A.P.C. and Sacai’s upcycled quilts are inspired by ‘staircase architecture’

Back in 2021, A.P.C. united with Sacai on what Jean Touitou – the latter’s founder and creative director – called an ‘accidental’ collaboration. Having first been approached by the Japanese brand to provide some denim jackets to customise for a shoot some years earlier, the capsule collection saw Sacai creative director Chitose Abe recreate these designs alongside a series of other denim pieces featuring the hybrid elements for which she is known (the signature A.P.C. denim jacket, for example, was inset with panels of the quilted fabric used to make bomber jackets). The project arrived as part of A.P.C.’s wider ‘Interaction’ series, which has seen the French brand unite with brands and figures including Lacoste, Catherine Deneuve, and Liberty London.

A.P.C. / Sacai Quilts Round 23

Now, the two brands unite once more – this time, on a series of blankets and cushions created by Jennifer Ogden, a Jamaica-born designer known for her work with deadstock fabrics (she has worked with A.P.C. for several seasons on its quilt collection). Here, she has taken a variety of leftover fabrics from both A.P.C. and Sacai, creating pieces which see the designer draw on the aesthetics of ‘staircase architecture’ for the eclectic, geometric patterns – from the Gio Ponti pool staircase in Sorrento, Italy, to a spiral staircase in Ogden’s childhood home, built by her father.

‘Once the concept of staircases for the [collection] was proposed, Chitose immediately got it, the staircases being a metaphor to travel up,’ says Ogden. ‘The beauty of these structures is both abstracted and at times very perceptible. The mix of fabrics again shows the two companies in “talks” within an object; A.P.C. and Sacai fabrics from many different years blended in one quilt.’

Touitou adds, ‘ex nihilo creations [can] happen if one is a genius, [but] us humans, we need a starting point or two in order to create. In this story there’s a desire of doing something out of fashion – I mean not apparel – and create some automatic writing using fabrics. The other thing is to use staircases as a visual starting point that could lead to metaphors or just beauty. Or hopefully both.’

Described as ‘at its core a sustainable proposal from A.P.C.’, the quilt series – now in its 23rd ‘round’ – has seen Ogden previously draw inspiration from the work of Bauhaus artists Josef and Anni Albers and the landscapes of Ocho Rios, Jamaica, among other reference points. This latest series is photographed by Alfredo Piola in New York.

A.P.C. / Sacai Quilts Round 23 is available from apc-us.com now.