As a kid growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Reese Cooper would get his Levi’s® from a farm supply chain however as a teenager in London, he most often encountered Levi’s® through specialty fashion collections sold at places like Dover Street Market. It’s a perfect example of how Levi’s® has authentically occupied both the fashion and workwear space for the better part of a century. And it also just happens to be the inspiration behind a new Spring collaboration between Levi’s® and Reese’s eponymous brand.
Composed of a ten-piece line-up of jeans, Truckers, hoodies, and tees, the Levi’s® x Reese Cooper® collection seamlessly blends high-fashion and heritage, runway style and workwear utility.
With a focus on authentic workwear materials and construction, the collection includes a Levi’s® Type II Trucker and a Levi’s® straight fit jean in triple-stitched organic cotton duck canvas—available in green or ecru—as well as a patchwork chore coat and straight fit jean in indigo denim made from Cottonized Hemp.
For me, this was an opportunity to essentially make proper heritage workwear with a company that pioneered it.
– Reese Cooper
There’s also a two-pocket hoodie in either green or ecru organic cotton, both of which feature graphics based on heritage Levi’s® back patches, and two organic cotton graphic pocket tees, with graphics based on the brand’s iconic workwear lineage.
For Reese, one of the most important elements of the collection was that it included sustainable fabrications. And to that end, every piece is made using either Cottonized Hemp–an innovative technique from Levi’s® in which hemp yarn is processed to feel just as soft and comfortable as traditional cotton–OR organic cotton, two fabrics that have become an integral part of Levi’s® reducing its environmental footprint.
“You think of Levi’s® as being cool, like the classic 501. But on the original back patch, it calls out the product’s durability with the rivets and canvas and denim. I wanted to tie together these two main components the brand was built on. For me, this was an opportunity to essentially make proper heritage workwear with a company that pioneered it.” – Reese Cooper