How Did It Take Us This Long to Get Levi’s for Farmers? (EXCLUSIVE)

Find a friend with a car, hit the open road, drive north out of New York City, and eventually you’ll find fashion’s most cow-friendly brand: Sky High Farm Goods (SHFG), the for-profit offshoot label of its titular Columbia County non-profit farm, founded by Gagosian-represented artist Dan Colen to grow and distribute organic produce to marginalized communities. 

SHFG is difficult to miss. Since launching in 2022, the label — co-founded by Colen and ex-COMME des GARÇONS & Dover Street Market alum Daphne Seybold — has flexed its fashion bona fides, cycling through partnerships like crop rotations; it’s released everything from Balenciaga workwear and Nike x KAWS sneakers to Supreme beanies and a fully functional outdoor line with The North Face as part of a seasonal apparel line with Dover Street Market Paris. 

For its latest partnership with Levi’s, SHFG created an eight-piece denim collection with an appropriately on-brand concept. “We approached the collection by taking some of Levi’s most iconic silhouettes and reimagining them through a modern workwear lens,” says Leo Gamboa, vice president of merchandising and collaboration at Levi’s. “Our goal was to create the perfect uniform for modern farmers: pieces that are functional, comfortable, and built for real work, while still feeling contemporary and relevant.”

How did it take us until now to get Levi's for farmers? Well, maybe it just took the farming mindset to create the perfect farmer’s closet — Trucker jacket? Check! Chore coat? Check! Baggy utility shorts? Check! Jeans and overalls! Check and check! — but with a Sky High twist via tough touches like triple-stitch detailing, custom shanks (or buttons, as you might call them), and an updated Levi’s L-tab, extended to include SHFG’s iconic moon and strawberry mascots.

SHFG's whimsical take on workwear offers a fresh POV on Levi’s classics, but it's the message behind the capsule that’s key: The clothes are built farm-tough for field laborers and made to highlight the power of reformative supply chain practices, with each piece made from organic and transitional cotton — cotton grown on farmland transitioning from conventional to organic practices. It's during this in-between period that many farmers go without revenue for up to three years, as buyers prefer cheaper conventional cotton or fully certified organic cotton. This is a true barnyard wardrobe, for farmers and by farmers (or, more specifically, friends of farmers). It just so happens to look quite cool, too.

Ahead of the collection’s launch on July 25 — coinciding with an afternoon farmer’s market pop-up on Bond Street that you can RSVP for here — we caught up with Seybold and Sky High Farm Universe’s brand and product director, Matty Friedman, to chat about organic farming and blurring the line between utility and everyday style. 

You've been working with Levi’s for years. How has that relationship evolved? 

Matty Friedman: It’s been very organic. We started off with a small activation during Paris Fashion Week for friends and family, which led to a customization booth at the Sky High Farm music festival. We always knew we wanted to do something bigger and bolder. It took years to develop because we didn't want to rush things; there needed to be a story to tell around materiality given the brand’s unique disposition and reason for existing. 

The process of designing entirely new silhouettes was equally natural. We got to dig through the archives with the Levi’s design team for inspiration and develop something that felt new.

SHFG collections exist in this space between "useful" and "stylish" product. How do these pieces align with that approach?

MF: There's nothing more utilitarian and everyday than a pair of perfect jeans. We didn't want to reinvent the wheel; we wanted to push the designs to incorporate more workwear elements and make them more useful for farmers.

Why use organic and transitional cotton, specifically?

Daphne Seybold: Most people know what "organic" means for nutrition; few understand what it takes for a farmer to get there. Certified organic transition is a rigorous three-year process: Farmers phase out all synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and GMO seeds, while yields drop and the financial upside of certification stays out of reach.

Can you pick out a few particularly meaningful touches?

MF: The “Cloud S” was a nod to vintage Levi's collectors. In 1971, Levi’s changed their Red Tab denim from uppercase ‘E’ to lowercase ‘e’. This is why you see crazy high prices on some vintage denim. We wanted the ‘Cloud S’ to be a badge; it's an indicator of support for farmers and organic practices, and an " if you know, you know" detail for Levi’s enthusiasts.

When someone buys a piece from this collection, what do you hope they're taking away — beyond the garment itself?

MF: We always want people to have the best of the best with our products. Beyond that, we hope to spark people’s interest in the work that nonprofit Sky High Farm is doing and also learn more about Levi’s commitment to transitional cotton. With this collection, you can love your jeans knowing they support farmers as they transition to certified organic cotton. We also want you to get out there and get your hands (and jeans) dirty.

DS: Sky High Farm Goods exists to fund and advocate for regenerative agriculture and food equity. Partnering with Levi's to bring their transitional cotton program to a wider audience is a natural extension of that mission. It's a real step toward the systemic change our supply chains need. We're incredibly proud of what this partnership represents: clothing made through climate-restorative farming that's accessibly priced — and genuinely good-looking.

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