After a city tour that saw crowds gather in LA and at Procell in New York, the Levi’s x Denim Tears collection came to London this weekend with a pop-up in the heart of Soho. In a space provided by The Store X, designer Tremaine Emory was in attendance while the crowds came through to shop the collab – and browse books provided by Arcana Books centred around the African and African American experience. Featuring cotton wreaths printed on vintage denim, Emory’s collection directly references the history and legacy of slavery in America – he is the first generation of his family not to have picked cotton.
The collection’s campaign, starring his grandmothers and photographed by his father, decorated the walls of the space. There were DJ sets by Chris 2 Coeur and cktrl, who also swapped his spot the decks for his saxophone and clarinet.
To celebrate the launch, The Store X’s Alex Eagle and Mark Wadhwa opened their home for an intimate private dinner hosted by Emory along with Dazed’s head of fashion Emma Hope Allwood. With food by chef Gabriel Pryce, guests included cktrl, who wore a full look of the collection, musician Octavian, designer Bianca Saunders, entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid, actor Noomi Rapace, tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Buchi, cultural connector Alex Sossah, Mille World editor Samira Larouci, and Farfetch global brand director Ronojoy Dam.
The collection went online on denimtears.com Sunday night. It’s already been a success: only one size of the jeans remains in stock. Head here to score one of the last remaining pieces, and watch a documentary about the collection’s conception and Emory’s family history below.