house you would have wanted to hang out in during your childhood.”

The nearly 4,000-square-foot Beverly Hills store opened last month, offering guests a California funhouse of experiences. From the rotating “Cabinet of Curiosities” filled with artifacts from MOTHER’s creative universe, to the sunken conversation pit with adjacent café, plus boudoir-inspired pink fitting rooms, the store’s layout twists and turns, offering guests unexpected discoveries from one room to the next.

The opening coincides with the launch of MOTHER’s Fall 2026 collection, which includes denim, ready-to-wear, outerwear, knits, and accessories, as well as limited-edition products and seasonal exclusives available only in Beverly Hills.

Marking the significance of this milestone, Kaeding took a moment with Sheridan Road to reflect on his own North Shore childhood, as well as key elements that shaped the MOTHER brand.

Midwest roots gave Kaeding a mindset distinct from many designers who came up entirely in New York or Los Angeles.

“I think growing up in the Midwest gave me a healthy sense of perspective and absolutely kept me grounded,” he says. “At the end of the day, we’re making jeans at MOTHER. We care deeply about what we do, but we also like to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously. Also, I’ve always believed the product must do the talking. You can have the best campaign in the world, but if the jeans don’t fit, none of it matters.”

From the start, shaping MOTHER’s distinct emotional identity—nostalgic, rebellious, humorous, California-cool—was entirely intentional.

“I actually spent about a year building the brand before I even designed the first pair of jeans because I knew MOTHER had to have a personality that stood for something beyond denim,” he explains. “Humor, nostalgia, and a bit of mischief have always been just as important as the product itself. Those ideas have stayed consistent over the last 15 years because they’re authentic to who we are.”

That same spirit informed the brand’s personality from the beginning. “What you were wearing, who you were getting into trouble with. Both Lela and I were raised by single moms in the ‘70s, so a lot of that spirit comes from our own experiences. There was this sense of freedom, independence, and a little bit of rebellion that we wanted to capture.”

Denim’s timeless connection to American culture became another cornerstone of the brand’s identity.

“Jeans are one of the few things almost everyone owns, but they also become completely personal with wear. The fades, the rips, the ways they soften over time. Those things can’t be manufactured. They’re earned,” Kaeding muses. “They tell the story of the person wearing them. I think that’s why denim never really goes away. Jeans fit into your life instead of asking you to fit into theirs. They’ve always represented individuality and I think people are craving that now more than ever.”

That philosophy continues to guide every collection. Rather than chasing trends, MOTHER focuses on creating the pair that customers return to year after year. “People don’t fall in love with jeans because they’re trendy. They fall in love with the pair that makes them feel like the best version of themselves. That’s always been our focus, creating quality denim that fits beautifully, feels great, and becomes the pair you reach for time and time again.”

The recent 10th anniversary of MOTHER’s The Hustler jean underscores both the staying power of a great design and the importance of a strong narrative. “The Hustler has always been more than a pair of jeans,” says Kaeding. “She’s a character—the kind of person your mother warned you about. Celebrating her decade reminded me that a great product can last, but great stories last even longer.”

The Fall 2026 collection is a beautiful example of MOTHER’s signature blend of vintage inspiration with modern silhouettes. In the racy Wild Track collection, leopard print lends a dangerous feline feel to jackets, tees, and bottoms, while accessories juxtapose metal studs and grommets with lush velvet, sherpa, and mohair fabrics. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Cowboy collection imagines an alien portal in the Wild West, beaming buyers up to the astral plane with lassos still in hand. Here, traditional ranch wear elements such as sturdy bootcut fits and Western shirting get cosmic updos with space dust sparkles, neon embroidery, and glitter, chrome, and jewel ornamentation.

Talking inspiration, “I still spend a lot of time shopping vintage,” Kaeding confides. “Originality is often hiding in the past. You just have to keep looking.”

Personality-driven collaborations, such as the 2025 La DoubleJ project, and MOTHER’s fun Spring 2026 Tastes Great collab with Martha Stewart, are also still a part of the company’s DNA. “It’s pretty simple,” says Kaeding. “We collaborate with people we admire or find interesting. Usually one of us says, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if …?’ And the conversation starts there. If there’s a shared point of view and good story to tell, we’re in.”

For the Tastes Great collection, “We started thinking about who truly embodies the food world,” says Kaeding, “Martha is the undisputed queen of that realm, but also brings a playful self-awareness and a bit of the rascal to everything she does. In that way, Martha is MOTHER. She’s witty, funny, a little cheeky, and completely herself. She’s built a career by doing things on her own terms, and she still knows how to surprise people. That confidence and sense of humor felt very natural to us.”

While Kaeding has a knack for instinctively knowing when a new fit is ready for the market, his biggest challenge with denim today is keeping manufacturing alive in Los Angeles. Although much of the industry has moved overseas, more than 90 percent of MOTHER’s product is made in Los Angeles. “We’ve always believed the best product comes from being close to the people who make it,” Kaeding explains. “I can fit a sample in the morning and be talking to our makers that afternoon. You can’t replace that, and it’s worth protecting.”

Whatever the next 15 years bring for MOTHER, Kaeding is okay with some uncertainty. “You can walk in with a plan and still have no idea what the day is going to throw at you. Not knowing is part of the job. I do hope that if someone opens their closet 10 years from now, they’ll be reaching for their favorite pair of jeans, and that pair will be a MOTHER.”

To view the collections, visit motherdenim.com.