LEVI’S MADE & CRAFTED GOES GOTH

You can’t say you weren’t warned. Everything ’90s and “aughties” (from the first decade of the millennium) is new again. Although Goth’s roots reach back into the 1980s as an offshoot of Punk, it really hit its finest expression with Marilyn Manson’s creepy cover of “Sweet Dreams” and the, maybe even creepier, “Edward Scissorhands” with Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. This season Levi’s has incorporated the aesthetic into its Made & Crafted collection for Fall/Winter 2022. The range’s normally classic-meets-playful mix comes out in a goth and dark wave inspired collection of tops, bottoms, denim, knitwear, and outerwear. Think of it as the moody synth deep cut of Levi’s Made & Crafted highly constructed style.

Featuring a darker color palette with a mix of shadow tones and abstract graphics, Fall ’22 plays with traditional elements — things like ombre and buffalo plaids — in ways that makes them feel fresh and interesting. Simple yet bold graphics inspired by early 20th century avant-garde artists play against shadow tones of the same color. Classic styles are drawn out into exaggerated proportions to create modern shapes and silhouettes.

Elements of the collection include a buffalo plaid Ombre shirt, where the buffalo pattern increases in size as it moves down the shirt, and an oversized mock neck sweater with dark knitted rectangles inside rectangles. There’s also a slightly oversized take on a classic Donegal sweater featuring bordered white and black knitted rectangle graphics. Contemporary versions of Levi’s archives pieces also feature in the collection, including a chocolate brown suede bomber with a black Sherpa collar that’s based on an old Levi’s jacket from the 1950s.

Denim gets a thoroughly modern update thanks to a new wide leg jean and trucker jacket that features a special forest green denim fabric. It’s made using a black instead of a natural color weft, which means that, as the pieces are worn, instead of fading like traditional jeans the black will show through more and more.

“With Levi’s Made & Crafted, we take the Levi’s DNA but translate it in ways that aren’t as literal as other Levi’s collections. It’s designed for everyone and can be mixed and matched for a really playful approach on shape and silhouette. The focus is still on classic design, but we mess with those traditional elements to make everything feel more fresh and interesting,” says Paul O’Neill, the collection’s head designer.

Retails range from $78 to $1,200.