New York Denim Days: Where Denim and Art Collide

There was so much to take in at the first ever New York Denim Days Festival. I went mainly to see my friend, Ian Berry, who was in town from the U.K. and is a well known artist who only uses denim as his medium. His art in person is breathtaking and one could not believe all of the detailed and intricate work was created using only denim. Just unbelievable in person. Pictures do not do the work justice. Then I saw Hektad's painting on display at Artistic Milliners' booth and knew I had to learn more about the event. It was held at The Metropolitan Pavilion for the NYC debut as it had always been held in Amsterdam in years prior. Everywhere I looked, I saw denim, denim, and more denim. There were so many brands and workshops to take part in, too. Some booths, like Hudson Jeans, had a wonderfully talented tattoo artist hand painting on jeans. Others allowed you to dip dye your garments into indigo vats. There were a lot of patch options available to customize your denim, as well as jean pins by Pintrill also available for purchase..

@hektad._official for @artisticmilliners customizing a "Love Always" line. Curated by @acool55

@berukids displayed wonderful children's wear

Stunning pieces by @claudiagontovnik

One of a kind art by @danyakinyc

Tattoo artist Anka Lavriv at the Hudson Jeans booth

I wanted everything! I loved seeing how artists collaborated with the brands. Wrangler and artist Peter Max had a colorful collection of clothing, too. It was a great weekend for art and fashion. I hope they come back next year!

Having fun with photobooth pics courtesy of #ORTATRIBE