At its SpaceD creative hub and showroom in Manhattan, Pakistani denim powerhouse Soorty unveiled Heroes of the Past & Future, an exhibition and capsule collection developed in collaboration with design consultant Miles Johnson. The project explores how historic workwear uniforms—shaped by necessity, labor, and environment—continue to inform contemporary denim design.
From heritage occupations to modern denim
The collection is rooted in deep research into four archetypal professions: fishers, loggers, miners, and cowboys. By studying why these workers dressed the way they did, the team traced how functional details—pocket shapes, reinforcements, silhouettes—evolved into today’s denim standards.
Johnson highlighted that many iconic workwear elements are purely functional in origin. Even familiar features like the back spade pocket, he noted, exist because they mirror the natural shape of the human hand—underscoring that workwear design is rarely arbitrary.
AI as a creative partner, not a replacement
A central theme of the New York showcase was how artificial intelligence is being integrated into denim creation without replacing human judgment. Soorty demonstrated how its internal teams use proprietary AI tools alongside platforms like Midjourney to rapidly visualize wear patterns, environments, and use cases—such as ranch life or saddle work—while designers retain final creative control.
As Soorty’s design and product development manager Melissa Urbina explained, AI enables specificity and speed, but individuality and real-life variation remain human domains—much like how worn jeans tell different stories on different bodies.
From museum-style concept to commercial reality
While the concept debuted earlier in Amsterdam, the New York edition was reworked with a more commercial lens, translating historical narratives into scalable, wearable products. Johnson and Soorty aligned fabric development with structured, durable garments tailored to each occupation, bridging archival inspiration with modern fit and market relevance.
The exhibition also revisited the enduring stability of denim design. Johnson pointed to Levi Strauss & Co.’s original 1873 riveted jean, noting how little the core product has changed over more than a century—reinforcing denim’s timeless functional logic.
Expanding the narrative: gender, history, and style
The project also examined male and female workwear histories, highlighting overlooked figures such as the Lumberjill—women who worked in logging during World War II—and cowgirls whose riding garments balanced rugged utility with distinctive style. These stories informed both faithful historical reproductions and modernized interpretations aimed more at trend than trade.
In its final phase, the collection introduced more accessible pieces—simplified carpenter pants, fatigue-style bottoms, and Western-influenced workwear—broadening its appeal while staying anchored in the four occupational archetypes.
Why it matters
Heroes of the Past & Future positions Soorty not just as a fabric supplier, but as a concept-led, vertically integrated denim innovator—one that uses AI to accelerate storytelling, deepen design research, and translate heritage into commercially viable products for today’s market.
