Considering the rich American history Tommy Hilfiger and denim share, it’s fitting that the brand’s latest project for Spring should work around this classic material. True To The Blue revisits the many denim, chambray and indigo moments studded across the brand’s 29-year history, the sportswear collection complemented by a special collaboration with five international industrial designers on contemporary furniture pieces inspired by the ranges sold in Tommy’s first chain of stores, People’s Place, in the early 1970s.

Denim has indeed come full circle: James Dean and Marlon Brando were the denim threaded poster boys for teen gangs and young delinquents in films like Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One, and most significantly ‘indigo bleed’ (long before the days of colourfast technology) saw the fabric become a the known enemy of furniture for housewives in the 1950s and 60s. Irony in the bluest sense.

Denim today seems to draw projects in the realms of fashion and art, projects like Tommy Hilfiger’s backed up by the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier’s spectacular denim and haute couture fusion back in 2002 and fashion’s more recent denim delvings: bleached denim trenches at Lou Dalton and jumpsuits from Valentino for FW14. In the interiors realm, last year there was the pairing of denim maestro Simon Miller with furniture designer Stephen Kenn on a range of pieces upholstered in indigo.

Here, the five True To The Blue designers share an insight into their creations and thoughts on the lasting utilitarian beauty of denim.

‘Bluff City Light’ by Jonah Takagi for Tommy Hilfiger ‘True To The Blue’ Spring 2014

Jonah Takagi (Japan)

Tempe Nakiska: What inspired your design?
Jonah Takagi: The lamps are inspired by early industrial lighting, the city of Memphis, TN, and my love of the Memphis Group in the early 1980s. While I’m not a huge fan of the work produced by the Memphis Group per se, their ideals and ethos resonate with me. Their reaction to the ‘cold’ and ‘sterile’ aspects of modernism is something that speaks directly to my aesthetic and functional ideals.

TN: What materials did you use in your design?
JT: The piece that I customised for the campaign is a design I originally created in 2012, titled Bluff City. When I originally proposed the concept to Roll and Hill, I imagined several monochromatic colour ways, none of which were selected for the final product. In some ways, the opportunity to collaborate with Tommy Hilfiger has given me a chance to step back and realise Bluff City as I imagined them; in a vacuum and without compromise.

TN: What does the colour blue represent to you?
JT: I’m not sure there is easy explanation that accurately describes the feeling the colour blue evokes. It is a cocktail of disparate sensations: serenity, melancholy and courage.

‘Case Storage’ by Debra Folz for Tommy Hilfiger ‘True To The Blue’ Spring 2014

Debra Folz (Boston, USA)

Tempe Nakiska: What was your design inspiration?
Debra Folz: I wanted to create a form that can wrap around your belongings, with each tier defined by shelves protruding beyond the frame to create unique divisions of space. I love how the incorporated denim panels contrast with the wooden side panels.

TN: What does blue represent to you?
DF: Some shades of blue can be very energetic, and other shades can be very clam and neutral. Colour trends shift year to year but blue is classic, always in style. One of my main motivations is to incorporate textiles with furniture forms, so it was exciting to explore the application of a new material – in this case denim – to the cabinet design.

TN: What materials did you use in your design?
DF: Wood (white oak), denim, a mix of traditional joinery and bent lamination techniques.

‘Archidesk’ by Benjamin Tortiger for Tommy Hilfiger ‘True To The Blue’ Spring 2014

Benjamin Tortiger (France)

Tempe Nakiska: What was your design inspiration?
Benjamin Tortogier: Much of my design inspiration is rooted in architecture. My desk design for Tommy Hilfiger was specifically inspired by Jean Nouvel’s Culture and Convention Centre in Lucerne, Switzerland.

TN: What does the colour blue represent to you?
BT: Blue reminds me of my grandfather, André Tortiger, who has a Parisian decorator in 1950s. When I draw, I always think of him. To me, blue represents eternity.

TN: What materials did you use in your design?
BT: I like working with recyclable materials, steel and wood.

‘Baby Blue Chair’ by Paul Venaille for Tommy Hilfiger ‘True To The Blue’ Spring 2014

Paul Venaille (Lyon, France)

Tempe Nakiska: What was your design inspiration?
Paul Venaille: I was inspired by organic forms and by 1970s design; I like to create contrasts between curves, lines, colours and raw materials.

TN: What materials did you use in your design?
PV: As a cabinetmaker I work primarily with wood, but I also often work with fibre composite and steel.

TN: What does the colour blue represent to you?
PV: For me, the colour blue is smooth, elegant and quite sensual.

‘Colt Settee’ by OG Studio for Tommy Hilfiger ‘True To The Blue’ Spring 2014

Jonathan Glatt and Sara Ossana of O&G Studio (Rhode Island, USA)

Tempe Nakiska: What materials did you use in your design?
O&G Studio: Our ‘Colt Settee’ is made from ash and maple, two beautiful and versatile American hardwoods. Each element of the settee is made from carefully selected pieces, hand-shaped and fit in our Rhode Island shop. The cushion is made from Cone Mills, American-manufactured denim from one of the most venerated names in denim cloth manufacturing. Cone Mills weaves on vintage narrow looms dating back 70 years, giving the look and feel of classic Americana.

What does the colour blue represent to you?
O&GS: We live and work just blocks from Narragansett Bay, which feeds into the vast Atlantic Ocean. The colour blue, in all of its forms, looms large in our imaginations. It is a clean summer sky over the bay, and the turbulent ominous deep blue water of a winter storm. We cannot get enough of blue. Rhode Island is defined by water – it is the ‘Ocean State’ after all. That is why we offer, as a standard, over six blue finishes as standard options in our furniture line.

What did you like about working with denim?
O&GS: What is not to love about denim? Great denim has subtlety. Our furniture is defined by subtle, honest detailing and a style that is at once sophisticated and relaxed. Great denim is just that: sophisticated, relaxed, ‘classic’ and always in style.

The furniture collection is on display at the Tommy Hilfiger Regent Street (138 Regent Street, London, W1) and Brompton Road (63-65 Brompton Road, London, SW3) stores until mid July.