In the heart of Los Angeles’s Fashion District, the birthplace of premium denim and the largest garment manufacturing hub left in the US, a new cultural landmark is set to open in July 2026. The Denim Institute Museum will tell the story of denim’s past, from its gold rush-era roots with Levi Strauss, to its present, and teach courses on the craft to pave the way for growth and a more sustainable future.
Co-founders Loren Cronk, who serves as lead curator, and Jonny Saven, the CEO of LA contemporary brand L’Agence, are planning a comprehensive experience to draw in professionals, students and tourists alike.
“We want this to be the denim bible,” says Cronk, whose Brooklyn boutique Loren once served as a hands-on denim workshop and poses as inspiration for the project. “We have almost 500 jeans we want to display. You’ll see brands you may have forgotten about. You’ll learn why denim matters — how it’s made, how it’s washed, how it’s evolved — and where it can go.”
The 11,000-square-foot Denim Institute Museum will occupy the ground floor of the historic Gerry Building, which has housed garment manufacturers continuously since opening in 1947, with a street-level entrance to the exhibition space and a school, as well as upstairs showrooms and an events space. From the moment visitors step inside, they’ll be immersed in a narrative that traces 150 years of denim — not just through fashion, but through pop culture, commerce and workmanship with perspectives from brands, designers and production workers.
A legacy wall will showcase 25 brands that helped define denim’s global significance: Levi Strauss Co, of course, founded in 1853 and credited with making the first pair of jeans in 1873, alongside other American brands like Lee, Wrangler, Dickies, Calvin Klein, Gap and Guess, as well as international players such as Diesel, Edwin and Replay.
Its newest campaign, ‘Better in Denim’, is true to the brand, says CEO Mark Breitbard, who has been on a mission to rebuild Gap’s relevancy for the past five years.
Beyond the legacy section will be exhibitions curated around Y2K premium brands, international influences, rare and collectible denim, upcycling and more. Temporary and seasonal exhibits will tackle themes such as women in denim during wartime, and denim and rock ‘n’ roll.
Rolls of fabric inspired the floor plan, and denim upholstery will be part of the design, the founders explain during a tour of the space, which will also have a curated gift shop with sustainably made denim products, industrial machines and even furniture for sale.
The institute will also house the Los Angeles Denim School, focused on hands-on training with access to industrial machines. Classes will range from one-day deep dives into denim’s history, including dyeing techniques and fibre types, to multi-week courses on industrial sewing, pattern making, chain stitch embroidery, finishing, sourcing and business essentials. One course is designed to let students make a pair of jeans for themselves in two weeks.
“We’re building an educational hub,” says Saven. “You might be a brand founder, a retailer, a fabric developer, or just curious about how jeans are made — this is a place for you to learn. A big part of what we want to do is about the future of denim as well, because there is a dirty little secret behind denim, which is what’s going on in the washing industry, and we want to be part of the solution.”
Collaborations are already in motion with the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, Jean School in Amsterdam and the Hong Kong Fashion Design Institute expressing interest in student exchanges, Cronk says.
Industry leaders have joined the advisory board, including FIT faculty member Sarah Mullins, sustainability advocate Neslihan Danisman, denim historian Mohsin Sajid, Cross Colours co-founder TJ Walker, and denim archivist and collector Maurizio Donadi.
It’s no coincidence that the institute’s home is LA, which has been a hotbed for successful denim entrepreneurs for decades, from the Marciano brothers who founded Guess in 1981 with their Hollywood-inspired Marilyn jean, to Adriano Goldschmied, who pioneered novel washing techniques and kicked off the higher-priced premium denim boom in the early noughties. At the height of the trend, there were more than 2,000 denim brands in LA by some accounts. And though that number has declined dramatically over the years, Los Angeles remains one of the few places in the US where jeans can be designed, cut, sewn and washed all within city limits, and brands are still producing denim here, including Mother, Agolde, Citizens of Humanity, L’Agence and Reformation.
“It’s fewer now, but the infrastructure still exists — and we’re trying to preserve and expand it,” says Saven. “Maybe we can get a big grant from the US government.”
Both founders believe the Denim Institute Museum can play a role in reviving US denim manufacturing by spotlighting local production and innovation while adding skilled workers to its community. “There’s a huge movement toward craftsmanship among younger generations,” Saven notes.
Sustainability will be a cornerstone of the mission. Students will be able to visit local wash houses and factories pioneering sustainable practices such as low-impact dyeing and fibre-to-fibre recycling and receive hands-on instruction from industry veterans.
At L’Agence, which was co-founded by J Brand denim pioneer Jeff Rudes, Saven has already implemented laser washing and launched a denim recycling programme titled ‘Last Call’. While L’Agence intends to play a role in the institute, the goal is not to be focused on any one brand. “This needs to be the voice of the industry,” Cronk says, adding that the intent is to honour everyone’s contributions, from legacy brands to independent makers.
The vision also includes a commercial showroom where denim brands, fabric and trimming vendors, and technology partners can all rent space for a day or a month, connect, host events and even collaborate.
With millions of visitors expected in LA for the 2028 Olympics, alongside other major sporting events in the next few years, the timing couldn’t be better. Saven says they’ve already had conversations with Olympics organisers about a potential denim-themed fashion show during the games. “We’re aiming to make this a global destination,” he says.
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