Working together for the first ever time Garmsville and Ivy Ellis wanted to see what a capsule collection of high-end Ivy Ellis hosiery reflecting Garmsville’s passion for Black Ivy style would look like.
They wanted to update the conversation around Ivy Style bringing Historically Black Colleges and Universities into the story in a way that would be accessible to everyone.
Over a period of months sharing ideas, stories and visual references they eventually landed on a three-piece capsule collection which they felt not only achieved their goals but in fact surpassed their expectations.
Introduction
Ivy Ellis
Founded in 2022, they’ve elevated what many consider to be a commodity item into something beautiful. Comfort, fit, texture - every detail has been considered and elevated to the nth degree. What's even more impressive is that prioritising these elements has in no way been to the detriment of the aesthetic value of their work.
In fact, the level of research which goes into each range is one of the reasons the brand is able to create new and original styles season after season. This family-run business manufacture their socks in Scotland and although they've been around only a few years count Beams in Japan and J Crew in the US among their customers.
Garmsville's Jason Jules
Writer of the John Simons documentary, (2019), co-writer of Amazon best-seller Black Ivy A Revolt in Style (2021) and also co-curator of The Missing Thread exhibition (2023).
Jules has provided brand consultancy for the likes of Nike, Levi's, Sony Playstation, Swatch and the BBC. He's also appeared in campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Stussy, Golf Le Fleur Louis Vuitton, Supreme, Uniqlo, Gant, Sebago, Barbour and Drakes among others.
Methodology
Story-telling became the key component in creating the collection as both Garmsville and Ivy Ellis shared their interest in vintage American sportswear, Ivy League colleges and street style.
From hip hop and break dancing crews to 70's skateboarding style and basketball teams, they explored the importance of identities through clothing and style.
Methodology
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Following months of discussion they landed on the idea of celebrating the role played by Historically Black Universities and Colleges in creating the Black Ivy look as well as classic American Ivy style overall.
Highlighting the big three HBCUs Howard, Spelman and Morehouse, they created three unique colourways.
Each pair boasts a band strip at the top of the sock and a corresponding heal panel. Another detail - one side of each pair features the word Garmsville and the other features the name Ivy Ellis.
RESULTS
It was important for both brands that these pieces were stylistically versatile and could be worn with loafers, sandals and sneakers in much the same way that they might have been worn by students on campus in the 1960s.
The lookbook was shot by award-winning photographer and Ivy Ellis insider Justin Downing and feature Garmsville's Jason Jules.
Here they elected to use Modernist Brutalism as the back-drop, playing with natural light, shadow and symmetry allowing the different settings and the different styles of dress to highlight the versatility of the three socks that make up this capsule collection.
Photography by Justin Downing
https://www.justindowning.com
@justindowning1