Late '90s black cotton jacket, Berlin

A piece from a small brand in Berlin in the late 90s.

The details are completely unknown. The tag features their address and phone number from that time. I really love brands that include their phone number like this; it shows they were confident in their work, haha.

Regardless, it's such a cool design.

Actually, this was originally pure white, but I had it garment-dyed black at a studio just outside of Prague.

A few months ago, I had a wonderful encounter with a Ukrainian man who had worked as a jeans manufacturer in Ukraine for about 10 years. He came to Prague a few years ago with his wife to run a studio for garment dyeing and clothing production. Since meeting him, I've visited the studio several times over the past few months, bringing my own personal items to dye, discussing this and that, testing repeatedly: how the dye takes, how different fabrics absorb color, or whether bleaching a white garment at home first to completely remove dirt affects how the color sets. After months of testing, I finally dyed this item for the first time.

It turned out incredibly cool—the slight unevenness characteristic of garment dyeing goes perfectly with this rugged cotton fabric. It's heavy-ounce, yet soft and extremely comfortable to wear.

The massive hood—the way it attaches is amazing, a design you rarely ever see. It’s a button-on style. By the way, there are two zippers running down the front, allowing for various ways to wear it. You can even create a collar; I've taken plenty of photos, so please scroll through them a few times.

Detachable hoods like this are usually pretty simple, but this one is perfection. You can tell it was designed by someone who really loved clothes back then, given the shape and the front design. On top of that, there's the front zip design, the way the pockets are attached (the front hip pockets are double-layered), and even the lining is flawless—made of soft cotton with an additional pocket inside.

This jacket really took a lot of time and money to produce.

Above the front hip pocket, "Nautwerk" is applied in blue felt. It likely means something like "handwerk," implying handiwork.

This is an exceptional piece.

Probably the first and the last.

Handmade in Berlin