The folks behind Lotus Peak aren’t your typical Kickstarter brand. Founders Alex Mourokh, Tim Chaliy, and Irene Dubin invested their own money in their first batch of jeans, which included a slim tapered fit in a heavy super high slub 18oz. Japanese denim and a mid-rise straight fit in 13.5oz. Now that the first run has largely been sold, the team is turning to Kickstarter to ensure their New York-based production continues.
Lotus Peak sprung from Chaliy’s twin obsessions: Japan and raw denim. Chaliy, a brand management student at the Fashion Institute of Technology saw an opportunity to combine the two in a brand made in New York. He teamed up with Mourokh and Dubin and Lotus Peak was born. The trio is intent on keeping production in New York and have teamed up with Quick Fusing Inc. to sew the jeans on the island of Manhattan.
The 18 Oz. slim taper is the flagship of the Lotus Peak line with good reason. The Kuroki Mills fabric is absolutely gorgeous. The big slub gives the denim an almost printed look, something like an indigo cheetah’s skin. The texture is ridged and varied with steppes and plateaus of weft yarns peeking through. It’s really good denim. The fabric alone should speak volumes to its inherent Japanese-ness, but the team at Lotus Peak decided to embellish the jeans with details to really hammer the point home.
Chaliy said the pocket stitching is meant to recall the silhouette of Mount Fuji. The right pocket bag is hand painted with a kanji and bamboo plant. The Japanese theme continues through the inseam which is sewn red in tribute to the rising sun.
Granted, these details may be a little much for some; but Lotus Peak’s decision to go with denim filled with such character should work in their favor. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re offering this jean for $170.00 on their Kickstarter right now.
