Ok so I’m a sucker for a good story…and Hiut Denim is a good story.
In brief, Hiut have a mission to restore clothes manufacturing to the town of Cardigan in Wales:
Cardigan is a small town of 4,000 good people. 400 of them used to make jeans. They made 35,000 pairs a week. For three decades.
Then one day the factory closed. It left town. But all that skill and knowhow remained. Without any way of showing the world what they could do.
That’s why we have started The Hiut Denim Company. To bring manufacturing back home. To use all that skill on our doorstep. And to breathe new life into our town.
Hiut Denim
Pretty cool eh? With a singular focus, Hiut make high quality jeans from high quality denim in a variety of styles with the factory only making around 100 pairs a week. And they offer a repair service. Jeans for life. With a cool story to go with them.
A chap called Jonathan Chapman introduced this idea a few years in relation to design called ’emotional durability’. It’s the idea that you feel compelled to keep something for a long time, embracing it’s signs of ageing and wear. Not only do Hiut’s jeans ‘wear’ in a way that’s unique to the wearer, they come with a back-story that makes the buyer feel attached to them. Like you’ve bought into the idea of saving this little town in Wales. Your jeans come signed by the machinist who put them together.
Watch the documentary below and then tell me you don’t feel compelled to save up for a pair?
(I’m saving)