As the designer and head of MiH, Chloe Lonsdale, grew up with denim in her blood. Her father, Tony Lonsdale, started the legendary Jean Machine stores in the seventies and married, Chekkie Maskell (her mother), a top denim model after they met at one of his catalog shootings. The denim link goes back even further as her grandfather launched Made In Heaven in 1969. In the `70′s her father bought a van full of old denim with the thought of selling them to trendy London boutiques. When no one bit, in an effort to salvage his dignity and profit, he opened a shop on King’s Road, he figured that if he sold the jeans within 3 months it would be okay - they sold out within 3 weeks.
Chole, who has a fashion degree from Central St. Martins and trained at Nicole Farhi, reincarnated her grandfathers company 6 years ago with the name MiH, and it has taken off once again. In the `70′s their jeans graced the bums of Jane Birkin and Farah Fawcett and today they are favored by celebrities Sarah Jessica Parker and Claudia Schiffer, to name a few.
MiH (the oldest British denim company) whose motto hangs in an original MiH poster above the designers desk – “ In 1969 when the world was busy putting man on the moon, here at Made In Heaven we were busy creating the best jeans on earth”. They take this motto seriously, hence they feel where they buy their fabric and who makes their jeans are some of the more important ingredients in their jeans. The fabrics come from Europe,Turkey and Japan and the jeans are made in long-established, family run factories that have the highest social and environmental standards.
To further make sure they live up to their motto, MiH makes a portion of their jeans in selvedge denim. A type of denim treasured by die-hard jean fans as it is woven on old shuttle looms, and rope-dyed to a rich indigo shade in old dye machines. This traditional way of making jeans gives a gorgeous authentic look and divine feel, and makes sure your jeans age beautifully over time.
All of MiH’s Autumn/Winter collection is on sale at their website - mih-jeans.com. We’ve highlighted our favorites but their website is worth a look-see because there are so many more goodies.
Clockwise from top left: MiH Biker Jacket $924 on sale for $462.00 www.mih-jeans.com,The Tokyo Mid Rise Slim Slouch Leg Jean $198.00 on sale for $99.00 www.mih-jeans.com, The Safari Shirt $172.00 on sale for $86.00 www.mih-jeans.com, The Marrakesh Mid Rise Kick Flare Jean $198.00 on sale for $99.00 www.mih-jeans.com.
