American made denim is one of the last strongholds of our apparel industry and Asbury Park is a new brand quickly carving out it’s place in the market. Founder and Creative Director James Hankins invited me to take a behind the scenes look at the design and production process for a brand that is 100% sourced and manufactured in America. Mr. Hankins’ fabric is produced by legendary textile house, White Oak Cone Mills, in Greensboro, North Carolina. The fabric is then shipped to the Jean Mart Inc. complex in Los Angeles, Ca. The denim is then turned into the final product—a crisp pair of blue jeans. Upon entering the factory I am met by Mr. Hankins and Jean Mart Vice President, Steve Rhee, who guides the tour of his families’ facility. Phase 1: Design a jean. From the shape of the pant, to the rivets, to the labels, where the pockets are placed, what thread to use for stitching, and finally the wash, the options are really endless. Phase 2: Once the sample is created they have to do a tech pack, which is the recipe for the jean. A tech pack has every single specific step in making a jean listed in detail, from the type of wash they go through at the dye-house all the way down to the very last stitch. Phase 3: A shrink test is performed on the production fabric to ensure a consistent fit. The pattern is then adjusted if necessary. Then a sample is created from
No. 046 THE STNDRD LIFESTYLE - THE ARTIST ISSUE
Resized 9.00004 by 11.0 to 9.0 by 10.875 and Adjusted to 98.8% Vertical and 100% Horizontal
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