After three years traveling abroad searching for design ideas and creative inspiration, artist and designer Daisy Harkness returned to her home in the English countryside. As she surveyed the array of embroidered fabrics, jewelry and other keepsakes she had gathered along her way, her attention turned to the well-worn Levi’s jean jacket that served as her faithful, versatile go-to outerwear across the continents and oceans.
She imagined the well-traveled jacket embellished with finely embroidered original artwork, using the techniques she observed in India, Bali and Thailand. She set to work, driven by the picture in her mind. As she had envisioned, the old jacket was transformed into something completely new. The finished jacket embraced denim’s iconic, rugged, maverick spirit and elevated it to new heights of distinctive luxury style. That jacket would serve as the basis for Denim and Bone, Harkness’ celebrated label specializing in custom hand-embroidered, environmentally conscious ready-to-wear apparel.
The novel juxtaposition of luxuriantly rich, world-wise needlework, Western desert-inspired graphic design, repurposed denim and other natural fabrics adds up to a look and a vibe as unique as the pieces are stunning. Harkness designs resonant personal growth/self-care phraseology into many of the embroidered motifs for added dimension. Each Denim and Bone garment is a custom creation—a statement piece in the truest sense of the term.
The Denim and Bone vibe is distinctive: part desert bohemian, part fashion sophisticate; part cowgirl, part cosmopolitan; part outdoorsy homegirl, part well-traveled world citizen. The original prints and embroidery teemed with flowers, cactus, wildlife, Western-inspired skulls and landscapes, and inspired iconography. The rich, desert-dusty color palette is enchanting, pairing magically with the denim blue and muted neutral backgrounds.
Denim and Bone is committed to responsible fashion production. Each Denim and Bone garment is individually designed and meticulously handmade—the opposite of mass-produced, fast fashion that ends up in landfills. Harkness strives to minimize environmental impact by repurposing and upcycling wherever possible, finding beauty in old things and reimagining them new and better than they were. Nearly all of the jackets Harkness creates are vintage and/or military surplus.
The Denim and Bone collection has blossomed for the Holiday/Resort ’24 market. Additions include scrumptious knits, fine silk kimonos (so gorgeous and au courant this resort season), vegan leather, certified organic cotton tees and more—all emblazoned with Daisy’s signature desert boho vibe and presented in fine-quality finish. There are exquisite homewares and accessories, too.
And of course, there are plenty of original new variations on the richly appointed, storytelling, one-of-a-kind denim jacket that started it all. Everyone has a favorite denim jacket. Women who know Denim and Bone just have the best one and the only one like it. Available at Morphew, Southampton. denimandbone.com