When 7 For All Mankind jeans first hit the market in 2000, the idea of a premium denim brand seemed like a contradiction in terms. Yet more than 2 decades later they are still going strong. Their secret: knowing how to fine tune every detail of the jeans-making process to create their own unique style. It’s something that the makers of the brand’s 20th anniversary look book also did, using their encyclopedic knowledge of binding and digital printing to create a tribute as stylish as the clothing it celebrates.
First, the book was digitally printed CMYK by Superior Packaging and Finishing on Mohawk Superfine Ultrawhite Eggshell with i-Tone.
This was a bold choice as many would have gone with a more obvious coated sheet for a project like this. But producer Tocci Made [projects/website] followed their usual approach by asking their client “What feeling are you hoping to evoke from the reader?” Therefore the tactile feel of an uncoated sheet, and an eggshell finished one at that, was the perfect choice.
The softcover book “Remember Your First” (as in your first pair of jeans) looks as sensual and inviting as the denim itself thanks to luscious black and white photography and a crisp, perfect-bound look.
I say “perfect-bound look” because the elegant 120 lb. die-scored cover actually conceals the fact that the signatures inside are Smyth sewn together, not perfect bound. (The thread used blends in with the color of the paper, which is a nice added touch.)
Wanting to craft something that could be saved, savored, and opened again and again, Tocci Made chose this binding option for its ability to both withstand repeated openings and to lay open completely flat. Using this technique, the folded, gathered and collated pages were sewn together at the spine of the individual signatures. Then, for extra durability and flexibility, these signatures were all sewn together.
Smyth sewn binding also gave designers Yard NYC another advantage: the ability to create breathtaking layouts across spreads (aka “crossovers”), showing off all that gorgeous photography. Had they gone with perfect binding, they would’ve lost a good 1/8th of an inch in the gutter of the book where both pages come together, making it that much harder to line up the two halves of each image. Here, those photographs flow perfectly from left-hand page to right.
In short, the tactile uncoated paper and moody photography ensure that those who receive this volume will “remember their first” 7 For All Mankind look book for years to come.
As you can see, Smyth sewing turned out to be the ideal binding method for this project, but there are so many other options available to you today. Discover the ins and outs of the 12 most popular, as well as the relative pricing of each – download our free Binding Cheat Sheet right now!
