In 2018 I began the project of creating special edition artwork for the collaboration between Okayama Denim and Studio D'Artisan for their 40th Anniversary items. This particular collab was special as it began with the 40th anniversary artwork but was in such demand that the collaboration grew beyond that moment and into a new series of products.
The creative journey through iterations of the patch to arrive at the final approved graphic for the Special Edition Sashiko patch. The conversation began with the 40th anniversary edition and transformed into a larger project that would live past the 2019 celebration year and into a full production series.
The Relax Tapered iteration of the Kasezome Indigo pants that sold out almost immediately upon release, are exclusive to Okayama Denim. Kasezome is the art of skein dyeing, a hand dyeing method by wrapping undyed yarns into a loose coil and dipping them into a vat of Indigo (in this instance). The yarns are dyed to the core while still retaining their original texture, a feat only possible when the yarns are meticulously dyed by hand.
The sashiko fabric was also used in a super limited run of 80 pieces for a 6-panel 40th anniversary commemorative hat.