Founded by Baba Diop and Luís Ruano, rustic-Air is mostly known for its eye-catching, hand-customized sneakers, but now the brand is stepping into new territory with its inaugural apparel collection. Drawing from the craftsmanship of Diop’s Senegalese heritage and the rich colors of Ruano’s Guatemalan upbringing, the offerings are centered around the century-old dream of “making it” in America and include garments that play into that ethos like Levi’s trucker jackets, chore coats, select fleece pieces, cotton baseball caps and even a few pairs of sneakers.
Each piece is customized completely by hand at the brand’s studio in Oakland, CA, as the straight, perfect lines that can be created by sewing machines don’t speak to rustic-Air’s handmade, bricolage ethos. Hand-dying, stitching and painted details are present across all of the garments, and some even use repurposed vintage materials like Japanese boro. Due to the painstaking nature of this craft, some pieces took days to build. Footwear options are inspired by Diop’s childhood in Senegal, namely how he’d walk miles on dusty dirt roads and the unique wear that would put on his sneakers.
Each piece from rustic-Air’s inaugural apparel collection is available on the brand’s webstore now, with prices ranging from $265 USD for a hat to $1,275 for a trucker jacket and $1,650 USD for a special Air Jordan 1 Decon.
Elsewhere in the world of fashion, check out how Telfair reworked White Castle’s uniforms to celebrate the burger joint’s 100th anniversary.
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