California Apparel News

In a classic “East-meets-West” move, Los Angeles designer Adrian Nyman has partnered with Hong Kong denim maven Philip Law to create a high-end capsule collection for Indigo Farm, Law’s premium-denim brand for men.

Set to launch this summer exclusively at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, Calif., the 20-piece collection takes its inspiration from traditional workwear but has a decidedly high-end, denim-head twist.

“Philip is very much a denim guru. We’ve worked together on various projects and always wanted to do something special,” Nyman said. In creating their capsule collection, the two let their inner denim geeks out to play.

Law—who makes high-end denim for brands such as Paul Smith, Ted Baker London and Evisu at Union Apparel, his Hong Kong boutique denim factory—uses Indigo Farm as a creative platform for his personal denim muse. “He uses it as a vehicle to explore different techniques and processes. It’s a creative outlet. For our collaboration, we focused on designing very utilitarian, workwear-inspired pieces with a very strong emphasis on artisan production techniques,” Nyman said.

Law echoes his sentiments. “[We wanted] to show our passion toward the belief of the ’built to last’ quality garment, bring the ’East to the West’ idea closer and satisfy people who demanded something rare with attention to details,” he said.

The focus on traditional denim production techniques goes far beyond the collection’s selvage denim offerings. “The heart and soul of the collection is in indigo-dyed denim, but we’re also turning the idea of denim on its head. We’ve transposed denim production methods into other areas, including corduroy, canvas and knits,” Nyman said.

For example, corduroy pants were indigo-dyed. As a result, they will develop wear patterns similar to those of jeans. Law produced yarndyed canvas selvage on traditional denim shuttle looms. A camouflage-print piece was made using traditional Japanese weaving techniques. Poplin shirts were over dyed, and crisp shorts were cut from canvas selvage.

“Craftsmanship is key. We produced circular knits in Japan on looms that are more than 60 years old. It took one hour to knit a single tubular body. Most people don’t want to waste their time or resources on doing that. We’re passionate about resurrecting and cherishing old production values,” Nyman said. “It’s about creating non-traditional pieces with traditional means.”

The collection’s denim pieces are equally rooted in the marriage of old and new. “The design is part nostalgic, but with contemporary fit and form,” Nyman said. One silhouette features a buckle back and straight leg for a relaxed fit. A second denim silhouette features a slim, tapered leg and a longer rise. The raw, unwashed jeans are made of cotton fibers grown in Zimbabwe and woven in Japan. “The end result is really rustic. The jeans can almost stand up on their own,” he said.

A second series features redcast blue denim and light-blue washes reminiscent of the 1970s.

Retail prices for the line, which debuts in June, range from $260 to $400 for denim and woven pieces and $100 to $250 for knits. The bulk of the collection will be produced at Law’s Hong Kong facility.

Indigo Farm is the latest of Nyman’s denim collaborations. He recently designed the Warhol Factory X Levi’s X Damien Hirst collection, which debuted earlier this year. He also designs Prix des Nation, a high-end knits collection.