Brooklyn retailer Left Field NYC and digital creator Cowboy Crust banded together on a limited-edition Kakishibu “cowboy cut” selvedge denim drop.
“When I initially approached Left Field about this project, I wanted to try to find an organic cotton selvedge to use because they can sometimes have a brown undertone as they age— giving them a ‘dirty’ look,” Crust Young, the man-behind-the-moniker, said. “I wanted these jeans to be work pants; I wanted them to be durable and show wear and be beaten up.”
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While Left Field has partnered with brands in similar creative efforts before, it was a first to collab with a creator.
“I was looking forward to doing something a little different; I liked Crust since he’s close to a Philly boy,” founder Christian McCann said of the New Jersey Pine Barrens native. “When we crossed paths, I was hoping to expand our local LA base for the Silverlake shop, and I felt he was sincere about his passions—not just reviewing stuff for handouts.”
For Young, the feeling was mutual.
“Left Field was a brand that just ‘got it,’” he said. “They’ve been a staple in the raw denim world for years and their roots are in historical and heritage denim. They also didn’t sell a cut as wide-legged as I was imagining; it was a perfect fit to fill [their] need and accomplish a dream of mine.”
The collaboration blends cuts reminiscent of the 1930s—think ruggedly Western and wide-leg workwear—and the 1940s—think less workwear, more Americana—with traditional Japanese dyeing techniques for a pair of limited-edition jeans that honor craftsmanship and comfort.
“When you see most modern brands sell their ‘straight leg’ denim, it’s almost never actually straight; most of the time it still has a severe taper, and, in many cases, the jeans are just straight up slim fitting,” Young said. “Looking back to pants that were made in the 1930s through ’50s, they pretty much drop straight down from the thigh, knee area with minimal taper. The goal was to replicate that look, almost as if there are tubes dropping straight down from your hips.”
The small-batch drop consists of a high-rise, straight, wide-leg buckle-back cowboy cut pair of jeans. The mid-weight 15.5 oz. Japanese selvedge denim is hand-dyed with natural persimmon tannins—a particularly mouth-puckering fruit—which creates a clay red weft.
“The red-brown weft you can see on the cuffs from the persimmon dye gave it a feel—almost as if you’d been riding your horse through clay,” Young said. “In addition to its aesthetic purpose, the art of Kakishibu is a great representation of the intentionality and effort I believe is integral to making quality clothing.”
Kakishibu is a traditional Japanese natural dyeing practice using fermented juice from those persimmons. Yarns are hand-dipped into the dye and rung out to dry in the sun over and over again.
“Kakishibu process is very laborious and done with only the finest artisanal craftspeople,” McCann said. “Like a fine wine, it takes time.”
While Young began promoting the pants on socials in October 2024, the supply chain was (predictably) unpredictable and delayed the launch to February. Hiccups aside, the jeans sold—and sold fast—at $298 a pop, with roughly 20 percent remaining. Those remaining pairs will be released at Left Field’s Los Angeles store on Feb. 22.
