Our Legacy

Interview with by Our Legacy co--founder, Jockum Hallin

For those that aren’t familiar, what do you want folks to know about your men’s brand, Our Legacy?

Christopher Nying and I are childhood friends and founded Our Legacy in 2005. We make part-timeless, part-progressive collections out of Stockholm, Sweden. We are deep into fabrics, colors and dyeing techniques. We try not to over design, but to let beautiful fabrics and silhouettes do the talking. We had an early international focus, and have been distributed in the best stores around the world since day one.

How did this collaboration with vans happen and come into fruition?

Vans approached us and asked if we wanted to collaborate on a shoe and a backpack. We came back to the table with an idea of a more robust footwear and clothing collection – and all made in the USA. We were first told it could be challenging, but after some diplomacy, we managed to land an apparel range made in Los Angeles, and a dozen footwear styles made in the very best Vans footwear quality available.

Can you talk to us a little about the design inspiration behind the collection?

We imagined someone’s wardrobe. The wardrobe of someone that might surf in the morning, then head straight to work. Someone that might skate in the afternoon, go on a date on a Saturday night then wake up to go to a hardcore matinee show. We tried not to be too nostalgic, only to make the perfect t-shirt, long sleeve, hoodie and coaches jacket for our time. When it comes to the footwear, all of our favorite styles are there - the Old Skool, the Authentic, the Half Cab, and of course - we felt we had to bring the Sk8-Mid back. The sole is a little thicker with 90's esque raised foxing, the silhouette slightly pinched in by the arch, some padding stripped, monochrome with labels overdyed. We used a high quality army nylon and a hairy suede, combined with Swedish natural leather. No funny patterns. All looks real, genuine.

Why was it important to make / produce all apparel in the U.S.A (LA specifically)?

Apparel made in the USA is made pretty much made in the same way now, as it was twenty or thirty years ago. When I was thirteen and bought a t-shirt or a pair of jeans made in the USA, I didn’t necessarily consider where product was manufactured. What I did acknowledge was how thick the t-shirt felt and how it managed to maintain its quality and not wear out, regardless of how often it was washed. That is the exact same feeling we tried to accomplish here.

In the 90's, when the American apparel industry shifted from producing almost everything within the US to almost nothing, it meant that rather investing in new machines, that funding went towards building new production facilities outside the US.

The production machinery from the 70's, 80 ́s and 90's that remained in the states, were well taken care of – maintained and serviced, with the ability to function just as they always did. What we wanted to execute here was classic street wear, done in the absolute best and original way possible.