MOTHER Denim’s Debut Men’s Collection
A highly anticipated expansion that’s made in LA and composed of Japanese fabrics
In 2010, Lela Becker and Tim Kaeding joined forces to advance the women’s denim market. Mother was born and their position was declared: high-quality material, attention to detail and an adherence to the fact that denim must be fun. Year after year they’ve grown, thanks to brand reliability and consistently fresh ideas. Now they’ve unleashed their debut men’s collection. As with their womenswear, details define the men’s line—from stitching to “motherisms” placed all over (care tag included). For denim lovers, it’s reason to be excited. Every product (but one, which is made from faux leather) from their debut spring/summer collection and the forthcoming fall/winter, has been made in LA.
Kaeding, who doubles as Creative Director, has been designing his own clothes for years. That, and the gender fluidity of denim apparel today, led to the men’s line. “We didn’t have any plans to start men’s,” he shares, “but we did something in women’s a few years ago called MOTHER Superior. That was our take on the menswear trends that are happening in womenswear—vintage-y men’s fits.” For that collection, he pulled some fabric that he’d acquired from a Japanese mill 15 years back. “Because I work on my own clothes, I had all the fits. It hit me one day, ‘Why don’t I take these two ideas and combine them? It would be an easy and fun way to do a men’s line.'”
Regarding fabrics (one of the brand’s undeniable strengths) Kaeding says, “I have always liked the Japanese denim aesthetic. I know I’m not alone on that, but there’s something about the way they produce fabric, there’s something to the perfect imperfectness of it all. It has refined roughness that I find beautiful.” Thus, Mother works with a Japanese mill whose owners he has been friends with for 20 years, as well as other mills in Japan. There is also some Italian denim used throughout.
There’s something to the perfect imperfectness of it all
The collection features three fits, all of which are named after items from the bar scene: The Joint (skinny), The Neat (tapered straight) and The Chaser (universal straight). Prices fluctuate based on wash type; of which there are four. The collection also features a standout white denim, as well as a non-denim travel pant. T-shirts, denim shirts and jackets, and a tracksuit complete the well-cut selection.
“Every week someone was asking me when I was going to do a men’s line,” Kaeding adds. With some online information and insight from social media, they’d seen that a contingency of men had already been purchasing their women’s jeans. Once or twice a year, the brand was also experimenting with capsules that really went wild (notably the Giddyup collection, with Western inspiration and fringe aplenty for all genders). It was only a matter of time before a full collection made its way to the market. Unsurprisingly, it’s impressive.
The brand’s spring/summer 2018 is available online now and in-store at LA’s Ron Herman.
Images courtesy of Mother
