Denim Design Lab Jeans

Our friends over at the Denim Design Lab is launching their own line of mens jeans. They are made in LA using Cone's White Oak goods, which is a line of selvedge denim made in Greensboro, North Carolina using vintage shuttle looms.

Following on the success of our one-of-a-kind Denim Design Lab denim finishing kits and limited edition premium T's, DDL will be expanding its collection with an amazing offering of denim jeans geared toward true denim aficionados.

The inspiration for the first collection is what we term "Modern Vintage." Drawing from details, manufacturing techniques and fabrications that make true vintage denim so desirable, we add DDL's modern design flair to enhance each style, creating what we believe are the "perfect jeans."

The "raw canvas upon which to create"...
To supplement our unique Denim Design Lab kits, we are introducing a revolutionary denim jean - a raw vintage inspired selvage jean, at a retail price point of only $100.

The collection moves from this opening price point raw style, to three expertly washed versions in the same silhouette, all the way up to a group of ultra-premium, limited edition, hand-numbered washed styles priced at $250.00+, each made from Cone "Black Seed" pima cotton, the most luxurious denim available today.

The entire collection is manufactured in Los Angeles, CA, utilizing 100% selvage denim from Cone Denim's White Oak plant in North Carolina.

Denim Design Lab ("DDL") Denim, launching in Fall '07, will be offered through the world's finest denim based specialty retailers.

Brian over at DDL knows how much we love denim history and process. Here's some juicy details your other denim blogs missed:

To end up with the unique look and luxurious feel of these denim garments, we had to start with the absolute best long staple cotton money could buy; gossypium barbadense or "Black Seed" cotton. First grown in the USA in 1790, Black Seed cotton developed into what was called "Sea Island" Cotton. The seeds of this particular strain of cotton made its way to Egypt in the late 1800's (i.e., "Egyptian Cotton"). In contrast, the bulk of all cotton used today is derived from the more common "gossypium hirsutum" or "upland" strain of cotton. The fibers of this strain are shorter and thicker than that of the Black Seed variety. The significantly longer fibers and softer feel of the Black Seed cotton results in denim which is so soft and supple, that even when raw, the denim feels as comfortable as an aged pair of jeans. When the US government required a particularly strong tire cord for airplanes in the mid 1900's, it established a program to reintroduce the Black Seed cotton variety back into the USA. In honor of the Pima Indians who worked on the reintroduction project, the cotton fibers they produced were called "pima" (i.e., "Pima Cotton").

The superior Black Seed cotton is woven on vintage shuttle looms in Cone Denim's historic White Oak plant in North Carolina. The unique yarn appearance of this denim is the result of a carefully engineered slub pattern designed to replicate "mistakes" in the weaving process that would occur if there was a broken gear on the spinning machine or if a roll had a flat spot on one side. The particular look is described as a "flame" pattern, in that the raised slubs subjected to more surface contact create the look of small "flames" of texture radiating throughout the denim.

The pure indigo shade of this denim is achieved by a unique dying process which replicates the look of pre-1920's denim, prior to the move to the more common "long chain dyeing" technique. The process results in more indigo being deposited on some yarns than others, further accentuating the yarns unique appearance. Starting from the best materials available, we transform this denim into a modern masterpiece, borrowing key design lines from traditional "buckle-back" work wear jeans and adding modern trim detailing, construction and fit to create what we call "modern vintage."

Denim Design Lab Website