Virginia, the slogan goes, is for lovers.
Lovers, apparently, of hand-stitched denim with an Italian pedigree.
Introducing Shockoe Denim, shipping premium jeans straight from the cobblestoned streets of Richmond right now.
Shockoe is the brainchild of Anthony Lupesco, who spent his childhood living above his father’s suit factory in Italy, marveling at the artisans who crafted high-end suits and “seemed proud of their work at the end of the day.”
Now, he’s bringing that care and love to denim.
“There is something iconic to denim. It represents the aspirational side of this country,” says Lupesco. “Jeans were created for pioneers who trekked thousands of miles in pursuit of the American dream.”
Lupesco set up in Shockoe Bottom: a historic garment district in Richmond, VA. He sources the raw selvedge from nearby mills in North Carolina, then handmakes each pair with the help of local tailors in the back of Shockoe’s shop, utilizing single-needle machines.
Given that individual care, each pair of jeans — indigo-dyed raw selvedge with gold or red stitching, copper rivets, gunmetal button-fly and chain-stitched hems — wears its own character.
And the South shall low-rise again.
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