Dockers® x karla

INTRODUCING DOCKERS® X KARLA COLLECTION

Celebrating Inclusivity and Classic Style with Dockers® x karla Collaboration

Since 1986, Dockers® has been the authority in khaki pants. The American classic has been at the heart of the casual movement for over 30 years, providing men with smarter, more comfortable and more versatile clothes for every occasion. As a nod to its khaki heritage and an elevated take on iconic silhouettes, Dockers® teamed up with one of the world’s most powerful stylists, creative visionaries, and founder of x karla -- Karla Welch -- to put a fresh spin on Dockers® khaki classics. Welch’s vision of inclusivity and minimalism has resulted in a modern collection to be worn by all.

“Our mission has stayed true for the last 30 years: quality, innovative, and versatile product infused with the energy of the West coast” says Karyn Hillman, SVP and Chief Product Officer for all Levi Strauss & Co. brands. “Karla has a talent for zeroing in on people’s individual style balanced with her creative and bold vision. Her authentic style and our khaki expertise was a natural collaboration that resulted in a range of product that is effortless, inherently Dockers® and can be worn by anyone.”

When Dockers® teamed up with Welch on the new capsule collection, she saw it as a perfect continuation of her story -- who she is, who she’s been, and where she’s from. “It’s a natural extension of what I’d wear besides jeans,” says Welch. “I have a real khaki obsession, and I always have. It’s such a staple of a man’s wardrobe, and I was always thinking...well, where are mine?” said Welch. “My dad carried Dockers® in his store and I have just always loved a good khaki pant on a man – my dream was to do a Dockers® collaboration.”

The Dockers® x karla capsule collection features a lineup up of five menswear staples and accessories designed to be worn by all. Included are wide-leg and tapered khaki pants, a trench coat, a white oversized dress shirt, a cotton piqué pocket tee, a bucket hat, and a utility belt-bag. Each piece treads that perfect line between classic and contemporary: Classic in their references to old films and styles from Welch’s childhood; Contemporary in the way each piece plays with proportion and adopts her own personal modern-day aesthetic with the khaki craftsmanship expected from Dockers®.

The x karla Wide Leg khaki pant was inspired by the full-cut trousers worn by screen legend Fred Astaire, as well as Welch’s own collection of baggy pants. “I love a full pant on a man and I think most men, and women too, will think they’re incredible when they put them on.” Also featured is the Trench that draws inspiration from the cool, slightly rumpled style of classic French cinema. For Welch, a great trench functions as the perfect finishing piece - little bit soft, a little bit oversized, nothing too precious.

Items in the collection that draw from Welch’s past include the x karla Knit pique pocket tee -- which, though based on a vintage Dockers® T-shirt, reminds her of one that her uncle Bruno wore when she was a kid. The x karla Bucket Hat -- a riff on the headwear staple she’s worn since she first saw one on the TV show G illigan’s Island . And though the vintage-inspired, utility-style belt-bag isn’t a specific reference to her past, it derives from her lifelong feeling of being a small-town “woodsy” person at heart. As for the white dress shirt -- it's an all-around classic for every age -- an oversized white button-up that anyone can wear with just about anything, tucked or un-tucked.

The campaign for the collection, shot by Matthew Welch, also touches on Karla Welch’s memories of youth. Set on a tranquil beach similar to the one near where she grew up, it speaks to both a connection to nature and the comfort we derive from getting lost in a beautiful landscape. Much like the collection itself, it’s a mix of new and familiar, past and present. It launches on June 20th at Dover Street Market New York, Los Angeles and on xkarla.com .

The collection campaign imagery, features Mackenzie Davis -- shot by Karla and Matthew Welch. In honor of this collection, Dockers® will be making a donation to The Trevor Project.

WWD - “I’m Khaki obsessed” says Karla Welch

By Kari Hamanaka

“I’m khaki-obsessed,” Karla Welch said explaining why she wanted to link with Dockers for her latest collaboration.
“It’s a continuation of all the other projects I’ve done where I’ve wanted to work with best in show and reinventing American classics,” she continued. “I’m calling it gender free because I think anybody’s free to wear it.”
The men’s wear-inspired capsule consists of a wide leg and tapered take on the classic khaki pant. There’s also a trench, oversize dress shirt, cotton piqué shirt, bucket hat and utility bag.
“It’s small,” Welch said of the capsule’s size. “I don’t ever want to overproduce. I just want to make a few things I love and make it the best I can. And that’s it.”
The Dockers x Karla collection becomes available Thursday at Dover Street Market’s New York and Los Angeles locations, in additional to Welch’s online shop. The pieces retail from $60 to $600.
“We’ve been partnering and working with Karla over the last year and it’s been effortless with her,” said Karyn Hillman, senior vice president and chief product officer for Levi Strauss & Co.’s brands.
The company had been working on a Levi’s project with Welch in its San Francisco Eureka Innovation Lab when the idea for doing something with Dockers came up, Hillman said.
Hillman said Welch’s interpretation of the workwear classics speaks to a diverse audience, giving the capsules legs to open the brand up to new customers.
“I think going into it together, we thought that anybody should be able to wear this, whether it’s for him or for her,” Hillman said of the line’s unisex appeal, adding distribution through Dover Street Market and Welch’s site extends the brand’s reach to those outlets’ respective followers.
Inspiration came from the cinema in the case, for example, with the khaki pants that served as a nod to Fred Astaire, in addition to Welch’s own family.
“When I grew up, my father had a men’s wear store and sold old school Dockers and their work pants. The shirt with the piqué cotton, my uncle Bruno, my favorite uncle who died when I was young, he always had a piqué cotton shirt on with a little pocket on the chest. So that’s his shirt.”
Imagery for the capsule’s campaign was also kept in the family with Welch’s husband, Matthew Welch, photographing the collection on a beach close to where she grew up.
The stylist said another capsule with Dockers could be in the works for next year, but said it’s wait-and-see. She also has another collaboration with Levi’s coming up in November.

Link to original article: https://wwd.com/fashion-news/sportswear/dockers-karla-welch-collaboration-to-launch-at-dover-street-market-1203184467/

HIGHSNOBIETY - Karla Welch Celebrates Inclusivity

By Kyle Hodge

Stylist Karla Welch teams up with Dockers for a capsule collection celebrating inclusivity and classic style. Since 1986, Dockers’ khaki pants have become a staple menswear look providing customers with a comfortable and more casual everyday look. With Welch’s keen eye on minimalism and contemporary design, she re-imagines the classic khaki silhouette that can be worn by all.
As well as khaki’s, the Dockers x Karla capsule collection features a lineup up of five menswear staples and accessories designed for inclusivity. Included are wide-leg and tapered khaki pants, a trench coat, a white over-sized dress shirt, a cotton pique pocket tee, a bucket hat, and a utility belt-bag. Each piece blends the classic appeal of Dockers with a contemporary design from Welch. Classic in their references to old films and styles from Welch’s childhood; Contemporary in the way each piece plays with proportion and adopts her own personal modern-day aesthetic.
“Our mission has stayed true for the last 30 years: quality, innovative, and versatile product infused with the energy of the West coast” says Karyn Hillman, SVP and Chief Product Officer for all Levi Strauss & Co. brands. “Karla has a talent for zeroing in on people’s individual style balanced with her creative and bold vision. Her authentic style and our khaki expertise was a natural collaboration that resulted in a range of product that is effortless, inherently Dockers and can be worn by anyone.”
The most important aspect of the partnership is the focus on inclusivity. As fashion continues to offer more genderless options, the collaboration will offer genderless sizing from XS to XL. To further give back, Dockers will be making a donation to The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization focusing on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.
To dive deeper into the collection, we’ve spoke with Karla about working with Dockers, putting her spin on classic menswear staples, and the future of inclusivity in fashion. Read below.
What made Dockers an interesting partner to work with?
Because really, they are the best in class when it comes to khaki.
The Dockers Khacki is a classic menswear staple, how did you put your spin on it?
Well, this collection is for everyone. Doesn’t matter how you identify or how you size. It’s about how you want to have a relationship with your clothes. I wanted to make pieces I love.
The collection is a mix of classic and contemporary designs, how were you able to find that perfect middle ground?
I think it’s really pulling on what I love and want to wear. Ego driven, haha! I also really want to make pieces that you’ll have forever – that’s why I explore the classics always. Doesn’t matter if it’s luxury or mass – make a good design and love it.
In the past you worked with partners like Levi’s, Hanes, and now Dockers, what attracts you to the brands you work with?
I’m telling a few stories… who I am, where I’m from, and in a way, a story of American icons. I’m an immigrant to America and I love it here. These pieces always have a connection to my idea of American and America’s icons.
Social change has been a major focus in your work, how’s that being implemented in the Dockers partnership?
A donation has been made to one of my favorite organizations The Trevor Project. Because this is a genderless collection and we aren’t using specific traditional sizing, I want to push the wearer to think differently so that it can be fit everyone – and I’m thrilled that a big brand like Dockers was willing to go there.
Inclusivity seems to be a big motivator in this partnership, making clothes that can be worn by all. Do you believe fashion is headed to a genderless future?
I think there will always be both but what I also see is an incredible freedom to just wear what you want. At first sight, this looks very masculine but I love dressing like a “tomboy.” But I even have to look at my own language…I’m just a human wearing clothes that I like… lose the labels!!!!
The Dockers x Karla collection ranges in price from $60 to $600. It launches on June 20th at Dover Street Market New York, Los Angeles and on xkarla.com.

Link to original article: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/karla-welch-dockers-interview/

REFINERY 29 - THE FIRST EVER GENDERLESS COLLECTION

Oringial link: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/06/235847/karla-welch-dockers-unisex-collection-2019#slide-3

THR - “The seven-piece 'gender-free' line includes wide-leg, high-waist khakis that evoke Fred Astaire, a 'Columbo' trench coat and a 'Gilligan's Island' bucket hat.”

By: Ingrid Schmidt


Hollywood stylist Karla Welch (who counts Tracee Ellis Ross, Sarah Paulson, Elisabeth Moss, Olivia Wilde and Justin Bieber among her clients) has partnered with the Levi Strauss & Co. brand Dockers on a cinema-inspired capsule collection that she calls “a very modern comfortable uniform.”
The line, pivoting around two fresh takes on the essential khaki pant, consists of five unisex apparel essentials — wide-leg and tapered khaki pants, a roomy trench coat, an oversized white button-front shirt with a drop shoulder and a white pocket T-shirt — plus a bucket hat and belt bag. Ranging from $60 to $600, the Dockers x Karla collection will be available as of Thursday, June 20, at Dover Street Market stores in Los Angeles and New York and xkarla.com.
No stranger to collaborations, Welch has previously teamed up with Levi’s on denim and Hanes on T-shirts (what she dubs “the very best in show”) to reinterpret wardrobe staples with her own Hollywood-tested style spin. “All of my projects are very autobiographical, about so many things that I've loved in my life, and the Dockers campaign looks a lot like where I grew up as a kid on coastal harbor,” said Welch to The Hollywood Reporter of the Dockers x Karla campaign shot by her husband, photographer Matthew Welch.
Karla Welch hails from Powell River on the Sunshine Coast of Canada, where she grew up selling, buying, creating window displays and more for her father’s menswear store, which he has owned for over 40 years. “It was a very formative part of my life; it's where I fell in love with clothes," she said. "Growing up loving movies, I always clocked in my memory the way Fred Astaire's pants move at the bottom when he dances, which is the inspiration for the wide-leg pant. It’s that older leading-man look, also on Gene Kelly and Cary Grant, how their pants fit high around the waist.”
The pocket tee hearkens back to a style worn by Welch's Uncle Bruno, while the bucket hat riffs on the Gilligan's Island signature that Welch has long adopted as a favorite topper.
"The trench coat is one of those pieces [honored] throughout cinematic history; this is a real kind of Columbo mackintosh that I love," said Welch. "And the little pleated pant is based on an old Dockers style that my father used to sell at the store, but it’s also how skater boys cut the bottom of their pants and wear them short. I have a lot of Japanese twill pants that I love, too. The shirt, minimalist but oversized, is an extension of how I dress. I’m definitely a tomboy. My whole family wears these pieces, so there’s a certain fluidness. They are a real blank slate of clothing.”
A segue into the fact that the all-inclusive collection is gender-free, kind of a big deal in the corporate realm of Dockers. It’s all in the sizing (from extra-extra small to extra-extra large), which “took a little bit more work, but any changes takes a bit of work,” says Welch. Fit is the other major element, hitting that sweet spot that can be worn anywhere from high on the waist to low on the hips to fit most any body type and style.
“Having worked together on previous projects, Karla let us know it would be her dream to do a Dockers collaboration, and it was a natural next step in our partnership,” says Karyn Hillman, senior vp and chief product officer for all Levi Strauss & Co. brands “The collaboration taps into Karla’s past, referencing old films and styles from her childhood and it also draws inspiration from the Dockers archives.... From start to finish, there has been a genuine appreciation for each other’s expertise, and the end result is a timeless, sophisticated and versatile collaboration that anyone can wear.”
Dockers has announced that a contribution will be made to The Trevor Project, a West Hollywood-based non-profit focused on suicide prevention in the LGBTQ young adult community, in honor of the Dockers x Karla collection.

Original link: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-stylist-karla-welch-s-cinematic-inspired-dockers-collaboration-1219628

THE CUT - Cool Khakis with Karla Welch

By: Andrew Nguyen

Gone are the days of Dockers being the primary uniform of dads everywhere. The brand teamed up with stylist Karla Welch on a collection that’s more suited for the kind of crowd that’ll wait on line for a sneaker drop. Welch, who previously created a capsule of Hanes white T-shirts, knows how to tweak basics into something fresh and cool. This time she turns her eye on khakis and the result is a seven-piece line of unisex clothes and accessories. You’ll find wide-leg pants inspired by Fred Astaire, a pair of slimmer trousers, a trench, plus trendier items like a bucket hat and a belt bag. To round it out, there is a crisp white button-down plus a soft sweater.
Prices range from $60 for the bucket hat and up to $600 for the trench, with genderless sizing from XS to XL. Shop the entire collection below or in person at Dover Street Market in both New York and Los Angeles.

Original Link: https://www.thecut.com/2019/06/dockers-karla-welch.html