It’s Mud meets the museum.
Dutch circular denim brand Mud Jeans has teamed with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for a capsule collection of recycled denim inspired by the famed artist Vincent van Gogh. The limited-edition assortment consists of three styles of women’s jeans, one pair of men’s, a vest, a jeans jacket, a kimono-inspired top, two work aprons and two tote bags that can also be worn as backpacks.
The items feature lasered details such as the handwriting and phrases from Van Gogh’s letters and embroidered prints of his masterpiece paintings “Self-Portrait with Gray Felt Hat” (1887) and “Almond Blossom” (1890). The denim in the collection comes in three washes: Starry Blue (dark) and two lighter ones called Letter Blue and Blossom Blue.
The trio of women’s bottoms includes the Van Wilma wide-leg jean with an allover handwriting graphic, the vintage straight fit Van Rose in Starry Blue with handwriting on different parts of the pants and the Van Easy, a relaxed fit jean with an allover blossom pattern.
The sole men’s style, the pleated Van James, has already sold out on Mud’s website and features the same lasering as the Van Wilma but in the Starry Blue dark wash.
The jeans also feature a green and orange “V” stitch that symbolizes a combination of nature (green) and action (orange).
Mud previewed the collection at the Amsterdam Denim Days Festival in April 2022. The company says that the rationale behind the collaboration is based on an 1883 quote from Van Gogh’s preserved letters to his brother Theo: “To have hope for better times should not be a feeling but a doing something in the present,” a message that the 10-year-old brand abides by given its use of recycled fibers, its take-back program of customers’ old jeans and employment of Cradle2Cradle indigo dye, among other environmentally friendly actions.
Calik supplied all the denim used in the collection. The fabrics consist of 50 percent organic cotton, 30 percent hemp and 20 percent post-consumer recycled cotton. The garments were constructed by Yousstex International in Tunisia.
The capsule ranges in price from 79.95-189.95 euros, which under the current exchange rate is equivalent to dollars, and is currently being sold on Mud’s website and at select retailers. The Van Gogh Museum store stocks the aprons and bags only, which are available online and on-site.
As part of Mud Jeans‘ revolutionary leasing option, the pieces can also be rented via its website for 12.40-5.80 euros per month.