Since returning to Ksubi, Pip Edwards, the brand’s creative director, is bringing a fresh touch to the cult denim label, after her decades-long career in fashion, which includes her co-founding Australian athletic wear brand P.E. Nation in 2016. Now, she is launching a collaborative collection between Ksubi and Alice Hollywood, which was founded by Shane Gonzales. The duo, Gonzales and Edwards, held a launch party in Ksubi’s Soho store during New York Fashion Week.
The party had a custom-built skate ramp, paying homage to early 2000s skate culture, which helped inspire the collaboration. The new 14 piece capsule collection “Ksubi by Alice Hollywood” is available today.
“As a brand, we’ve been following Alice in Hollywood for a long time, their history is legendary and we reached out to them,” said Edwards. “Our brand DNA is so aligned; it just made sense.”
The early 2000s may be a time when many Gen Z folks were born, but it was also a time of gaudy denim with patchwork, loud accents and slogan-heavy garments. It was also a time of unruly parties that weren’t documented on social media. “I loved it, I was there and I’m like, lets not do the math,” she said.
What Edwards loves about the early aughts fashion is that it was very DIY. “It was grassroots, it was just real passion, you know? And it was unfiltered,” she said.
“It was not documented, and that’s what I loved it about it, we had freedom,” adds Edwards. “It was word of mouth.”
The new collection features denim items with bold, decorate patchwork with the American flag, as well as stitched pockets, hoodies and American flag scarves. Both brands started out as underground, independent labels and that resonates with the early 2000s ethos, which was raw and analog, focused on statement denim.
There are Ksubi’s signature Black Wax, Ivory and Punk Eternity Blue washes of denim, oversized Oh G denim jackets and bootcut Toron jeans. This nostalgic collection looks back on the indie sleaze era for graphic patterns and clunky clasps.
Ksubi is a leading denim brand in a time when casual fashion is a mainstay in ecommerce sales. “Denim always has been, and always will be, the number one anchor staple,” said Edwards.
“There’s lots of innovation coming up, but I think for us as a brand, more embellishment, more is more. Has denim ever really left? It always just continues the narrative of American fashion. Denim is at the core of American fashion. It can evolve because it’s got so much wear and tear to it that you can actually do a lot with it. Denim is here to stay.”