“The Cone Collective is a true passion project for the Cone Denim team,” stated Caitlyn Holt, Director of Sustainable Product Innovation and Marketing at Cone. “We have watched on social media over the years as people do truly unbelievable things with denim. We hope The Cone Collective is a space where these voices are amplified and everyone can come for inspiration and community.” 

One core building block of The Cone Collective is education. Building community through education has been at the forefront of the Cone name for over 130 years. In 1896, as the first denim mill started production, the first school, Proximity, was built under the Cone portfolio for the mill workers and children in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

Over a century later, the company still recognizes its philosophy in supporting education through its ‘Denim 101’ classes for customers and universities such as FIT, NC State University and Donghua University. Cone hopes that through The Cone Collective, the company will continue to expand its university engagements and global outreach. 

“It is always a highlight to meet people in the industry that can call back to their Denim 101 with Cone from years past,” added Holt. “We hear time and again how impactful the classes have been in careers all over the world. Our hope is to build on that feeling and offer Denim 101s and fabric sponsorships to an extended audience.”

In addition to education, The Cone Collective aims to support upcoming brands and designers through the sponsorship and promotion of their work. For this, Cone is launching a ‘brand ambassador’ program, where select individuals who align with the values of Cone Denim will have the opportunity to use Cone fabrics to create new products. 

“Cone has maintained a strong connection with its audience on social media, particularly through Instagram,” stated Adriana Tuttle, Marketing Manager for Cone Denim. “We wanted to expand our relationship with them by presenting an opportunity to upcycle our inventory and garments to create something new yet still be representative of the brand and what it stands for.”

This program aims to expand upon Cone’s larger designer collaborations, which includes recent works from Amsterdam-based designer Maria Gunnarsson of AMK Atelier and Guatemalan-based designer Juan Carlos Gordillo. Each brand ambassador has the opportunity to use Cone fabrics and various upcycled sales tools to create new products based on one or more of Cone’s founding principles: sustainability, innovation and heritage. The chosen designers and their processes and products will be featured on the Cone Denim Instagram page. 

Through this program, Cone hopes to inspire entrepreneurs and designers through the application and creative integration of denim. More information about The Cone Collective, student and brand ambassador showcase and program applications can be found on the Cone Denim website at conedenim.com/collaborations.