Deadstock and leather sourced from ethical farms star in The Leather Edit, a capsule collection that reinterprets DL1961’s signature denim styles in 100 percent leather.
The women’s collection includes the Drue Straight Low Rise pant, the Alma miniskirt, cropped Tilda shacket, belted Coletta dress and the Asra maxi skirt with a front slit. Some pieces are made with black patent leather with a sleek and shiny surface. Others are made with Obsidian, a black leather with a soft and supple hand feel.
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Pieces are finished with black oxide hardware, black back patches and tonal stitching for a blackout look. The Leather Edit retails for $399-$499.
The collection complements DL1961’s fall denim range filled nostalgic fits and recycled cotton fabrics.
From outerwear to bottoms, leather has become a mainstay on global runways. The popularity of vintage fashion has increased consumer awareness of fabrics like denim and leather, which hold up well to everyday wear and tear and often end up passed down to future generations. Denim brands like Joe’s, Hudson and AG have responded by launching vegan leather assortments and adding leather-like coatings to jeans.
Real leather is the more sustainable choice for DL1961, however. “Natural leathers age better than vegan leathers making them a smarter investment piece, incentivizing fewer purchases,” said Sarah Ahmed, DL1961 CEO. She added that real leather is also biodegradable and not made from plastics like many vegan alternatives.
“As a brand we hope to convey the message of quality, longevity and timeless luxury through our sustainable, specially sourced or in-house fabrics,” Ahmed added. “Sustainability doesn’t look the same for every fabric and we had a long learning curve when expanding beyond our vertically manufactured denim, where we had control from fiber to finished garment. The key was finding the right partners that we could trust and complied with the same ethical standards we hold ourselves to.”
The leather drop follows the release of DL1961’s first knitwear collection. Spanning women’s turtlenecks, tanks and long-sleeve boatneck tops, the line shows how DL1961 is evolving beyond premium denim into lifestyle brand territory. The brand has also introduced T-shirts, silk and poplin.
“In brainstorming what is missing in the market, we landed on lightweight, ultra-wearable layers in on-trend silhouettes like boat necks and bell sleeves. This will serve as another element of our quickly growing ready-to-wear offering and will expand season after season,” Ahmed said.
