Visiting Field Denim Workshop's Studio
Today I took a walk down to South Bermondsey to visit Lex in his studio space situated in South Bermondsey. Lex is a lecturer and founder of Field Denim Workshop, where he makes custom one off jeans by hand on a plethora of original vintage sewing machines. He can even darn holes on a vintage Singer darning machine, a very rare machine that can essentially remake the hole in your jeans in an almost invisible way.
His studio is a veritable treasure trove of all kinds of denim related paraphernalia as well as being a working studio where he can design garments from scratch. He will use his collection of vintage sewing machines to construct his custom jeans in ways true to jeans made pre-1960’s. As a lecturer at London College of Fashion where he is also doing a Masters in Denim Education he has a vast wealth of knowledge on the design processes and construction methods that go into jeans manufacturing. As well as this knowledge his collection includes an original Levi’s advertisement banner which he explained is a known original due to the cigarette the cowboy is holding (which companies now can’t include in advertising) and the added length of fabric either side of the banner which reproductions don’t ever add.
My favourite part of his studio is how he has fitted all of these sewing machines into a relatively small space like some kind of master Tetris player. Some tables he has had to saw shorter and others he hasn’t even been able to put on a table due to a lack of space. There are patterns hanging up next to vintage jackets and draws filled with buttons, rivets and any other accoutrements he may need to make a pair of jeans.
Even if Lex isn’t considered one of the biggest denim collectors in the scene, he has a true eye for collating a plethora of interesting and unique pieces. He is someone that I have respected and admired for his knowledge for some time. As co-hosts on the Sons Of Selvedge podcast we often find our views and preferences on scenes, trends and styles line up with each other. For these reasons he will be lending his expertise helping to design the next style of United Overalls Co. jeans, hopefully we can come up with something truly wonderful and eye catching together!
