For several years, artist Dan Colen wasn’t exactly sure how to talk about Sky High Farm (SHF), a nonprofit 40-acre regenerative ecosystem he created in New York’s Hudson Valley that, since its beginnings in 2011, has donated everything it produces to food-access organizations throughout the state. Colen, who’s represented by the Gagosian and Lévy Gorvy galleries in New York, and Massimo De Carlo in Milan, skateboarded in his youth, and understands how fashion can be used to spread a message. He longed to share his project in an inviting, open-ended way. “I wanted to offer an opportunity for people to support [the farm], and then figure out their own conversations around it,” he says on Ep. 40 of our Time Sensitive podcast. “And the lightest touch seemed to be through products.” In 2019, he partnered with the international concept shop Dover Street Market (DSM), which has since sold several SHF clothing collections, made in collaboration with brands including Supreme and Irak, that were produced through the nonprofit farm as a charity initiative. (All profits from the pieces, which regularly sold out, went toward running the 501(c)3 SHF.) Like a streetwear drop, the garments were a way of growing and maintaining an audience—particularly a young, engaged one—and of spreading awareness about regenerative farming and food insecurity.

Last month, Sky High Farm Workwear appeared in stores for the first time. It was established by SHF in partnership with DSM Paris, which produces and distributes the brand’s seasonal collections, as a for-profit entity to fund the farm. The unisex collection, creative directed by Colen and co-founded by Daphne Seybold, the former head of communications at Comme des Garçons USA and DSM USA, and a board member of the 501(c)3, is carried by DSM as well as shops such as Nordstrom, Ssense, and Notre. It infuses functional attire—including workwear suits, T-shirts, hoodies, and underwear—with a playful twist. Some items are emblazoned with friendly food- and nature-inspired characters drawn by illustrator Joana Avillez, while others feature vivid embroidery by ceramicist Marc Armitano Domingo or oddball graphics by the London-based studio Max Louis Creative. Most pieces are made from salvaged or vintage fabric. A chore coat and double-knee pants made of deadstock denim, for instance, are envisioned as the perfect work uniform; beanies and roll-neck sweaters, meanwhile, are made from recycled cotton, and cardigans are knitted from recycled cashmere.

Sky High Farm Workwear aims to use the clothing to support pressing issues related to food: Any store that carries the collection must commit to a donation to the farm. By building fundraising directly into the workwear line’s business model, Colen and Seybold continue to drive his project forward, demonstrating how fashion and farming can join forces to support a greater cause.