The avant-garde artists of midcentury New York have played a major role in Levi’s® Vintage Clothing equally striking AW16 collection.

Chicago-born artist Ms Joan Mitchell helped inspire a generation as a creative force in 1940s and 1950s New York. One of the few female painters of the era, Ms Mitchell broke more boundaries than most, her abstract forms and bold tones – best seen the bold brushstrokes of 1955’s “City Landscape” – were inspired by landscape, nature and poetry. Part of a new uprising of abstract impressionist artists centred around New York’s Ninth Street – including Messrs Clyfford Still, Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman – who ditched the norms and set about establishing new social and creative standards, Ms Mitchell’s pioneering work has proved to be gamechanging.

It also provided rich inspiration for Levi’s® Vintage Clothing’s AW16 collection. Tapping into the spirit of the ground-breaking Ninth Street Exhibition of 1951, where the brightest talents of the era were on display, the iconic denim brand has created an uncompromising range of clothing that shares a similarly avant-garde aesthetic. From the distressed, ripped-and-repaired finishes of the Lot 67 sack coat to the reproduction 1950s Tab Twills work shirt – which features two flap chest pockets and embroidered stitch detailing stitch – there are design touches and colour palettes that chime with these artists. The result is a contemporary collection that pays homage to the era while also putting a new spin on classic pieces from the Levi’s® archive that – just like Ms Joan Mitchell – will endure beyond any seasonal trend.

Shop the rest of the collaboration here