Hasta La Ideas

An Amsterdam offshoot puts a modern twist on a denim legend

Borrowing their logo from a sample piece of denim a salesman could leave with a customer in the early 1900s, Levi’s Made & Crafted is “a journey to define what modernity is within Levi’s,” explains M&C’s Samuel de Goede. At its core is history over heritage with garments that look to the future while retaining elements of the past—qualities that come through mostly through hidden details or particular stitching styles. Since launching in the spring of 2010, the Amsterdam-based brand has been perfecting its pared-down approach and its current digital launch shows just how strong simple can be.

One of the two brands by Levi’s XX (extra extra strong), features of the experimental label’s collection include buttons made from the same cotton as the oxford shirt it’s sewn out of (they just compress it), signature curved pockets sewn free-hand, cinching in various places like the hip and, of course, selvedge twill fabric.

Constantly refining, de Goede explains “As with the brand, this is just the beginning. The site is a work in progress, which will evolve with time, but as a team we felt that we wanted to tell the story to a broader audience.” The Amsterdam team worked closely with multidisciplinary think-tank Brooklyn United to develop the website, but as for each collection de Goede says “we aim to keep things close to the heart, doing as much as possible ourselves, in house.”

Made & Crafted sells at specialty stores through Europe and Japan, stateside at Barneys New York stores and online at Net-a-Porter.