Distress-It-Yourself Denim
Denim aficionado Brian Robbins isn’t buying into the whole clean-denim trend that is sweeping the market. For him, denim that looks like it has lived several lives is the way to go. Eight months ago, Robbins launched San Clemente, Calif.–based Denim Design Lab with a line of premium art-driven T-shirts for men and women and a cool little kit that is sure to speak to denim geeks and vintage buffs.
Designed to help consumers customize and distress their store-bought denim, the DenimDesign Lab Kit includes a grinder with sanding bits, sandpaper, sanding cloths, seam ripper, tape measure, paint brush, paint dropper, spray bottle and a denim-finishing form.
“It was meant as a marketing vehicle to help launch the company,” Robbins said, but now the kit is here to stay.
Packaged in a selvage denim sleeve, the kit also includes Robbins’ how-to book, “Denim Design Lab: A Tribute to the Beauty of Vintage Denim.” Besides detailing the best way to achieve an artfully stained and threadbare pair of jeans, the book includes the tale of denim’s evolution from workwear to affordable staple for Depression-era families to cultcool gear for heartthrobs, bad boys and hipsters. Robbins worked with historians at Levi Strauss & Co., Lee and denim manufacturer Cone Denim to create an encyclopedia of all things denim.
The DDL kit is sold for $300 at specialty boutiques such as American Rag, Ron Herman, Planet Blue and H. Men. Its denim packaging is itself a lesson in custom denim washes. “We do custom washes for [the exterior of] each kit, and we make only a limited number of each kit in each wash,” Robbins explained. Meant to work as an inspiration for the fledgling denim customizer, when one wash sells out, Robbins concocts a new vintage-inspired wash but keeps the kit’s contents the same.
For Fall 2007, DDL plans to launch its own brand of raw denim. “Raw denim is the best canvas to customize. It’s a no-brainer to have our own,” Robbins said. Look for a line of raw selvage denim that will retail for $100 (“Cheap enough that consumers can buy two pairs to practice on”) and a more premium line of Pima cotton selvage denim that will retail for upwards of $180. For information, call (949) 336-3307. —Erin Barajas
