Charitable Hand Painted Denim by Rialto Jean Project
It is so exciting to me to see so many artist collaborations in the denim world. Denim on its own is a kind of art, and there’s no question that fashion and art go together hand in hand. For awhile, I only witnessed the merging of paint and denim as kind of a spinoff of denim’s roots as workwear…with paint splatters accompanying other roughed up details like distressing and even grass stains as a coveted fashion statement. In 2014, I worked with Dragonfly by J. Claire, a made-to-order brand that created custom hand-stenciled paint jobs on a variety of different denim washes. Last year, Nok Nok came out with their Summer of Love Collection for 2016, which features denim painted with artist Jackson Pollock’s unique drip technique. Adriano Goldschmied’s daughter Marta collaborated her brand MADE GOLD with artist Yuki Haze for a limited collection of painted denim this year, and just a few weeks ago I stumbled across Rialto Jean Project.
Rialto Jean Project is “an eco-friendly, philanthropic denim brand specializing in hand-painted, one-of-a-kind vintage product.” Founder & Creative Director Erin Feniger personally picks out rare and unique American-made vintage pieces and paints them herself, in an effort to support children through art! She paints not only denim, but also offers sweatshirts, military jackets, and more. All proceeds from the sale of her pieces go to support innovative art therapy programs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and New York Presbyterian Hospital. Rialto Jean Project calls their initiative ‘Denim Doing Good’, to represent their dedication and hard work to the cause! I know I am thankful I was introduced to art at a very young age, so this project definitely resonates with me. I truly believe an introduction to the arts at a young age helps foster personal growth and creativity!
Shopbop is carrying a small collection of pieces from Rialto Jean Project, including this amazing, more modern piece from BLANKNYC! If you aren’t familiar with their Skinny Classique in Good Vibes, this jean has been stocked and restocked over and over through multiple online retail outlets due to it’s incredible popularity thanks to fashion bloggers everywhere. I have been seeing it circulating Instagram for almost a year now! I grabbed a pair for myself and can see the appeal, but the fact that Rialto decided to work with BLANKNYC to give this jean a whole new character is just so fitting and awesome.
Rialto Jean Project also worked closely with NYDJ for a pretty good sized collection of white denim that’s been painted in all sorts of eye popping colors. Check that out here!
Read more about and shop directly from Rialto Jean Project at their website here.
Shop the Shopbop collection here, or click through the widget below!