Dickies, marked its centennial anniversary earlier this year with ‘Made in Dickies’, a campaign honoring Dickies’ blue collar, American roots by bringing workwear and work-inspired stories to life. Dickies has long been worn around the world by artists, farmers, skaters and welders making extraordinary things. It’s makers like these who have contributed to the new ‘Made in Dickies’ campaign, demonstrating different types of work and skills that have been passed on through generations of families. ‘Made in Dickies: Generations’ spotlights the five iconic styles that are intrinsically Dickies through their ‘Icon’ series; five short-form videos showing that hard work runs in the family. From humble beginnings they hone their craft with pride, seeing the torch carried by future generations, creating their own legacy. The ‘Icon’ series will be available across Dickies’ digital and social platforms globally.
The campaign features two UK-based small businesses, handed down from generation to generation, and 3 US-based Dickies ‘Makers’, a Pitmaster, a Lowrider, and a Singer who have found their passions, passed down through their families. Made in Dickies: Generations, showcases a behind-the-scenes view into their working life and reveals the people and stories that shaped them through family lineage at the heart of their journey.
Dickies visited these ‘Icons’ with a unique lens and documented their daily lives. Through film and portraiture, the content explores the connections within each family and the work they do for the communities where they reside, a notion at the heart of the Dickies brand since it began. For 100 years and multiple generations, Dickies connection to work culture and community through self-expression continuously celebrates those who shape their own paths.
The global campaign led Dickies to partner with creative agency Breaks, UK talent including director Ollie Rillands, photographer Lily Brown, videographer Ali Hutchison and stylist Lewis Munro to produce the 5 Made in Dickies: Generations stories.
These 5 Dickies Icons are:
Newington Green Shoe Repairs, London – A third-generation cobbler/shoe repairer, brothers Tevfik and Erkin took over their grandfather’s business, having lost both their father and grandfather to COVID. Newington Green Shoe Repairs was originally established by their grandfather in 1980 and his work goes back to Northern Cyprus, where he used to make shoes. The shoe repair business is a longstanding and much-loved shop within the community and represents the family’s only existing link to their father and grandfather.
The Steam Room, London – When Papa Chung came to London from Hong Kong 44 years ago, he opened a Chinese Takeaway at 230 Kingsland Road. In 2004 and following Papa Chung’s retirement, his son Tony converted the space into a dry-cleaning store. Taking care of and advising clients on how to clean and preserve their garments ranging from work to casual wear, Tony is also a reputable raw denim specialist. He and his wife Fran believe in incorporating their traditional Chinese values of harmony, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and diplomacy into their daily lives and business. Sustainability is also super important to their business, and through a small lifestyle offering of products, they share their knowledge of preserving clothes.
Kevin Bludso, The Pitmaster – A BBQ legend in southern California, Kevin was born and raised in Compton. His dad a police officer, and his mother, had concerns about him growing up in such a dangerous area that they shipped him off to Texas in the summers to live with his Grannie. Grannie, the daughter of a sharecropper who taught her how to cook and BBQ. She passed this onto Kevin, and what came from it was a successful career in BBQ, starting in Compton and working its way throughout LA. His story is of generational love and overcoming rough beginnings to succeed through hard work.
Kona Rose, The Songbird – Kona Rose is a singer and recording artist based in Los Angeles, California. She was introduced to the arts at a young age by her mom, who was the first female lead dancer of Michael Jackson’s touring band. Growing up, Kona was given VHS tapes of her mom touring the world and dancing alongside Michael Jackson, Prince, and other A-list acts. These tapes are what sparked Kona’s determination to pursue arts as a career path. Her father, a Hollywood Film Producer and CEO of Motown Records, passed away when Kona was a baby. The combined legacy of her father and the successful career of her mother is what Kona credits as the driving force behind her creative ambition. Kona will be releasing new singles globally in November.
Kay Kaoru, The Lowrider – Born and raised in Japan, Kay was on a career path to follow in her father’s footsteps to get into medicine. Along the way she realized that was not her passion. She became depressed and developed an eating disorder. Her life then made a turn, and through an unexpected calling – lowriders. She first discovered the passion in Japan, then moved to California and fully dove in, meeting and later marrying Mikey. Mikey’s father is also a lowrider legend. Kay and Mikey have become a fixture in the lowrider community, building and customizing cars. She came from a family built on a strong work ethic and fell in love with a career that deals with beautiful machines from the past and bringing them into a new and artful future.
The Dickies “Icons” Are Available For Purchase Internationally, Visit The Dickies Website For More Info.
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