Genius Jeans
Turning mass production into custom art and back again.
I used to have a job where I was required to wear jeans. I had exhausted the Old Navy and Gap jeans that was already in my closet, so I started going to thrift stores to get jeans. Last year, I brought five pairs of jeans to Katie who was the owner of a refillery store. She has a new business called 2nd Class Fanny. I saw on Instagram that she was upcycling things and I asked her to make a chore coat from my old jeans.
This week I read that Ralph Lauren has collaborated with Gee’s Bend Quilter to for a collection. Their work looks amazing and reminds me of the coat that Katie made.
For centuries, the women of Gee’s Bend faced extreme poverty and isolation. They would save up whatever scraps were on hand—worn out denim workwear, faded rags, old feed sacks—sewing them together to make blankets for the winter. The quilters had an eye for beauty, taking these mismatched, multicolored pieces to create geometric patterns.
The partnership with Ralph Lauren is great way to showcase the artisans to mainstream audiences. However I don’t know if is good to mass produce an art form and make it a luxurious item. It feels like an UNO Reverse to me.
Love this post!