We've held a very unique and exciting workshop as the follow up step of our collaboration with the Denim Dudes and the very successful, bright and inspiring female entrepreneurs of our industry; Alexis Colby, Ani Wells, Harmony Hendrickx and Maria Gunnarson. The project came about when Soorty and Denim Dudes were discussing about the many influential, strong ladies in our industry that approach denim and indigo in their own way.

 

While our industry is heavily dominated by men, and at the same time targeting mainly women, there are so many incredible ladies through the value chain - from the beautiful ladies who harvest cotton from the field to the ones weaving fabric, the collectors for reuse to merchandisers, designers, photographers, sales or communications managers…. The roles might change, yet all these women around the world perform their art, passion and business in a unique way. So we’ve tried to design and construct a collective story, a project to cover the beautiful women in denim, whether they are at the backstage of the supply chain, or closer to the customer. 

 

Coming from around the world, we’ve invited four denim dudettes, female entrepreneurs with their very own, very unique style to work for us through the journey. Each was asked to design a full outfit to represent them - what they stand for when it comes to denim, what they think, feel, represent. This, hence, also became a great chance to discover and show how versatile denim is as a fabric; and how it can be used as a canvas to represent so many different styles, looks and attributes. After our first design meeting in NY earlier this year, and a lot of emailing and conversations; NASDA knew what to offer to each of the ladies. And we’re glad to share with you how amazing, different from one another, the outcome turned out to be.

 

Despite having four very different styles, each woman highlighted sustainability considerations as being of paramount importance when deciding on fabrics, finishes and design. Here’s a bit insight about each of the ladies’ unique ideas and design inspirations as well as what they have produced:

 

Alexis Colby of @bitofdenim is a re-make and re-cycle aficionado. She describes her personal style as “Tomboy Chic” as likes to mix a pair of baggy shorts or jeans with an “element of sexy” such as a 90’s inspired bustier. For her ultimate denim look she designed an elongated fitted trucker jacket with a tie dye finish, a denim bustier and a sustainable remake of her favorite, perfectly worn-in jeans.

 

Ani Wells of @simplysuzette went for a more everyday essential look, mixing simplicity with functionality. Empowerment through sustainability is Ani's motivation and she wants to focus on timeless classic wardrobe staples that are not only eco-conscious in properties and processes but also through the garments lifecycle. She has combined a lightweight summer peasant blouse with a classic 5 pocket straight leg jean and an ecru parka jacket with oversized, removable utility pockets and tie-dye to create a bespoke finish on the jacket.

 

Harmony Hendrix of @ckxstudio ’s personal style is inspired by the interbellum period and her Soorty denim designs honour the avant garde women of the 1920’s & 1930’s that weren’t afraid to go against the status quo and push beyond gender related fashion norms. “Writers, artists, fashion designers, creatives and other feminists would start wearing pants (and suits) – a fashion item that exclusively belonged to the male gender. These women paved the way for us. And paved the way for women in denim.” For this look Harmony designed a 3 piece suit using raw selvedge denim emphasizing the strong and clean aesthetic of the 1920’s and 30’s suiting. 

 

Finally Maria of @amk.atelier rooted her concept in smart-casual styling, focussing on utility and function with details of fashion driven flair. Inspired by smart options, conscious craft and natural, classic colouring, she worked on a very functional inky dark indigo parka, a relaxed fit workwear jacket dyed with FIX-D; the world’s first water free garment dyeing technology introduced earlier this year by Soorty, and a volume, crop trouser pant. “A sustainable way of working is an integral part of my process” she told us. Her eco-conscious and highly functional look, designed with sustainability in mind, used responsibly made fabrics and wash processes combined with high performance finishing.