Environmentally conscious New York footwear collective Proto has teamed with Transnomadica, a global research and curation studio led by Italian designer Maurizio Donadi, to create a new apparel capsule made from reworked textiles.
Recognized for creating upcycled denim brand Atelier & Repairs and working as a designer for Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Levi’s, Donadi has spent several decades championing circular fashion by experimenting with existing materials. The new Proto x Transnomadica collection features 26 one-of-a-kind chore coats. The traditional style first emerged in 19th-century France as a daily uniform for laborers such as railroad engineers and farmers. According to Proto, most versions were traditionally made from heavyweight cotton drill or moleskin, also known as toile de Chine.
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The collection features the Boro jacket, named after the Japanese concept of boroboro, meaning “something tattered or repaired.” The practice involves reworking and repairing textiles like apparel or bedding through patchwork and restitching to extend their use.
Proto’s capsule features jackets with patchwork pockets and vintage fabric accents collected and repurposed by Transnomadica. According to the partners, each piece took up to 10 hours to construct, with artisans selecting and cutting the textiles, developing unique details, removing and re-sewing features like pockets, and adding other hand-stitched motifs.
The collection also features jackets that showcase binding as a design concept. This involves adding a strip of fabric to the edge of an item to conceal raw edges and imperfections and mitigate fraying. Transnomadica combined Japanese vintage fabrics into different patterns and sewed them to jacket hems, as well as collars and cuffs.
Colorblocking also features in the line. Jacket pockets were removed and reapplied using vintage fabrics in solid colors like red, yellow, blue and orange, and the underside of coat collars feature complementary shades. All pieces in the collection were tumble washed to create a softer hand and a sun-lightened appearance, Proto said.
The collaborators worked with the 5PCS Atelier to finish five of the chore jackets. Each piece includes Asemic writing, a hybrid art form combining text and imagery. Each piece also features a distinctive red button detail either on the inside or outside of the jacket.
“My vision is to drive positive change in all areas where creativity and strategy reside,” Donadi said.
The Proto x Transnomadica chore coat collection is available on Proto’s e-commerce site for $260-$320.
