When we started TDC, we had a vision of one day establishing our own manufacturing hub. This is primarily because we live in a country whereby most of our fashion is either directly or indirectly sourced from abroad. At some point in our Pre-Original era, we decided that it was time for us to change this narrative by embarking on a project that would see us evolve to a position of manufacturing our own pieces. "Made in Kenya" became priority #1 for TDC, as the team believed that everything we needed to make this happen (resources and talent) was readily available to us at home.
Step one for us was trying to understand what the components of a perfect denim jacket are. Up to this point, we never considered the fact there is an entire process behind making a jacket. This changed one typical Sunday when the team was at the workshop taking stock inventory for the coming week's orders. Despite not being among the order list, one of the jackets in my personal inventory happened to catch their eye: a very nice, medium-sized, sky-blue denim jacket which fit the specifics of our set criteria for what we considered to be the perfect jacket. It was during this moment when it was suggested by our head designer (Thomas) that we should consider dissecting the jacket to its individual components.
If anyone has ever watched the 1931 cult classic movie (or read the 1818 novel) Frankenstein, then you might have some understanding of what we did to the poor jacket. Drawing inspiration from the story, we put our seam rippers to work, breaking down the jacket into each of its individual components. Once done, we glued each of the separated pieces onto a wall in our workshop in a manner that resembled a silhouette of its former self, while giving us a broader understanding of which components, when put together, make what we call the standard trucker jacket.
Upon further research, we discovered that our little experiment represented two vital steps in the manufacturing process of denim jackets: Pattern Cutting and Design. Pattern cutting is the process of creating templates used to cut fabric pieces that will be sewn together to make garments. It is a fundamental step in fashion design and garment construction, transforming a design sketch or idea into a physical 2D blueprint that guides the shape, fit, and structure of the final clothing item.
Priority #1 became making our first pattern: a medium-sized male jacket. In order to do this, we had to contract the expertise of a specialized pattern maker. Staying true to our philosophy that all the resources and talent we needed were readily available around us, we were introduced to a company known as Design Co-Lab Kenya. This is a creative fashion space that specializes in custom designing, sampling, and production of textiles and clothing. Here, we met and worked alongside a very experienced tailor and pattern maker known as David.
For about 3 weeks, we worked very closely alongside him, culminating in the production of our first TDC pattern and, most importantly, our first sample. Following the success of this endeavor, David's parting gift was connecting us with our soon-to-be trusted head tailor. This was his friend and former colleague who also possessed the immense experience and high-quality output we needed to incorporate in all our pieces moving forward.
This entire process altered our perception around fashion. Moving forward, we established three guidelines that continue to guide our collections.
The first time is always special. This was especially so for our team as we came up with our pilot collection. Having established a deeper understanding of the production process, we decided to place similar emphasis on our design process.
Dubbed as TDC Originals, we used locally sourced black and white denim as the canvas for the new collection to celebrate our iconic black and white TDC logo. Through enlisting the skills of the very creative Chienjo Omondi as photographer and creative director, we were able to ensure that our pilot collection, officially launched on August 9, 2021, was a success.
Through this collection, we were able to evolve as artists and craftsmen. We were no longer just selling jackets; we were now designing pieces, crafting clothes, and curating collections. More so, we now had the backdrop for our next two collections, but that's a story for another day.
Shop the collection: https://truedenimcollection.com/shop