The base fabric is a heavyweight flannel with a woven herringbone twill pattern and a triple-brushed face for softness. The fabric is stunning in its natural undyed state, but to give it added depth we decided to hand-dye the yardage in vats of natural indigo. No machines or harsh chemicals are involved in this process. The photos you’re looking at are exactly how the fabric is dyed: one bolt at a time in a vat with a long wooden rod.  

Indigo dyeing fabric using this highly manual process does not exist in this manner for larger scaled garment production in most parts of the world. We count ourselves fortunate to have access to small, skilled workshops like the one we partnered with in India to bring this shirt to life. What attracted us to this approach is how honest and straightforward it is; there is no modern technology involved and the method used here is how garment makers have dyed fabrics for centuries. This indigo dye is much less stable than what would be achievable in a modern dye house facility, which might be a detriment to some but is something we (and you, we’re guessing) are happy to embrace. What we expect over the course of the next year is a flannel that will age with greater contrast and speed than what would be possible with any indigo yarn-dyed or mill-dyed flannel.