Adie and George never had the pleasure of each other’s acquaintance but that hasn’t stopped their granddaughters from playing retroactive matchmaker. Casey Larkin (Mr. Larkin) and Sasha Duerr (Permacouture Institute) bandied around several names for their collaborative knitwear collection before landing on the monikers of their biological forebears—perfectly apropos when you consider the heritage nature of the 100 percent West Coast line.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
Taking cues from Anna Cohen’s ranch-to-runway Imperial Collection, Larkin and Duerr’s line of sweaters, vests, cardigans, and scarves fly the Left Coast flag loud and proud in every aspect of production. To wit, alpaca and merino wool sourced from California and Oregon is spun locally, then hand-dipped in all-natural, artisan dyes derived from indigenous plants.
“We want you to put on a sweater and know where it came from,” Larkin says.
“We know exactly what our product is and we can stand behind that,” Larkin tells Ecouterre. “When you’re getting things from overseas, you don’t know what chemicals have been put on them. I once found a polyester/acrylic blend claiming to be 100 percent wool.”
Adie & George, according to Larkin, endeavors to put the personal and emotional connection back in fashion. (Fun fact: Most of the fibers come courtesy of Stevie Wonder the formerly blind alpaca and Hershey the sheep.) “We want you to put on a sweater and know where it came from, who touched it, and what’s been added to it,” she says.
