When thinking of haute couture, materials such as tulle, satin, silk and velvet usually come to mind as top choices among many designers from Christian Dior to Cristobel Balenciaga and Coco Chanel. In contrast, fabrics like denim have never been closely associated with the lofty world of high fashion… until this upcoming exclusive collection master milliner Stephen Jones is about to launch with G-Star RAW, an expert in working with denim.
The coming together of the two greats culminates in a capsule collection featuring five haute couture hat pieces and two ready-to-wear limited editions. The limited edition and ready-to-wear pieces will be available from 1 December 2022, while the couture pieces will launch on 22 November 2022.
Each of the five couture pieces showcases both collaborators’ expertise in their respective fields. Apart from working with the likes of Dior, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood and Thom Browne, Jones has also dressed some of the biggest celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna (Pope hat worn at Met Gala), Madonna, Mick Jagger and even the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
Bringing his years of experience, denim pieces from G-Star RAW made in partnership with Jones are elevated to a new level where craftsmanship is the cornerstone of the capsule collection. G-Star Raw has been a purveyor of denim products since its inception in 1989. The company constantly pushes the boundary of denim design and has called itself a “hardcore denim” advocate, where a relentless dedication to the cloth, the craft, the culture and the history of denim is spotlighted in its creative processes.
Jones’ earlier couture collections inspire designs for this capsule collection, and you can expect to see supersized hats in denim with intricate designs synonymous with the realm of haute couture. Additionally, the two ready-to-wear hat designs are influenced by classic streetwear styles: a bucket hat and a baseball hat. Both have been enduring icons and have been referenced by many luxury fashion houses.
“Everybody around the world knows what denim is and what denim signifies. I took denim out of its comfort zone and made it what it wasn’t. G-Star gave me complete carte blanche,” says Stephen Jones about his collaboration with G-Star RAW.
Accompanying this release is a short documentary that showcases the famed milliner’s workshop in Covent Garden, London. “The film will not only give a rare insight into his atelier, creative process and ground-breaking designs but also gives a glimpse of his rebellious past and status within the high fashion world,” as per the press release. “And it seems that the anarchist attitude of Jones’ pushes the limits of denim design once again, turning denim streetwear into Haute Couture. Whilst the audience receives an insight into the designer’s life, learning how he became the legendary milliner he is today.”
Just in time for the holiday season, the G-Star RAW x Stephen Jones collection is available at g-star.com.
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