Random Questions For... Chip & Pepper Foster

Q: What do you get when you mix two creative Canadian twins with a bent for fashion, a bunch of premium denim and California skate/surf culture?

A: Chip & Pepper jeans, of course!

Now take the same two Energizer Bunny brothers, toss a few irreverent questions their way, and watch the sparks fly.

The first time I interviewed Chip and Pepper Foster a few years ago for a shopping piece, we spent an afternoon trolling the racks of Bloomingdale’s in Soho, where they ping-ponged from floor to floor, clowning around and entertaining everyone in their wake (to say they are irrepressible is a mild understatement).

So it should come as no surprise that in addition to helming their own super-successful sportswear line (which they launched in 1987 before segueing into the premium denim market in 2003, a collection that’s now carried in hundreds of department stores and boutiques in more than 42 countries), the dynamic duo have also been the subject of their own Saturday morning cartoon, hosted an E!/Style Network show called “The Look for Less,” and currently act as fashion correspondents for Extra.

The Fashion Informer tracked down the diminutive yet larger-than-life lookalikes following the opening of their Newport Beach flagship (their third stand-alone C&P store) to talk childhood dreams, sports, fashion and family life. Needless to say, hilarity - and a bit of shameless self-promotion - ensued.

So, Chip and Pepper...

When you were 9, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Chip: An astronaut. I wanted to fly in a shuttle and float in outer space. How cool would that have been?
 
Pepper: And you could have eaten freeze-dried ice cream.
 
Chip: I know. Maybe I will join Lance Bass in the NASA training program.
 
Pepper: I don’t think he passed.
 
Chip: Really? That sucks.
 
Pepper: I wanted to be a professional hockey player. My dream was to play hockey all day long and get paid for it. 



What's the last great movie you saw and why did you enjoy it?
Pepper: I saw “Transformers” recently on the plane. That Megan Fox is hot!
 
Chip: She is smokin’.  I have still have to see that. I just saw the Disney movie “Ratatouille” with my son. It was awesome. I mean, it’s about a rat who can cook. It was hilarious.
 
Pepper: Oh yeah, I saw that too. It is funny.
 
Chip: Let me tell you, those Disney movies are sure entertaining. 



Who do you admire?
Pepper: I admire my brother. He has a beautiful family and knows how to juggle his career with his home life. He is one lucky man.
 
Chip: I was going to say that; I mean about you. It’s just so weird to see my brother grown up and responsible for a family. He is so great with his son and wife. I am just so happy for him and the life he has. To me, he will always be my crazy twin brother; but now he can add amazing dad and husband to his resume.
 
Pepper: Ahh…thanks Chip. That was so nice.
 
Chip: Excuse us, can we have a moment?



What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Pepper: Chip is going to make fun of me, but I don’t care. I had an energy drink that I got at Whole Foods. It’s perfect for me before I go to the gym. It supplies lots of energy and it tastes good.
 
Chip: That’s my brother. He loves his girly energy drinks. I didn’t eat breakfast this morning because I ran out of my house and forgot. I will eat a big lunch today.
 
Pepper: Breakfast is the meal of champions.
 

How are you similar to your twin and how are you different?
Chip: You mean besides being cooler than him?
 
Pepper: Think what you want to Chip, but I am and always have been the coolest twin,
 
Chip: You are funny Pep.
 
Pepper: Chip is louder than I am and he also has more of a creative mind.
 
Chip: Pepper is smarter than I am.
 
Pepper: No, I’m not.
 
Chip: Well, you know what I mean. He takes care of more of the business side of Chip & Pepper. We both have creative voices in the company, but I let him handle the stuff I don’t want to.
 
Pepper: We both have a say in everything that goes through this company. We both must love it or it doesn’t happen. We use each other as sounding boards. We bounce everything off each other.
 
Chip: I value my brother’s opinion more than anyone’s. Well, except my wife’s.
 
Pepper: Chip and I may have our differences, but I think we are more similar than not.
 
Chip: Do you remember that one time when we hadn’t seen each other in over a month and we were finally meeting up in Hawaii at the pool and we were wearing the same exact outfit?
 
Pepper: Oh yeah! That was crazy. We had on the same shirt, swim trunks and Converse. That was so funny because we hadn’t seen each other in forever!
 
Chip: It was our scary twin sense.
 
Pepper: We do wear similar outfits more often than not.
 
Chip: I know. Well, we have good taste.
 
Pepper: We do have nice taste. No, but seriously, none of the success we have had would have been as sweet if we weren’t in this together.
 
Chip: It wouldn’t be Chip & Pepper without both of our ideas.



What is your favorite store in the world, other than your own?
Chip: Yikes, this is a tough one. I mean, of course, I have a very special place in my heart for the Chip & Pepper flagship stores, because my brother and I have always dreamed about seeing our names on top of a store. Also, Golf Punk, which was a store we used to own on Melrose, really catapulted our love of denim. We used to go shopping for great vintage denim pieces and we would sell them to everyone including celebrities. Of course, the older pieces of denim featured beautiful washes, but the fits were too utilitarian and not very flattering. They really weren’t wearer-friendly. Knowing what we did, we took our knowledge and made premium denim that showcased fashion-forward fits and everyone loved the way the denim looked and felt. In a way, that’s how Chip & Pepper was born.
 
Pepper: Wow, Chip, you really summed up the history of Chip & Pepper denim in a nice paragraph, but you really didn’t answer the question.
 
Chip: Thanks Pep. Oh yeah, sorry. I just love talking about our history so much, I have many favorite stores, but I love Fred Segal. They have been so great to us from the beginning and they are always ahead of the trends. Plus, they encourage and help out new designers and give them a chance to thrive. Whenever you need anything hip and cool, Fred Segal is sure to have it.
 
Pepper: I’m also fond of stores like Target because you can get everything there. It’s like a one-stop shopping center. And now you can even by groceries there. That is genius!
 


What is your favorite sport?
Chip: Hockey, hands down.
 
Pepper: We actually play every week in a hockey league here in LA. We grew up playing hockey in Canada and it’s a huge part of our lives.
 
Chip: There is nothing better than being on the ice and slamming into people. It’s exhilarating.  
 
Pepper: Wow, Chip…nice word.
 
Chip: Thanks Pep. I love hockey and I try and incorporate my love for the sport in designs for Chip & Pepper.
 
Pepper: We always take the things that inspire us and try and incorporate those things into the line. Another sport I got into more when I moved to LA was football. We like playing football too, but we are always the smallest ones on the field.
 
Chip: We may be small, but no one could beat us.

What is your dream occupation (other than what you're doing now)?
Pepper: I am doing what I want to do, but if I had to choose another job, I would still want to be a professional hockey player.
 
Chip: Yeah, I could never picture doing anything else. Designing clothes and having a company with my brother is all I want to do; and it’s what I was meant to do. But, if I had to choose, I would still want to be flying in space with Lance Bass.
 
Pepper: We are so fortunate because how may people in this world wake up every morning and are excited to go to work? I love my job and I love the people I work with. We are a small family.
 
Chip: My brother said it perfectly. I can’t wait to go to work and be creative. We are very lucky to be doing what we want to do. 



Tell me about your favorite piece of clothing/jewelry that you own and why it's so special to you.
Pepper: I have this old Chip & Pepper Wetwear sweatshirt that is tie-dyed pink and has our signature bulldogs on the front that I love. I don’t really wear it very often because it is so special to me. I have it in my closet, but I often look at it to remember where my brother and I started. I cherish all of our Wetwear clothes that we made back in the eighties and early nineties.
 
Chip: I still wear the Chip & Pepper Wetwear t-shirts. They were so cool. They epitomize our personalities. I think they are classic. 



Favorite holiday?
Chip: My birthday.
 
Pepper: That’s not a holiday, Chip.
 
Chip: It should be.
 
Pepper: I love Halloween. Every year we have a Halloween party at work and everyone dresses up. We have a parade and pot luck. It’s so fun.
 
Chip: Yeah, and you can win awesome prizes if you dress up. Also, now that I have become a dad, I love Christmas. I love watching Lake open up his presents. Finn is still too young to know what’s going on, but there is nothing like watching your kids get excited about Santa and Christmas lights.
 
Pepper: Chip was afraid of Santa Claus.
 
Chip: You were afraid of the Easter Bunny.



How can I tell Chip & Pepper apart if I've just met them?
Chip: I’m the handsome one.
 
Pepper: No, you’re not. Everyone knows I’m better looking.
 
Chip: Sure, Pepper. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
 
Pepper: Chip is usually louder than I am.
 
Chip: Yeah, I am pretty loud. Also, our hair is different right now.
 
Pepper: I just got my hair cut. It’s very reminiscent of a true rock star, like David Bowie.
 
Chip: Haha…you just compared your hair to David Bowie’s.
 
Pepper: Everyone knows I’m as cool as David Bowie.



What freaks you out?
Pepper: Chip’s toenails and his hair, especially when he doesn’t wash it. Who knows what is crawling around in there.

Chip: Nothing freaks me out. I like to freak people out. 



When are you happiest?
Pepper: I’m the happiest when I’m with my brother.
 
Chip: Ahh, that’s so sweet Pep. I just barfed in my mouth a little bit. No, seriously I am the happiest when I’m with my family. There’s nothing better than coming home to my wife and two boys. When Lake, my eldest son, says “I love you, Daddy,” that just makes me melt inside. It’s too much.
 
Pepper: There is nothing better than family. Being able to share these experiences with my wife and son is amazing and I feel like I’m the luckiest person on earth.
 
Chip: We don’t take anything for granted. We know how lucky we are.

Stay tuned next week for Random Questions For...Mary Alice Stephenson.