California Apparel News

Ty Bowers made his mark on the apparel industry at companies known for vintage styling and nostalgic graphics. Bowers worked at BC Ethic in the early ’90s, which was known for its ’50s swinger–style bowling shirts, and Trunk Ltd., a line of music-driven licensed graphic T-shirts in vintage washes.

Vessel, Bowers’ new Los Angeles–based men’s and women’s line with partner Tobias Geye, interprets vintage in a more subtle fashion, with an eye to creative experimentation in premium knitwear.

“I’m more keen on seeing where fit is going these days,” Bowers said. “Women obviously have been into [fit] for quite some time. Men are really starting to be more critical of how a garment fits these days. They’re more into tapered silhouettes and they are more body conscious. Working with knitwear, we have this ability to choose fabrics that have a lot of mechanical kind of stretch in them, so we can fit a fairly broad range of people.”

Vessel will debut with Summer and Fall at the Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas this month. Wholesale price points range from $21 for T-shirts to $150 to $175 for outerwear pieces.

With production partners Alan McGrath and Eddie Flores, Vessel’s production is nearly vertically integrated, which allows the designers to experiment with new knitting and washing techniques and easily adapt the product according to the feedback from their customers. Vessel uses yarns such as Supima cotton, micro- Modal/silk and cashmere/viscose blends.

One of the key pieces in the line is a 1940s to 1950s–inspired leather motorcycle jacket interpreted in a woven-like knit to add a contemporary fit and feel. Vessel’s basic Tshirts feature fine gauge yarns in a tubular knitted body with a contemporary fashion fit.

“It gives us the ability to do some really cool basic bodies at a great price, made in the U.S.A., and [with] some of the best yarn you can get in the world,” Bower said of his basic tubular knit T-shirt.

Vessel has a small subset of styles in the line called Vessel Organica, which uses organic bamboo-knitted fibers. The treatments on these garments are eco-friendly through natural fruit and vegetable dyes and eco-friendly inks.

Vessel’s image as a brand plays off on the name “Vessel” as a container, since clothing literally wraps around the individual.

The baroque and medieval graphics tell a story of the vessel as a sacred object.

“The message we’re trying to impart is whether it’s the clothing that you put on your body or whatever you choose to put into your body, choose it carefully. In the end, it defines who you are,” Bowers said and added that the concept was open to interpretation. “I’m just hoping that people will find some kind of meaning that resonates within them. It’s a very internal sort of idea, but not heavy.”

Vessel Clothing will be exhibiting at the Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas. For more information, contact (323) 888-2629. —Rhea Cortado