Welcome to your morning dose of denim news, links, sales, and inside info! Catch up on what’s happening and browse our personal picks for the most interesting what-not that turns up during our morning web crawl. Got a tip you think we should include, a sale you want to share, or a style you just saw and can’t live without? Email us!
1. Take a close-up look at Kapital Clothing, asap.
“Detailing in the form of traditional Japanese Boro and tattoo inspired embroidery, silver concho buttons on heavyweight knitwear, incredible raw denim and patchwork faded indigo, a shawl collared coat that nearly brought on the vapors.”
2. We’re in love with this new denim jacket by Rag & Bone, bringing back the denim x leather combo we were all over a few seasons ago. This is a great staple for fall.
3. Dig into the political aspect of indigo dye in this film on its history by Mary Lance.
4. Just in case you missed our announcement yesterday, the new G-Star store in Toronto opens tonight!
5. Don’t be the 40-year-old-dude wearing Bape. Gavin McInnes wants to show you how to dress your age.
—Michelle Christina Larsen
Tags: denim and leather, denim workshirt, G-Star Raw, how to dress your age, indigo denim, indigo dye, kapital clothing, mens style guide, patchwork denim, rag & bone, what to wear
Last fall, Style.com launched their Video Fashion Week, featuring film shorts to showcase brands that don’t normally show at Fashion Week, such as Surface to Air. Now that spring is oh-so-close, we think watching this video now [Editor's note: there are NSFW nipplage scenes] is just enough to make us pine even harder for those warm, lazy days. Featuring S2A‘s Spring-Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection, you’ll see faded, vintage wash denim, even a patchwork piece, plus lightweight button down shirts in easy-on-the-eye gray scale, neutrals and blues. With “Harmonia” by Cass McComb as the mood music, you might just agree that this is likely the most perfect day ever on video.
Check out what’s new, including their new collab with musician Kim Gordon at Surface to Air online.
—Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: denim shirt, fashion video, jeans for men, jeans for women, patchwork denim, surface to air, Surface to Air Spring-Summer 2012
Lookbook.nu has a great selection of street style denim trends from all over the world. A few of our favorite recent posts are Konstantina from Athens, Mireia from Barcelona, Nika from Ukraine, Anjelica from Germany and Roos from Amsterdam. From a chicly styled chambray, dressed up patchwork, casual boyfriend jeans to denim shorts cuffed with precision these chicks know how to style our favorite article of clothing. Combined these looks cover a lot of ground, what is your favorite look for this spring?
Images via LOOKBOOK.nu.
—Stephanie Powell
Tags: denim shorts, denim top, Lookbook.nu, patchwork denim, skinny jeans, Street Style
Surface To Air‘s spring 2012 collection is overflowing with great denim looks, from a cute fitted pair of dark wash patchwork jean (under a light wash oversized workshirt) to vibrant teal skinnies. Saturated medium-wash denim shorts are paired with patchwork jean jackets, and adorable centerpiece garments like a pleated denim dress and the overall lightwash one piece with black buttons keep the whole set playful and fresh. There are plenty of tailored and semi-sheer separates mixed in to tie the looks together, too. We’re digging it for spring fashion that we can wear to work, or hanging out on the weekends.
Shop Surface To Air online; Images via We Are Selecters.
—Michelle Christina Larsen
Tags: colored denim, denim dress, denim jacket, denim shorts, patchwork denim, patchwork jeans, spring 2012, surface to air, womens denim
There’s nothing more lame than a clothing line that takes itself too seriously. No one likes a fuddy-duddy! And that’s part of the reason why we love Yusuke Ota’s menswear line, BiceSter. The Japanese label’s fall/winter 2011 collection playfully injects corals, blues, and mellow hues into loose trousers, cargo shorts, and relaxed-but-not-sloppy shirts. We even find ourselves digging the pieced-together denim bottoms. Patchwork for men? So not the norm, but yes, yes, yes!
Images via Selectism
—Brie Hiramine
Tags: bicester, cargo shorts, fall 2011 lookbook, men's jeans, patchwork denim
Japanese brand White Mountaineering is said to be as technically strong as Visvim, and as fashion forward as Comme des Garçons. For Spring-Summer 2012, we see the man as the traveler through the desert, which is a change of landscape from its current Autumn-Winter 2011 collection in which the man braves the frosty wilderness. We don’t know this man, but we sense he is multifaceted; he’s a Bohemian punk rocker who absorbs a little bit of something from wherever he travels. Tribal motifs, Western shirt shoulder paneling, tattoo prints and patchwork denim provide a bit of rough, weathered and storied look that the collection conveys for the man who has a journey yet to take. Designer Yosuke Aizawa found a way to tastefully integrate denim into this collection’s DNA. And you thought White Mountaineering was just for hiking.
Images via Trend Crib. Video via High Snobiety.
—Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: denim winter wear, japanese brand, Japanese denim, mens streetwear, patchwork denim, Western Denim Looks, White Mountaineering, Yosuke Aizawa
Between London, Paris, and Milan, there was a whirlwind of denim to keep up with, but we’re making it easy for you by sharing our top 10 favorite denim collections. From Balenciaga’s broken front row bench (Anna Wintour had to stand!) , Gareth Pugh’s models in caged dresses, and Alexander McQueen’s use of lace head pieces,Spring 2012 European Fashion Weeks took more risks, exuded romance and signaled a return to the art behind couture that industry faves like Prabal Gurung craves so much. Designers are taking chances and we like what we’re seeing (well not all of it but that’s the point of this post isn’t it?).
In London, we love Henry Holland’s cloud-like look of bleach splatters on the high-waisted skinny jeans (also shown in another color scheme of peaches and cream). The color palette is pastel but with an edge, as the colors aren’t dulled down but rather pop out. The lavender high-waisted skinny jeans come with an almost animal-like printed spot on them, which have a much more nighttime feel than the bleached jeans.
Marques’Almeida certainly stood out during LFW, if that was even possible. Their take on frayed and ripped jeans and repurposed denim—in this case jeans that look like a DIY project gone out of control—is both visually interesting and creative. The creations exude a tribal nature while exerting a sense of raw rebellion. We hesitate to think the collection is actually wearable, but we give kudos for this entry into the substantial use of denim in a collection.
Paris Fashion Week definitely had a denim fest worth crushing over. Balmain took coated denim to a new level of class by pairing it with light-wash denim for a pantsuit as well as a futuristic denim mini dress that we absolutely fell in love with! We mean after all, if the world is ending in 2012, this is what we want to be wearing!
Isabel Marant was all over the place (in a good way) at PFW with patchwork denim, more bleached denim, and even a scribble print pair of skinny jeans. When you want the comfort of denim but want to take a chance that a pair of blue jeans just can’t give you, look here.
Keeping the ethnic and tribal print trend going strong, Paul & Joe brought a luxe version of the American South West to Paris mixing sheer lurex knits and metallic leather jeans in gold and bronze with bright silk ikat separates. This collection also marks the revival of hippie-chic embroidered jeans and handbags. Get into it because this is definitely the new take on bohemian style!
A decidedly architectural collection with exaggerated shoulders and bold proportions, Balenciaga‘s jeans for women were marked by frontal pleats and a cinched-waist; a method to exaggerate a woman’s slim waistline. A nod to the classic denim jacket, a satiny, over-sized re-interpretation in color blocks is embedded into the collection.
While Milan Fashion Week seemed to be marked by opulence, retro silhouettes and a return to couture, denim collections seemed to be conceived from another planet (save D&G‘s colorful handkerchief prints pieced with denim). The Dsquared2 collection for next season looks playfully urban chic. We love the pompom finish on the denim shorts, as well as the dip-dye boot cut jeans—looking dirty never looked so good!
Leave it to D&G to make foulard look so sexy! The whole collection centers on the print used as everything from killer shoes to blouses with denim details like pockets and full-on sleeves, to gorgeous summer evening dresses. This is the great au revoir to D&G as it will be combined with the Dolce & Gabbana brand after this season.
Also at MFW, the Bottega Veneta Men’s Collection combined leather and denim for a completely hot look, although we do have to say that we’d like to see those pieces as separates. We like the denim on denim style here also, which we think really only works thanks to the dark wash and minimalist detailing. The real eye-catcher was the tye-dye denim pants that almost look spray painted on. We love it on the runway but aren’t sure how well these would work in the real world.
In contrast to Roberto Cavalli‘s golden flapper dresses and couture detailing, his more casual Just Cavalli collection presented leather and metallic jeans styled in a Euro-Boho ensemble. There was some heavy-handed embroidery and pocket detailing, but the denim peasant blouse was one of the few separates we felt was worth a second look. The entire collection boldly displays some of the season’s hottest trends: python patterns and metallic jeans.
Images via Style.com.
While the Spring 2012 Fashion Weeks had some great looks, we hope designers such as Alber Elbaz, Hussein Chalayan, Stella McCartney and even Rick Owens will lend back their talents and generate new buzz for women’s denim. The relaunch of Kenzo in Paris, by the newly-appointed Creative Directors, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim (Co-Founders of Opening Ceremony) who garnered rave reviews for their colorful fishnet print collection, showed creations which could easily be reinterpreted into denim. We know designers are inspired by denim, so we hope we get to see the actual textile play a more dominant role next season.
—Elyssa Linden, Kathy Ng Hassan & Sandoval Gomez
Tags: Bottega Veneta, coated denim, D&G, Denim Menswear, denim shorts, dip dye denim, Dsquared, foulard prints, Henry Holland, high-waisted jeans, ikat prints, Isabel Marant, Just Cavalli, London Fashion Week, metallic jeans, Milan Fashion Week, patchwork denim, Roberto Cavalli, silk ikat separates, skinny jeans
Denim Therapy has been so busy pounding the trade show floors that we barely had time to sleep. However, we couldn’t not talk about New York Fashion Week before we moved onto the next shows! Denim has gone glam in the form of metallic jeans for Spring 2012 (Diesel Black Gold), and there is a return to and continuation of patchwork and panel denim motifs (Charlotte Ronson and D&G). Although there were several other brands which had denim represented in their collections, we only chose to feature a few designer labels which we feel really worked with and integrated denim into their collections in a deeper sense. Which denim trend do you think will make a big splash come spring?
Diesel Black Gold Spring-Summer 2012: metallic jeans in reflective foil, reptilian and shimmery abalone-green hues offered lustre and texture to denim. The brand continues to redefine itself as not just a brand about blue jeans. More Diesel Black Gold online at Style.com.
Theyskens’ Theory Spring-Summer 2012: Olivier Theyskens still loves black and white, but he has thrown in vibrant acid-washed jeans and high-waisted, drop-crotch denim with drop-waist belt loops, creating an illusion of a low waist. Will this be the game changer? More Theyskens’ Theory online at Style.com.
D&G Spring-Summer 2012: Remember those menswear bandana silk shorts and shirts pieced together with denim? Now those same aesthetics have been reincarnated into women’s ready-to-wear in a variety of dresses. It’s a playful explosion of colors and patterns. However, the jury’s out on whether this collection is going to move the needle at retailers. More D&G online at Style.com.
—Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: acid wash jeans, Charlotte Ronson, denim on the runway, Denim Skirts, Diesel Black Gold, drop crotch jeans, jeans for men, jeans for women, metallic jeans, New York Fashion Week, paneled denim, patchwork denim, patchwork jeans, shiny jeans, Spring 2012 jeans
One look at the Gap Spring 2012 collection proves that colored denim is here to stay! Though it may just be the start of fall, you can look forward to warmer weather full of pastel colored skinny jeans and a line that can be summed up in three words: fresh, casual comfort. The knits are soft, the tops are oversized, and the pants have a relaxed fit to them that will make you want to wear them even after a long day out. For an ultra-laid back look, go for the patchwork jeans in a cropped boyfriend cut. We’re all over patchwork as an alternative to the every-day jean, and they style perfectly with everything from sleek tops to oversized cardigans. And you know we’re all about versatility!
Images via Fashionista.
—Elyssa Linden
Tags: big sweaters, boyfriend jeans, colored denim, Gap, pastel denim, patchwork denim, skinny jeans, spring 2012
Ok honestly, if denim is still missing from your shoe collection, what are you waiting for?? If your answer has something to do with these Visvim FBT Patchwork sneakers, then we understand. If not, we don’t, but we’ll save the scolding for another time. These shoes look like the perfect mix of sneaker and moccasin AKA the shoe of our dreams. The patchwork design, which pairs denim with colored suede makes these shoes a must-have for anyone who likes to keep their feet fashionable. They will be available sometime within the new couple of months, but until then this is one item that is not coming off our wish list until found safely in our closets.
Images via Highsnobiety.
—Elyssa Linden
Tags: denim sneakers, moccasin style, patchwork denim, suede sneakers, VisVim
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