Denim, known for its rugged and tough body, undergoes a striking metamorphosis in the hands of Thomasine Barnekow. The Paris-based designer has adorned the hands of Beyoncé, Cate Blanchett, Margot Robbie, and Kim Kardashian, working with fashion houses like Schiaparelli, Saint Laurent, Maison Margiela, Mugler, and Walter Van Beirendonck. 

In her collaboration with G-STAR, Barnekow crafts one ready-to-wear and three couture pairs of denim gloves that far surpass the confines of accessories, acting as wearable sculptures — an ode to the richness and transmutability of human expression. Barnekow, who famously believes “gloves are like soft jewelry”, turns a utilitarian garment into canvas during this bold and narrative act of reinvention.

"Second Hands" is crafted from three denim jackets, cut into two, and sewn together to create one pair of gloves. How does the physical process of this design parallel to the story the final product tells?

The meaning of the couture concept Second Hand has given me the meaning to create a collection of iconic jackets resewn into couture gloves. A collaboration project that has been going on already for several years together with photographer, Benjamin Taguemount. Working with one of the most iconic G-Star denim jackets gave the opportunity to layer 3 identical jackets. That gave me much more of a body of material to sculpt the shape of the gloves. The work begins by cutting the jacket in two through the back, and by doing so the original brand is cut and the jacket can become Thomasine gloves. The sleeves are delicately changed into gloves, emphasizing elements of the original jacket. Adding as little as possible of extra material. The magical part, but the strength of it all, is that every seam is reworked from the inside with an invisible metal skeleton, that makes holding the shape possible and creates the visual poetry of the couture piece.

‍"To Be Embraced" is multifunctional, intended for both human wear and art installation. What about this piece makes it uniquely valuable as both style and sculpture?

An eye-catching structure to be intrigued by or to rest the eyes on… it is important for me that an art couture glove gives a monumental impression. Challenging the construction by making a full uncut 4-meter-long glove in denim— an impossibility with lambskin as the material in limited to the size of a skin. It was a very meditative work that took a lot of time and precision, especially as the pair has a total of 122 m of edge piping— a lot of meters to keep organized to not be tangled up! The core of the structure is the simplicity of a braid which gives a wide range of possibilities as body jewelry or as a space jewel; depending on if braided together, totally opened up, worn around the body, knotted together, wrapped, or maybe just totally loose— will communicate a very varied style message. It could be imagined as a snake, it has been called a baby dragon, it could be a tree with roots. Working on “To Be Embraced” and the photograph created together with Benjamin Taguemount, felt for me like an open braid of flowing bands and the beauty of an ink drawing, trying to communicate the precious emotion of how it tingles within when one is embraced.

You also created a more wearable variant of "To Be Embraced." Why was this important to you?

Actually, it was the wearable piece that I made first: once upon a time when I lived in Amsterdam, the structure of the design was created. It felt close to my heart to collaborate on this model with G-Star that is also based in Amsterdam, a reinterpretation with a new contemporary edge in raw stretch denim, with detail work of touch lambskin and with 16 custom silver Excella zippers. A zipper is often hidden away, needed for a function but not wanted to be seen. In this pair, the fine zippers are braided to a jewelry cuff, where the function of the zippers holds it all together. A true soft jewelry glove!

‍"Hold Me Tight" is almost more jacket than glove. What solidifies this as a design for the hands as opposed to other parts of the body?

The piece is made like a shield for the body for one’s emotions. One could hide inside the piece and feel protected. Or maybe, one would rather see it as wings bringing the emotion high up in the air. Making my designs, it always starts with the hand, made by hand. For this piece I chose a material collaboration with the knitwear artist, Cécile Feilchenfeldt, to mix the two sides of the denim and several shades of blue with black and pink lambskin leather as if I was painting with it.  The knit material is the jewelry— framed with black edge piping, creating shapes of several different size bracelets from the hand all up along the arm that holds on to the shield/wings. To emphasize body jewelry the knitwear bracelets are each connected to the other by two small metal links.

G-Star's belief is that "there is no limit to what denim can do." But, denim is famously a tougher fabric. How did you navigate this poetic paradox when working with the material?

In a way the couture pieces, “Hold Me Tight” and “To Be Embraced”, are both about cutting the denim up in strips; in many many thin ones, or in, a little larger, very long ones— and with the strips recreating new textiles by either braiding or knitting. In a lot of my glove designs, I have always tried to create new shapes by giving lambskin a transparency, designing a structure that allows the visibility of skin through the material, giving a lightness to leather. I had the same approach and vision when working with the G-Star denim collaboration.  Designing denim to become precious jewelry gloves.

Hands are essential to human expression. What does it mean when we dress them up?

I meet so many people, all having a complex with their hands. Some think they are too small, or too large, or too long, a funny finger or spot on the back, maybe some wrinkles appearing on the hand back. Finding the right pair for your hands gives the wearer a lot of pleasure and pride, makes their hands come alive again! Let gloves be part of your style and attitude. Let it become your favorite jewelry piece. 

Lambskin leather was a vital component of this release. What makes this textile so innovative?

All black lambskin leather used in this project is a very innovative Italian touch lambskin. I find it very important today to be aware with my product that one can still use one’s phone without needing to take the gloves off, to not feel handicapped by the accessory worn. But always very important when using lambskin, to make precious designs, have as little waste as possible of the material, and make designs that are loved for a lifetime— true luxury! 

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