Making clothes is a lot like jazz. Let me explain.

Creative work comes from making new combinations and connections out of existing parts. We draw on different influences to create something new, much like a jazz band. Each player listens closely, responding and improvising in real time. Nothing exists in isolation. Originality isn’t about starting from nothing, but about re-working, re-mixing, and building on what came before.

This isn’t a new concept though.

Even the great painters of the 16th century weren’t working in isolation. They studied earlier drawings, classical sculpture, religious iconography, and Greek mythology.

They borrowed compositions, reinterpreted themes, and refined techniques passed down through workshops and apprenticeships.

What we now call “masterpieces” were part of an ongoing dialogue with history. They weren’t inventing from nothing, they were responding to what came before them.

That’s how culture has always moved forward.

Everyone is riffing off each other (but hopefully not ripping off each other). Referencing is a conversation. Copying is theft. The aim isn’t to duplicate what exists, but to transform it and to add something personal and considered.

We approach every batch this way. Blending references to create something new, and hopefully timeless.

It's part of a longer conversation.

I like the idea of being part of a lineage. It makes what we do feel connected, not just to the past, but hopefully to the future as well. We inherit ideas, reshape them, and pass them on.

Making clothes is a lot like jazz.

In a jazz band, one musician plays a phrase and another responds. A rhythm shifts, a melody bends, someone picks up a lick and pushes it somewhere new. The music evolves in real time. Each player is reacting, interpreting, and building on what’s just been played.

Nothing appears from nowhere. Every note is shaped by what came before it, and by the musician’s instinct in that moment.

To celebrate this concept, we worked with Dutch graphic designer and illustrator Max Kisman, to design a label for Batch No.23. This idea of riffing — by listening, responding, and reshaping — became the starting point for our new limited edition label. Paying homage to the chaotic creative process. 

CHECK OUT BATCH NO.23