MANUFACTURING
Denim Tops for Martial-Arts Athletes
Mike Dytri’s puffy, cauliflower ears are badges of honor he got after years of gaining expertise in the martial art of jiu-jitsu.
He had the discipline to earn a black belt as well as the ambition to introduce a new look to the traditional, baggy, white top—or kimonos—used by jiu-jitsu practitioners. Instead of a plain white fabric, denim was his textile of choice in keeping with his denim and streetwear brand Ludwig Van.
“They fit like an Armani suit. They were designed to fit in a tailored way, but it doesn’t take away from the performance aspect,” he said of the martial-arts wear from his newly minted Vanguard Kimono by Ludwig Van label.
The limited-run kimonos are made in Los Angeles and have been sold at Dytri’s direct-sales channel at www.vanguardkimono.com.
In September, the denim kimonos will be selling at United Arrows in Tokyo’s Shibuya district with the hope they will be snatched up by jiu-jitsu martial artists and people who spar at jiu-jitsu mixed-martial-arts studios.
Vanguard might be one of the most expensive martial-arts tops produced, Dytri said. They retail for $500 and are made of dead-stock fabric from Cone Mills’ White Oak plant in Greensboro, N.C. Before closing in 2017, it produced high-end denim fabric.
Dytri is a self-taught fashion designer who ran a streetwear brand called Subfreakie, which was sold in 2003 at an undisclosed price. Then he started denim and streetwear brand Ludwig Van, which has been placed at high-end retailers such as Barneys, he said.
The brand does limited runs of jeans made of dead-stock fabrics such as high-end selvage denim and Vietnam War–era U.S. Army sleeping bags.
The pants often feature details such as unique stitching and a label featuring the face of composer Ludwig van Beethoven sporting the bowler and makeup worn by actor Malcolm McDowell in the 1971 film “A Clockwork Orange.”
Ludwig Van has produced collaboration lines with brands including Vans and G-Shock. Dytri said there are plans to produce more special projects for the label.
