Jack Koceja

Excerpts from an Interview with the Designer

Recorded on: March 8 2023 and March 29 2023

Tell me about your collection!

I'm looking at all of work wear throughout American history. The title is Factory Town. And it's based around Appalachian coal mining towns where people would come and would buy a house in this sort of factory environment just so they could work at the factory. It's focused around this fusion of very traditional past inspirations, with a strange alternative future.

What aspect of workwear interested you?

I think it's interesting where, in clothing, there's sort of a unison between functionality and something that looks good. And that's where I'm combining two different ideas of workwear, where it's something that needs to have the ability to be worked in and be worn excessively. And also combining with something will look nice and will be presentable at the same time.

What challenges have you been facing?

A lot of mine is very engineered. So I'm doing half scales right now. One of my looks is going to be a traditional denim trucker jacket that I'm thinking out of the top back yolk, you can pull out a fitted suit jacket and shirt. So figuring out how I'm going to physically put everything together has been really challenging.

What kind of fabrics are you planning to include in your collection?

I've already purchased most of my fabric, I think it's all 100% cotton. I want to say 90% of it is made in the USA as well. I have selvedge denim from cone mills. I believe I have two different duck cottons, so the canvas that like Carhartt jackets and Carhartt pants are made out of. I have an undye and I have a brown dye. Both of those are from Mount Vernon Mills in Virginia.

What story are you telling with your collection? Do you want the audience to see your narrative or would you prefer that they create their own?

Well, I think that there's always gonna be some kind of, at least with a sort of storytelling kind of collection, there's always gonna be some, some narrative that the creator is pressing, whether that's picked up by the audience or not, depends on how that collection is executed. 

I'm thinking a little bit about inequalities within this specific miniature world that I've created. So this, this jean jacket that pops out to be a suit is because the suit is going to be made outta the same fabric that the foreman, the owner, of this factory will be wearing. So this manager who wears this jean jacket will go from having their work pants, their jeans and their work top to their jean jacket to, they'll pull out their suit when they need to look nice. And talking about how looking the part really takes too big of a role.

Why fashion?

I don't really know. Honestly, I've been asked that question a few times by other people and I don't really know why I am doing it this way. I think clothes are really cool. I really enjoy clothing. No real reason, no deep meaning or anything. I enjoy sewing and I enjoy the process, I guess. 

Do you prefer ideation or construction?

Construction. I definitely like the construction a lot more. It is easier, it comes more naturally for me to put something together rather than ideate it. I can do both, but I enjoy the assembly more.