Levi’s Made & Crafted : Miles Johnson in charge of style

By

Bruno Joly

Published
Feb 20, 2012

Levi's seems to be attempting to bring together the worlds of Levi's Vintage Clothing and Made & Crafted. Miles Johnson has effectively been serving as Head of design for both premium brands of the XX division. He has been responsible for the creative direction of Levi’s Vintage Clothing since 2003. His first collection for Made & Crafted is the Fall-Winter 2012/2013 collection. He will replace Made & Crafted’s Jonathan Cheung who will join Levi's in San Francisco for the line Red Tab.

Born in 1970, Miles Johnson began his career at the costume house Angels + Bermans, where he learned to work with vintage. He spent several years in the world of cinema, working on numerous films and with period costumes. He came to Paul Smith in 1997. The designer recognized Johnson’s talent and took him under his wing. Upon returning to school at London’s St. Martins to study fashion, Miles Johnson discovered the world of denim. In 2000, he started working for Levi Strauss Europe, heading the creative effort behind Red Tab Jeans. Then, several years after taking up the direction of Levi's Vintage Clothing in 2003, he moved to Amsterdam along with the entire new division of Levi's XX in 2009.

Launched in 2009 and located in Amsterdam, not too far from the brand’s European Headquarters in Brussels, the XX division has more autonomy which allows it to produce more sophisticated styles before integrating its labels withing the parent company. Last fall, we learned of the departure of Maurizio Donaldi in March, who had until then served as the devision’s vice president.