Bryan Boone, Design Director, joined David Kahn in Fall of 2010 to lead the re-launch of the brand into the contemporary premium denim market. He set out to offer the existing and loyal customer fresh fashion while attracting a whole new era of David Kahn women. Known already for a fantastic fit, the collection has been enhanced with rich textures and colors, luxurious premium fabrics, new silhouettes and fashion forward elements that distinguish David Kahn jeans from the other denim brands in the market.
Bryan has always had a love for art, participating in every class or event that indulged his inherent creative nature. This led him to study at Art Center as a fine art student where his focus on surrealism greatly influenced his modalities in sculpture, installations and painting.
To support himself through art school, Bryan worked retail. What began as a flexible student job became a passion as his talents were called upon to play with and assort interesting groups of product into visual and tactile presentations. Merchandising store windows and floors strengthened his connection between clothing and art. Simultaneously Dolce & Gabbana launched a deconstructed collection with embellished hardware. Bryan was so moved by the variety of raw goods and how this collection communicated the evolution of a garment from vintage wear to modern that he turned his artistic sensibilities to fashion design.
His inspiration then led him to enroll in LA Trade Tech where he earned his design degree and internships with Diesel USA and Richard Tyler Trafficante. Bryan was recruited by LF Sportswear to design all bottoms wear and commenced work on the day he graduated. While at LF, he discovered a warehouse full of vintage denim and tops and began experimenting with cutting them up, mix and match, embroideries, washes and paints. His one of kind creations caught their eye and were put on the floor for sale realizing huge success. This quickly grew into a 4 category collection and spread to 21 privately owned stores where he was also the lead merchandiser for all product.
Prior to joining David Kahn, Bryan spent four years cultivating his knowledge of premium denim on the design team at J Brand Jeans with a specific focus on wash development. During his time there he worked directly with Susie Crippen, Sean Hornbeak and Dick Gaines, all of whom have had a strong influence on his denim expertise. Throughout his time with the denim giant, Bryan collaborated closely with guest designers on the 5x5 capsule projects working with designers such as Meadham Kirchoff, Peter Pillatto, Christopher Kane and Richard Andrews. Additionally he collaborated with Proenza Schouler and Henry Duarte on exclusives.
Boone is constantly building his denim know how, attending ‘Denim College’ at Cone Mills in North Carolina gaining depth in knowledge about technical weaving and construction of fabrics. He also counts trips to Japan, where denim is cherished as a high fashion statement, as a resource for vintage inspirations and innovative product design. For Bryan, fabrics are his canvas, silhouettes his sculpture. He finds great joy in creating and providing the consumer with specialized pieces not available from any other brand. He continues to push boundaries and redefine what premium denim embodies.
