Amsterdam is the leading jeans capitol of the world. Yes, since the relocation of Tommy Hilfiger’s head office from New York to Amsterdam a few years ago, lots of fashion casual wear enterprises and designers moved to Amsterdam. The G-Star denim label began its worldwide advance here, as did Gsus and G+N. Kuyichi, the first-ever label for organic jeans, was set up here. Even iconic brands such as Levi’s and Diesel have recognised Amsterdam’s pivotal position in the denim world and have chosen the city as the location for their design studios. [source iamsterdam] Jason Denham, leading British jeans designer, also moved to Amsterdam and founded DENHAM [the jeanmaker] in 2008 and tells us why he thinks many brands are based there: “Amsterdam is the personification of everything jeans represent. Unyielding, slightly rebellious, adventurous, firmly opinionated, never afraid to make a statement and always uniquely individual.” Well there you have it, Amsterdam in a nutshell.

Worn out denim gets second chance

Denim has been around for a long time. So enormous amounts of jeans have been thrown away. And finally more and more people see the beauty of this material and try to come up with recycling and upcycling ideas. And because upcycleDZINE is all about upcycle design, I was very glad to find this piece of furniture showing the beauty of upcycling.

Featuring today is a chair called Achille, designed by Hang Design, founded by Valentina Colacchi and Federica Orlando, based in Rome | Italy. The chair has a modular seating design and uses two upcycled items, jeans, and pallets. It has a comfortable backrest composed of latex cylinders. These are covered with pillowcases made of worn out denim, completely removable and washable. The pillowcases are held together and in place by a leather strap. A nice detail is the small legs of the chair being covered with pieces of inside-out jeans.

It’s possible to add additional modules or a pouf, thus creating different combinations. The structure is made of old pallets and shows two compartments for a drawer and magazines. Achille is a chair that really comes into its own in any interior.
“Hang Design realizes furniture and unique items that show aesthetics and functionality which are expressed in the forms, in space, in the field, and in the idea.”
They produce unique pieces, limited editions, and innovative objects. For the construction of their projects, Valentina and Federica work with craftsmen who are experienced, competent and attentive in line to the spirit of the project. “Tradition and innovation, ancient and modern, are synthesized in all our production and obviously in us!”

Photos © Hang Design

The Achille chair is said to ‘combine stability with comfort’ and looking at the photos, it surely looks that way. A new chair with an original used look.
And for everybody who loves denim, there’s a two-day event held in Amsterdam, Amsterdam Denim Days.

Design by Hang Design