Lee, the iconic denim brand, has embarked on a groundbreaking journey in collaboration with renowned couturier Suneet Varma and Ace Turtle, the exclusive licensee of Lee in India. Together, they have unveiled a collection titled “Denim Beyond Definition,” which redefines the very essence of denim fashion.
This collaboration represents a departure from the conventional styles of Lee in India. Instead, it introduces a bold fusion of classic denim with elements of Indian couture. From corsets to bell-bottom jeans, and dresses to maxi skirts, each piece in the collection reflects Varma’s distinctive style, characterized by intricate embellishments, threadwork, and mirror detailing.
The collection’s aesthetic is further elevated with the inclusion of gold foil prints, plaid patterns, and metallic riveting, adding a touch of glamour and sophistication to casual denim wear. Varma himself describes the journey as an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries of denim fashion, transcending traditional norms and offering a unique blend of elegance and comfort.
Nitin Chhabra, CEO of Ace Turtle, emphasizes the strategic vision behind this collaboration. By introducing trendsetting collections like “Denim Beyond Definition,” Lee aims to cater to the evolving preferences of Indian consumers, offering premium and unique products that resonate with the modern audience.
The availability of the collection both online and in select Lee stores across India underscores a strategic approach to reach a wide audience and meet the growing demand for innovative fashion choices.
In essence, the collaboration between Lee and Suneet Varma signifies a transformative narrative in fashion. By reimagining denim as a canvas for creativity and self-expression, the “Denim Beyond Definition” collection offers a refreshing perspective on contemporary style, seamlessly blending casual comfort with timeless elegance. As Lee continues to push boundaries and embrace new possibilities, it sets the stage for a future where denim fashion knows no bounds.
Continuing our weekly news snippets, here are some interesting ones for Week 50.
COTTON PRODUCTION LIKELY TO GROW OVER 350 LAKH BALES, AS PER INDIAN COTTON FEDERATION
The Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) predicts that India’s cotton production would exceed 350 lakh bales during the cotton season 2021-22 (October to September). According to J.Thulasidharan, President, ICF , the rise in the minimum support price (MSP) has encouraged farmers and helped preserve the area under cotton. It has also encouraged farmers to implement improved crop management methods. Simultaneously, demand for exports was strong as well. At the Federation’s annual meeting, the office-bearers elected new officers, including J. Thulasidharan (President), P. Natraj and Adhitya Krishna Pathy (Vice-Presidents), and Nishant Asher (Secretary).
J. Thulasidharan also emphasised the need of addressing concerns such as fibre quality, correct grading, improved seed, and measures to achieve higher output. He went on to say that the next revolution will only come through increased yield. With the appropriate measures, Indian farmers may achieve a 1,000 kg output, which should be a priority for all stakeholders.
LEE JEANS LAUNCHES THEIR NEW VIRTUAL STORE
Lee Jeans has unveiled its first virtual store, allowing buyers to visit its Europe flagship in Antwerp and learn more about the brand’s ‘For A World That Works’ (FWTW) sustainability initiative. Consumers may browse an interactive three-dimensional retail area, exploring things in a store setting before effortlessly adding purchases to their purchasing basket, in the virtual store. The goal of digital shopping is to offer a real-world experience without the stress that often comes with in-person purchasing. The immersive experience also allows Lee to highlight its FWTW sustainability platform through a series of interactive buttons and movies that highlight innovations and activities geared to lessen the effect on people and the environment.
The virtual store’s navigation has been developed to allow consumers to come in from the street, enter the store, and browse products such as men’s and women’s clothing, as well as the exclusive Lee 101 collection. The virtual store is accessible via the Lee Jeans’ website and social media platforms.
PVH AND ECOVATIVE COLLABORATE ON A SUSTAINABLE FASHION COOPERATIVE
Ecovative has formed an international sustainable fashion cooperative with Bestseller and PVH Corp. Both Bestseller and PVH Corp. will get first access to Ecovative’s mycelium technologies and will collaborate with the company on the development of mycelium materials for goods and consumer applications. Ecovative has been generating mycelium for a variety of partners across the world, and will offer ForagerT Hides, an alternative leather material, in 2021.
Ecovative’s mycelium produces a ready-to-finish product that is free of plastic scrims and petroleum-based coatings. It is totally comprised of bio-based materials. Designers from Bestseller and PVH Corp., as well as Ecovative’s engineers, will collaborate with Fashion for Good Cooperative members to create, build, and test a research and development plan. Together, the cooperative will develop mycelium materials for the consumer market. “Working directly with fashion brands and tanneries, we make beautiful, high-performing and sustainable materials without harming animals or the planet,†said Gavin McIntyre, Ecovative co-founder and chief business officer.
PATAGONIA TO DONATE PROCEEDS FROM BLACK FRIDAY SALES FOR THE PLANET
US-based clothing brand, Patagonia, received an amazing $10 million in Black Friday sales, five above its own expectations, and will donate every penny to help save the environment as pledged. The high-end outdoor apparel and gear retailer revealed the record-breaking haul, stating that its customers’ “enormous passion” for the environment will benefit hundreds of grassroots environmental organizations worldwide. According to corporate spokeswoman Corley Kenna, the idea for the “fundraiser for the world” originated during an internal brainstorming gathering following the U.S. presidential election. Patagonia was looking for a means to raise awareness about the importance of the environment and climate change.
According to a press release, the funds earned via Patagonia’s Black Friday campaign will benefit grassroots environmental groups, many of which are small, underfunded, and off the radar, who are “working on the front lines to safeguard our air, water, and land for future generations.”
FOREVER 21 ENTERS METAVERSE WITH ROBLOX TO CREATE VIRTUAL FASHION STORES
Forever 21 collaborated with Roblox to create a digital experience. Users will be able to develop, own, and operate their own own business within the game, dubbed the Forever 21 Shop City. Clothing and accessories from Forever 21 will be available for purchase. As players strive to become the top store in the experience, they may hire non-player characters as employees. The experience is a community-focused game that will be accompanied by a number of partnerships. Roblox users @Builder Boy, @Beeism, @OceanOrbsRBX, and @JazzyX3 have collaborated to design an unique apparel collection for Forever 21 Shop City.
The shop will also have stores developed specifically by influencers such as KrystinPlays, Shaylo, and the Sopo Squad. Builders can choose and swap their locations anywhere in the game, perform tasks like stocking inventory and assisting customers, customise the interior, obtain merchandise that Forever 21 has released in its physical stores, and use architectural themes like cottage core and cyber punk for their stores. Obstacle courses, entertainment, a food court, and a yellow carpet will be available in Forever 21 Shop City’s four themed districts.
MARKS & SPENCER APPOINTS DIGITAL PRODUCT CHIEF TO BOOST ITS OMNICHANNEL OPERATIONS
Krista Nordlund, Marks & Spencer’s first chief digital product officer, has been appointed to strengthen the company’s digital capabilities. Nordlund is presently the chief product officer of RentPath, a digital rental marketplace in the United States that she joined in 2016. Her CV also includes posts at consumer-facing companies such as USA Today, Expedia, and US Airways. She will join M&S in January and will be responsible for developing improvements to the company’s app and website in order to improve the consumer experience across all digital touchpoints.
M&S has been undergoing a digital transition in recent years, with the goal of putting digital first rather than just seeing it as an extension of its physical operations. According to the company, this concentration has resulted in tremendous digital growth, as indicated by a 50% rise in app users by 2021. It currently has 14 million members in its redesigned Sparks loyalty programme.
“It’s a great time to be joining M&S as increasing numbers turn to online shopping and the business builds its omnichannel offering. I see a huge opportunity to support the next phase of our transformation by taking the digital experiences we offer customers to the next level.†said Nordlund on her appointment.
Iconic American brands Lee and Pendleton have recently announced the launch of their first collaboration. Lee, the famed fashion label known for its ageless aesthetic, and Pendleton Woolen Mills, the family-owned lifestyle brand based in the Pacific Northwest, have joined forces on a selected capsule that honours American craftsmanship and artistry. Both Kontoor-owned brands designed and created an assortment that reflects their origins in a contemporary way, while having almost 300 years of textile and garment-making expertise between them.
“Working with Lee was a perfect pairing for Pendleton. Their authentic American heritage brand echoes Pendleton’s dedication to quality, design and textile innovation,†said Peter Bishop, Pendleton executive vice president of merchandise and design.
The denim range perfectly captures the American outdoor-meets-work wear vibe.
WHAT THE COLLECTION OFFERS
This limited-edition ensemble retraces wardrobe staples from the brands’ 300 years of collective clothing experience. Original Lee silhouettes including the Lee 101 Jean, Union-Alls, and Storm Rider Jacket have been reinterpreted with Pendleton intricate designs. Each heritage pattern has been recreated in completely new colors on fabric made in the United States. Woolen pieces are harnessed as shirting material and can be seen on collars, pockets, and piping. A minimal wool blanket is also contained in the assortment.
The jeans are handcrafted and produced locally in Greensboro, North Carolina, adding to the capsule’s distinctiveness. These designs provide some of the last remaining American selvedge denim from Cone Denim’s White Oak Mill, which closed in 2017. The fabric, which was spun on old Draper shuttle looms that could only generate 100 yards per day, is yet another thread in this capsule’s that ties links with American textile history. Lee and Pendleton are both wholly accustomed to co-branded endeavors.
The woolen mill has transferred its signature designs to a wide range of items, including Ariat boots, Vans shoes, and Kith loungewear, as well as Hunter ceiling fans and Sunbrella outdoor home accessories. Meanwhile, Lee has increased its collaborative efforts to appeal to a broader range of customers. This year, Lee debuted collaborations with H&M, The Hundreds, and Alife.
As seen by Betty Madden, Lee vice president of global design, Pendleton’s choice of color and patterning has proven to be of great ingenuity for the denim manufacturer.
“Working together is a dream come true. We’ve taken a fresh design approach and incorporated Cone Mills’ selvedge denim to make this collection heirloom quality with stunning craftsmanship. I’m thrilled with this collaboration.†Said Betty Madden, Lee vice president of global design.
THE WHITE OAK SELVEDGE FABRIC
The origins of American selvedge fabric, especially the white oak plant, dates back to 1905. The phrases selvedge denim and self-edge – or self-finished cloth edges – are related. Selvedge denim jeans use the self-edge as a completed seam in the jean construction, particularly along the outseam. Selvedge denim is made using traditional weaving processes. Authentically weaved on antique looms. Selvedge looms were widely used in denim weaving until the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. As global demand for denim increased, US mills began updating their gear to increase production speed, rendering selvedge looms obsolete. Older selvedge looms were slower and produced less consistently. With the demand for denim workwear skyrocketing in the United States. Moses and Ceasar Cone were noted for producing selvedge denim on its 3×1 draper looms, for which it became most famous.
Cone’s famous selvedge denim has been created in the White Oak facility since it was bought in 1905, and the plant was named after a big oak tree that previously stood in its shade. After decades of increasingly disposable jeans from large manufacturers, customers increasingly learned to value the toughness, longevity, and build quality of denim manufacturers like Cone. Today, selvedge weaving has regained prominence due to the weaving technique’s legacy and the mills that prefer to produce it.
THE LEE 101 JEANS
The first pair of Lee 101 jeans was crafted in the American Midwest in 1924. A heavy-duty, robust pair of jeans to fulfill the now-legendary Cowboy’s work and leisure needs. The groundbreaking, crisp fit designed in high-quality textiles meant that the 101 became renowned among both weathered lone riders and showmen like rodeo stars. The unique vintage denim is colored and then woven using looms that have been utilized in Japan for the previous 50 years. Back pockets with an S-curve and a spade shape, X-tacks, a hip pocket label, and Lee brand rivets and buttons. Now in the ninth decade of the 101’s existence, Lee intends to launch a line of clothing to commemorate the 101’s historically significant background, proudly displaying the exquisite workmanship and glorifying the pioneering spirit that inspired it.
Men’s and women’s pants, shirts, jackets, and Union-Alls are included in the collection, as is a limited-edition woolen blanket with an exclusive Pendleton stripe design. The collection, which ranges in price from $175 to $400, is available online on Lee’s and Pendleton’s websites. It will also be accessible in select Pendleton stores and local boutiques later this month.
H&M- one of the leading voices when it comes to sustainability in the fast-fashion world and also one of the few apparel labels which have made a lot of commitments to ensure sustainable practices at each level of production in the coming 10 years. Some of the biggest sustainable targets set by HM include reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and the use of 100% recycled or sustainable materials by 2030.
The recent collaboration of H&M with American denim label Lee to push for the next generation of “more sustainable denim” seems to be a step ahead towards fulfilling its sustainability commitments. This collaboration is unique and special on many counts, and it is great to see two rivals joining hands at every stage of design and production for one common bigger goal, that is –SUSTAINABILITY.
In this special collab, for the 1st time, H&M is coming with its first-ever 100% recycled cotton jeans, to non-leather backpatches made from cork and jacron paper. For the first time, H&M will also share Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data on hm.com indicating the water, C02 & energy impact of each denim garment from raw materials to end of use.
This transparency is matched by the positivity of the fashion, with oversized and cocooning silhouettes as well as workwear shapes that draw on Lee’s esteemed heritage. Lee x H&M features collections for women, men and kids, and will be available on hm.com, as well as selected H&M stores, from 28th January.
“We just loved working with Lee to push for change. A change for more sustainable and circular denim garments. We looked at every detail and challenged each other in a positive way. It’s also amazing to work with Lee’s iconic designs and give them a bit of our flavor, for H&M denim lovers around the world,†says Jon Loman, designer at H&M.
“Lee is proud to be collaborating with H&M to continue our efforts to make better denim. Our brand was founded more than 130 years ago with innovation in mind, and today we are happy to be joining with H&M to advance denim into a more sustainable future,†says Chris Waldeck, EVP Global Brand President, Lee®
Lee x H&M is an ambitious collaboration that has sustainability central to its design. The brands took a holistic approach, looking at every stage of denim production. Fabric is crucial, such as H&M’s first 100% recycled cotton jeans, made from 80% post-industrial waste and 20% post-consumer waste. There’s also denim that’s cotton-free, made instead from renewable man-made fibres, as well water-saving dyes and lower impact denim washes that are 3rd party verified for their lower water usage, chemical, and energy consumption.
For the women’s collection, wide and loose jeans have a 90s throwback feel, while Lee’s classic Rider jacket is recut with an oversized cocoon shape. Denim corsets add a feminine edge, while dungarees and overshirts bring the functional workwear vibe, alongside Texloop™ RCOT™ Recycled Cotton jersey pieces for the full Lee x H&M look.
Candiani is one of the most sustainable denim producers in the world. Denimsandjeans spoke to Mr. Alberto Candiani on sustainability and changes after COVID in the denim industry.
For the men’s collection, workwear jackets are a wardrobe essential with Lee’s true authenticity of the design. Relaxed fit five-pocket jeans are cut from 100% recycled cotton, while relaxed carpenter jeans are made with water-saving dyes and 100% Tencel™ Lyocell cellulosic sewing threads.
There are workwear dungarees, denim bucket hats, and tote bags, as well as heavyweight jersey pieces to complete the more sustainable collection.
Lee Jeans introduces ‘For A World That Works’ , an initiative that unites Lee’s values and heritage, with a new vision for the future, aims to redefine how Lee operates. Through purposeful design, meaningful partnerships, and a commitment to the planet, Lee will bring people together to create a more sustainable future.
Lee Jeans says–
“Since 1889, our founder H.D. Lee has empowered the working world towards a brighter future. We celebrate this legacy by weaving purpose into everything we do, how we act and what we believe in. Sustainability is core to this. We all know the urgency. We all feel the responsibility. That’s why we strive to use the most sustainable options, from responsible sourcing to cleaner manufacturing and eco-innovations. If there’s a more sustainable option, we’ll go after it. So, stand tall for what you believe in. We do at Lee. We passionately challenge ourselves and bring people together to create a stronger and more sustainable future. For people. For planet. For A World That Works™.â€
‘For A World That Works™ brings together Lee Jeans’ ongoing sustainable initiatives with a series of innovative products, all designed to reflect the brand’s commitment to working toward a brighter future for people and the planet. The first three styles, highlighted here, are Indigood Denim, Back to Nature and Sustainable Selvage.
Indigood Denim
Indigood Denim is made from fabrics dyed through a foam dyeing process that does not use water and features 89% fewer chemicals and 65% less energy than traditional dyeing. Certain machine makers and denim mills have been working on this technology and enables Lee Jeans to develop a range . It will also feature signature design details including a black biodegradable patch, a tonal Lazy S on back pockets and recycled hardware. Introduced for Spring Preview ’20 (SP20), Indigood Denim features on two different washes on the popular slim tapered Luke fit men’s jean.
Back to Nature
The Back to Nature Innovation features pieces that are completely biodegradable. Made using entirely compostable linen-cotton yarns, and no rivets, when the garment is no longer needed, the buttons can be unscrewed for re-use and the rest can be thrown into the compost, where it will biodegrade and return to the Earth. Featured in Back to Nature are the men’s iconic Rider Jacket and Rider jeans in a rigid ecru denim. For women an elongated and belted version of the Rider Jacket features alongside wide leg jeans in rigid ecru denim.
Sustainable Selvage
Sustainable Selvage is an ongoing collaboration with Italian denim mill Candiani. The result is a series of jeans created using less energy, water and chemicals. Sustainable production and finishing processes include the use of Kitotex dyeing, derived from the food waste industry, Indigo Juice dyeing – a more superficial yarn dye; and mineral dyeing, using the N-Denim nitrogen dye and Earthcolours dye, which comes from unused natural waste. Sustainable laundry treatments include lasering that does not use chemicals, E-Flow which uses less chemicals and water, and PP spray (used for creating worn effects) has been replaced with an eco-friendly bleaching additive.
In line with the ‘For a World that Works™’ initiative, Lee Jeans has joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign Guidelines, which set out minimum requirements on garment durability, material health, recyclability and traceability. Using the Jeans Redesign Guidelines as a base framework, Lee is creating a portfolio-level scorecard to measure the sustainability performance of all products. Over the next year, this global tool will empower Lee designers to be at the forefront of change, allowing them to view how Lee’s entire product line is progressing on sustainability attributes. As Lee works to build a better future with ‘For A World That Works™’ , the sustainability scorecard will benchmark the initiative’s impact for the brand’s stakeholders and help Lee set internal targets for increasing performance over time.
Lee Jeans recently celebrated 130 years of heritage by going back to Kansas, where the brand was born. Honouring the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of its founder, H.D Lee, the brand has collaborated with the new generation of Kansas creatives.
The campaign stars hip-hop artist, Kye Colors, the co-founders of Brasstacks, Kevin and Molly Jarvis, Chef and owner of The Russell restaurant, Amante Domingo, songwriter and frontwoman Kianna Alarid, stylist, Amy Appleton Dreyer, and Paper Planes bass player and record producer, Danny Santell – who also produced the music to accompany the moving image campaign.
Selected for their love of Lee Jeans and Kansas City, this next generation has also been shot on film, speaking about what the city and Lee Jeans means to them. The brand has also used the city itself to help tell the story of its history, with the campaign shot across significant locations. The Crossroads district is the city’s lively arts neighborhood. It makes a perfect backdrop for the brand’s FW19 collection as it was formerly the freight district from where Lee’s workwear would be transported across the country.
Denimsandjeans speaks to Mr. Michael Kampe – Creative Director Of LEE (EMEA) on Its Return To Kansas City and Sustainability.
Q How does it feel to go back to the place where the brand was actually born? Nostalgic?
The choice to go back to our origin to shoot our campaign, especially when it comes to celebrating the 130 anniversary was an obvious choice. We wanted to pay homage to the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of Henry David Lee and to the city.
Q You have some stars who are LEE lovers adding their own bit to the campaign. Tell us more about how they involved in the campaign.
For the FW19 campaign, Created in Kansas, we have decided to collaborate with the authentic Kansas community of today, people that represent the new generation of do-ers, makers, builders, and creators. All the profiles we have chosen to work with, share the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of our founder, Henry David Lee. So, all the profiles that we’ve selected to showcase our collection are representing the creative and innovative spirit of today’s Kansas.
Q The famous Lee Union-All overalls are also about 130 years plus old and were made first in Kansas only. It must be great to revisit this product in some way.
Being one of the oldest denim and workwear brands in the business means you automatically build a very rich archive. On top of that, with purposeful design in our DNA, some of our original and legendary designs have become iconic and timeless. And we are always going back to our archives for inspiration and search to innovate and revisit our iconic products.
We achieve this by updating the fit, finishing, and fabric we use, making them relevant for today and crafting our icons of the future: take for example this season’s ’Whizit’, based on the Union -All originally, is a workwear classic. Its details are very characteristic and we gave it a more feminine interpretation with an on-trend wide leg and in a fluent draping fabric that pays homage to the original sturdy material it was made in. These pieces are really versatile and work just as well today as in the past or the future, which to us is proof of good design.
Q Sustainability has been focused on during your current season collection using the N-Denim technology of Candiani, BCI Cotton and many other aspects of production. Can you elaborate more on the same?
Indeed, sustainability is a hot topic and together with responsibility, are parts of our main strategies. For FW19 we have several initiatives throughout our collections ranging from recycled denim in some of our Lee 101 items, to sustainable selvedge denim for our best men and women fits and our iconic Rider Jacket. The sustainable denim has been produced by Candiani Mill, reputed as one of the greenest mills in the world, where patented sustainable techniques such as N-Denim, Kitotex, Indigo Dye have been used to dye the fabrics. On top, we have used organic cotton for our classic one pocket Tshirts.
Q Has LEE defined any long-term sustainable goals in terms of water usage, carbon footprints, energy consumption etc?
Indeed, as part of Kontoor, we are committed to respect the company’s global sustainability engagements:
Use 100% preferred chemistry throughout our supply chain by 2020
Conserve 5.5 billion liters of water by 2020
Source 100% sustainable cotton by 2025
Power all owned and operated facilities with 100% renewable energy by 2025
These goals are both ambitious and impactful and we’re proud of where we are on our journey.
Q Now Lee is a separate entity and is under the Kontor Brands, away from Kansas, How’s the new journey altogether for the Lee so far?
VF was home for Lee for more than 4 decades, helping to establish it as one of the most iconic global brands, that is much-loved by consumers worldwide today. The rationale for the separation of Kontoor from VF Corporation was all about giving the companies the opportunity to optimize our distinct capabilities, strategic growth priorities and paths to value creation. Now, with Kontoor, Lee has clear strategic priorities and resources to grow our business and ensure that the brand continues to thrive in the dynamic consumer marketplace and become a unified global brand.
With vast innovations having already taken place in the denim industry in the last decade, it is not easy to come out with something very new and game changing. Lee Jeans’ might have just the thing with its new 101+ collection for Spring/Summer 2016,.
The highlight of the collection Sew Free and Purple Cast jeans.Sew Free construction utilizes a proprietary joining technique to give an unfinished aesthetic and illusion of of absence of seams. The jeans give the impression of not having sewn at all. How far the jeans will give the authentic pukering effect on the seams, though remains to be seen. The purple cast on the jeans gives that new summer look that many consumers might be looking for. Other features on the jeans include custom ‘donut’ brass buttons , vintage advertising imagery taken from the Lee Jeans archives and printed onto the lining of the denim jackets, and the label’s signature branded horsehair patch.
Music makers have remained as fundamental inspiration for the Lee Cooper designers for their Fall’14 Collection as the campaign is shot in their East London home ground with 2 musicians and all their musical paraphernalia . The brand seeks to inspire musicians worldwide. Lee Cooper also reflects on industrial artisans from their East End home ground as inspiration for their silhouettes.
The Fall Winter’14 collection seems to have strong print influence in both men and women pieces and a desire to avoid distressing or heavy washes and keeping most pieces inky and dark. Pairing of dark overdyed jackets with light washed jeans or light weight shirts with colored denim re-emphasize the growing trend of double denims.
Prints and colors still look strong for Fall/Winter’13 collection as can be seen in Lee Jeans’ look book for this season.
The prints are strong for SS’13 season and seem to be carrying spilling over to the next seasons too.
With a lot of prints, high waisted shorts , colors (for men and women) and light washes Lee Jeans Spring Summer ‘13 denim collection gives the feeling of 80s fashion and rock ‘n roll . Check out their look book below :
Evisu Deluxe Spring Summer ’09 collection follows the first voyage of a Japanese ship sailing to America (in 1860).It draws from the historical references of the time and tries to combine the best of Japanese and American tailoring..As the Evisu blog mentions, the ‘tailoring is inspired by the naval details such as shaped patch pockets,a high buttoning reefer jacket,sailor collars and wide legged cuffed trousers’ .
The denim collection is also inspired by the LEE brand(H.D Lee company was founded in 1889). The collection uses a newly developed selvedge denims including No.13LEFT- a Japanese woven reproduction of the denim fabrics used by LEE 1910s onwards.Jeans cut from 13LEFT denim have the leather patch sewn on the left side of the waistband.
Sea Washed(!) : The jeans have been hand washed in the sea and dried on the rocks nearby.This means that the washing effects will be subtle and denim will be hard (no chemicals to soften the denim are used).’Whiskering’ and ‘honeycombing’ will come with time as the jeans wears out..Exclusive tailoring is used whereby each jeans is tailored by a single operator who signs each completed pair(if I am correct -Earnest Sewn also uses such tailoring techniques to ensure quality).
The overall effect of all the above mentioned techniques would probably give a clean ,natural looking jeans with somewhat trouser looks. Here is a Evisu’s SS09 Milan Spring Summer Video
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtWgbzmh-QQ&eurl=http://www.evisu.com/blog/2008/07/09/evisus-ss09-milan-spring-summer-video/]
Feelings and Moods of 1968 seems to be the theme on which the S/S’07 Jeans collection of Lee Cooper is based. Lee Cooper’s has drawn inspiration from its own archive of ’68 apart from the fashions,culture and music of that time.
The fabrics used are mainly ‘Authentic Ring, Shrink to fit denims, Chinos etc and style is mainly 5 pocket.
Well, authentic ring denims have been the flavour of most of the brands and this flavour is expected to continue for some more time.
