COATZ - One of a Kind

COATZ sources vintage, antique, and dead-stock textiles, transforming them into different silhouettes based on the amount and weight of each cloth. They acquire their West-African strip-weave cotton textiles, that make up most of their garments, from African vendors in Los Angeles. They also travel to antique shows, swap meets and thrift stores to find unique cloths that resonate with their brand.

The patterns they create are subtle twists on classic silhouettes. They draft all the patterns themselves using vintage patterns for reference. They've also copied collectible vintage garments they personally own. The Classic Collection is a combination of a Japanese haori coat mixed with the classic french painters coat. The Chore Coat Collection mixes an army coat and french chore coat with a collarless, crew neck design. 

     

For Tuck Shop's 2019 collection, we asked COATZ to hand embroider  "sink or swim" as a secret message on the inside of the lapel. Coatz developed a font and cross-stitch design for "sink or swim" and wrote the message in colours that correlate with Tuck Shop's 2019 Spring/Summer bathing suit palette. 


     

Some COATZ garments have additional finishing that is applied prior to garment construction. Their Canvas Chore Coats are made from 1940s and 1960s tents with paint marks applied before cutting the material. In a small town outside of El Paso, Texas they came across a tent that had once been used as a drop-cloth. This piece was used for the first two Canvas Coats and the inspiration for an ongoing collection.