VINTAGE TEAM PLAY: Alex Mill has teamed up with Blank Supply to create a limited collection of work jackets and bucket hats made entirely of vintage quilts.
It’s part of the ReWork program of Alex Mill utilizing leftover fabric to create new pieces and collections, often in collaboration with like-minded partners. To date, more than 4,000 garments have been upcycled into one-of-a-kind designs.
For the Blank Supply x Alex Mill collection, scraps from more than 15 vintage quilts were upcycled to create 15 one-of-a-kind jackets and 10 bucket hats. The items feature quilts dating back to the late 1800s, and every piece is handmade; no two pieces are alike.
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Blank Supply’s cofounder Willa Blank designed each jacket and hat from quilts she had in her personal archive and pieces she sourced for the collection from across the U.S. Each jacket took about 10 hours to create from pattern planning and placing to quilt repairs to sewing or tying, and even hand-stitching each label within the jackets. Two jackets are hand-tied versus hand stitched, featuring “crazy quilt” patterns, a style popular in the second half of the 19th century inspired by Japanese art and culture.
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“This collection really lives up to the Alex Mill motto of ‘uniforms for individuals,'” said Blank. “They are such classic shapes, but so unique and individual to the lucky few who get one due to the one-of-a-kind textiles used.“
The jackets, priced $650 and bucket hats, priced $150, are being sold at alexmill.com while supplies last.
“Our ReWork program is centered around the idea that really special things come from reimagining vintage pieces,” said Alex Drexler, cofounder of Alex Mill. “The quilted jackets and hats we created with Willa Blank at Blank Supply are a great example of this. Our customers appreciate these one-of-a-kind collections and they sell out almost instantly.”
“Willa is a true artisan and we were thrilled to partner with her on this collaboration,” said Alex Mill’s cofounder and design director Somsack Sikhounmuong. “Using scraps from over 100 vintage quilts, we created this collection of handmade jackets and bucket hats, each of which are a one-of-a-kind wearable work of art.”