moving production to Mexico. The way forward,
suggests denim industry veteran Maurizio Donadi,
is to think small, even if production is large-scale.
Donadi is the newly-appointed creative director-
at-large at AG, the LA-based label founded by denim
pioneers Adriano Goldschmied and Yul Ku in 2000.
Donadi loves the iconic five-pocket blue jean, but
points out how one can become ‘a prisoner of that
story’. AG has never been a slave to heritage, but
Donadi sees the brand embodying denim in the widest
possible sense: ‘There’s the world of the five-pocket
blue jean and there’s another world called denim, a
much bigger world. What intrigues me is how many
blues one can create. That’s part of us, of nature, the
colour of the sky, of reflections on water. What we’re
working on is not a denim project. It’s a blue project!’
Donadi established his reputation with Diesel,
Levi Strauss and Georgio Armani, before joining
Ku’s label (Goldschmied left in 2004 to pursue other
ventures). He sees the future of AG in global terms,
incorporating European or even Japanese visions of
denim. But, as with Stony Creek’s colours, he thinks
of AG’s denim as rooted deep in America. It’s ‘cooked
up’ close to home, he explains. In fact, it’s cooked up
at Koos Manufacturing, a huge cutting-edge operation
on the outskirts of LA. The company was founded by
Ku in 1985 and he’s been producing jeans for a variety
of brands here ever since. As big as this modern, airy
factory is, it’s intimate, with fabrics cut in small
quantities to ensure precision; likewise, it can work
up experimental washes, then replicate them on a large
scale. It’s this intimate control that adds the magic,
says Donadi: ‘We made a promise to this area, to
be innovative – and also to really be present. Not to
walk away, not to outsource.’
In a similar way that Bellos is upscaling a craft
industry to volume production, Donadi sees himself
cooking up products for AG on a human scale. His
dream is ‘to be an artisan, to have the sensibility of
a small company.’ For both companies, the ultimate
aim can be described as sustainability; for Bellos, it’s
the fact that the dye used is unadulterated, and can
be traced back to a field in Tennessee; for Donadi,
it’s the notion of a simple T-shirt that isn’t disposable
and can last three years or more. Yet in both cases,
it’s the volume aspect, that this quality is available
to everyone, that’s crucial to the magic. As Donadi
puts it, the aim is daunting, but profound: ‘We have
to be small and big at the same time.’ ∂^
stonycreekcolors.com; agjeans.comCLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT,
NATURAL INDIGO PIGMENT;
A FILTER PRESS CATCHES
THE INDIGO SOLIDS; AG’S
CREATIVE DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
MAURIZIO DONADI WITH
AG FOUNDER YUL KU;
COOKING UP DENIM COLOURS
AT KOOS MANUFACTURING,
THE LARGEST ALL-THROUGH
DENIM MANUFACTURING
FACILITY IN WEST COAST
AMERICA; PROCESSING A
TEST BATCH AT THE STONY
CREEK LABORATORY IN
GOODLETTSVILLE, TENNESSEE‘We made a promise to the denim industry to be
innovative. Not to walk away, not to outsource’
∑ 129