Levi’s Made & Crafted + Wilder Quarterly
The iconic denim label’s sub-brand teams up with the print mag for an intimate lookbook-meets-travel-guide for Fall 2014
Few brands can hold a candle to Levi’s when it comes to legacy. Founded in San Francisco in 1853—just three years after California was granted statehood—the go-to label turned denim from workwear into the essential fabric it is today and has come to represent larger notions of American culture and ambition. As a way to move the brand forward, Levi’s Made & Crafted stands as the brand’s premier line, exploring past eras and new destinations as inspiration each season. After the wholly impressive, highly textured offerings of Fall 2013, this season’s collection is also immediately eye-catching—not just for the rich fabrics and blend of contemporary and timeless styling, but also because they called on Wilder Quarterly to create a full-blown Pacific Northwest travel guide to showcase the collection.
The team at Made & Crafted starts their design process for each season by honing in on a particular theme to be shared across the men’s and women’s collections. “This particular design inspiration was the process of a really special trip during which our design team became deeply connected with the environment of the Pacific Northwest—you can see that in the clothing,” says Made & Crafted design director Nic Rendic. For Fall 2014, the talented team also focused on something most urbanites can relate to: the tension between indoors and outdoors, wilderness and city, the wild natural chaotic order of the woods and the gridded blocks of civilization. Each has its merits and each plays a role in the collection—the distinctly urban leather moto jacket alongside a waterproof parka, for example.
The team at Levi’s Made & Crafted sought out Wilder for this very reason; the editorial eye of the beloved print magazine captures the outdoors from a design-minded perspective. In addition to working together on original photography, Wilder reached out to contributors and dug into their own travel notes for some of the region’s lesser-known cultural and natural highlights, including Portland’s burgeoning avant-garde art center Yale Union to Seattle’s secluded yet nearly urban Carkeek Park. It’s unique to see this kind of harmonious partnership between what are two seemingly disconnected entities. However, the two share the same ideals of attention to micro details while keeping in mind macro themes.
Check out the Fall 2014 Made & Crafted collection and keep up with latest from Wilder Quarterly.
Images courtesy of Levi’s Made & Crafted and Wilder Quarterly
