LAS CASAS
STORY ONE
We start early on US-90 E out of Marfa towards Alpine. The weather is HOT, but unpredictable; you can see the storms moving in from miles away. We pull up on the side of Route 90 and climb the fallen rock-face.
After the storm we stop by Marfa Elementary. Walking up a wet track we search out the plains. A wild mix of greens, browns and blues.
‘Las Casas' is the fourth collection from I AND ME. The collection is inspired by a series of case studies of contemporary artists and their in-house studios. It explores the concept of home and the notion that “good things go with good things”.
The collection is rooted in a workwear aesthetic driven by the colours and fabrics of the South West states of America. The pallet starts in the heart of New Mexico via Santa Fe, Abiquiú and the White Sands before moving down Texas’ southern frontier through El Paso, Sierra Blanca, Marfa and onto the Big Bend. ’Las Casas’ takes inspiration from the sprawling plains of the West and a number of noteworthy contemporary artists who made the desert their home, but also creative hub and key source of inspiration in their work.
We cast two local artists, painter Moritz and photographer Stephanie, to model ‘Las Casas’ in-and-around their home town of Marfa, west Texas.
Fascinated by the blurring of domesticity and creativity, ‘Las Casas’ exists within a culture of living within your work and co-existing with your art. Collecting, curating, styling and in-turn informing one’s vision through one’s surroundings with objects and found treasures was a key factor in the development, most significantly, the ‘opening up’ of living spaces with stones, bones, tools, ceramics, textiles, minerals, oddities and driftwood.
The new Japanese indigo Selvedge Jeans feature a wider silhouette to allow for freer movement, with Sun Bleached and Desert Vintage washes. The denim is dyed using a specialist rope dyeing technique and then woven on original Toyota shuttle looms in Japan.
A full outfit of heavily sun drenched, almost violet, denim jacket, pants and dungarees in classic ‘worker’ styles are a nod towards painters overalls, but also field and yard workers.
Raw Linen Mix Indigo and Ecru Italian Selvedge chinos, shirts and a standout duster shape are lightweight and functional, both appropriate for diverse climates, but also to work and create in.
Further, the ‘Las Casas' Jersey pieces reflect the earthy browns of the desert scape and the ferocity of its iconic sunsets across a new vest shape and raglan long-sleeve T, as well as new Essential T colours.
STORY TWO
‘Strange light hovers over lovers in west Texas, as far as the eye can see. Burning daylight versus storms brewing, drawn by laws of gravity.’
Monsoon season brings an abundance of life rarely seen in such arid settings. Epic weather fronts encourage green nature to thrive as fertile scrub and long grasses dominate the sand.
Inspired by the washed out, sun-drenched colour pallets of readily worn painters’ jackets and a nod towards original French workwear; the Story 2 denim jacket, pants and dungarees are almost violet.
The wash acting as a perfect complement to the ever-changing tones of the deserts most diverse season. A refreshing and unique natural cast pallet, designed to be a reliable studio staple, come work or play, rain or shine.
STORY THREE
Texas endured one of the wettest rainy seasons in years. For us, it was a totally unexpected return to the desert; the usual barren plains, now lush with greens, yellows and reds.
Long grass peppering the plains, the verges in town luminous with life.
We shot Story Three in an abandoned laundromat lot just off the main Marfa stretch. The monumental concrete structure looming just off the main road that runs through town, each room in the half built space blooming with succulents; vast swathes of plant life, leaves of different shapes and sizes flapping in the wind.
We were pounded by flash storms and took refuge in Moritz’s red hearse between shooting. The spectrum of colours and moods provided by the rapidly shifting weather fronts worked perfectly with the various linen tones.
