Lee Debuts High-Fashion Denim With Ancuta Sarca

Denim has been a favourite fabric in every decade since it first became popular in the 50s and when it comes to heritage brands Lee is among the biggest. Looking to expand their high-fashion portfolio, the over 100-year-old label has teamed up with emerging footwear and accessories designer Ancuta Sarca. As part of the Romanian-born creatives A/W 23 collection presented as part of London Fashion Week, Sarca reimagined the brand’s expertly crafted denim in her signature pumps and clogs.

Once a workwear favourite for miners, today denim is a sartorial staple that has taken many forms. For Sarca’s latest collection, she’s repurposed deadstock denim jackets into form-fitting looks, including bralettes, and midi skirts. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without her Y2K inspired accessories like a mini handbag trimmed with deadstock shearling. Sarca has made waves in London’s fashion scene with her ability to repurpose trainers into covetable heels. For this collaboration Sarca explained she was inspired by the world’s current fascination with AI technologies and how opposing extremes can be brought together to create a harmonised idea.

The collaboration is the next step in Lee’s continued exploration of the fashion industry. The Kansas-founded denim brand has previously partied up with streetwear brands like Aries and BAPE. This also isn’t the first time Lee has put the spotlight on an emerging London designer. For Stefan Cooke's A/W 2020 collection they repurposed deadstock denim from Lee to create laser-cut jeans and jackets.