When Heat Meets Pressure

The story of HIDDEN GEMS.

In nature, gems are formed in the earth through various combinations of mineral, heat, and pressure. They hardly ever come out perfect, but the unique characteristics each one possesses only makes us treasure their rarity even more.

That notion of creating something special under pressure is especially true of the recurring member-exclusives known as HIDDEN GEMS.

Always created in extremely limited quantities, that scarcity isn’t manufactured, but simply comes down to the amount of product initially available for upcycling. It started as an extra way to make product for the HIDDEN community, ensuring that members can have access to the most special product.

That still is a driving part of what makes HIDDEN GEMS unique: So far none of the items have been made in a large enough capacity that we could meet the demand of a general release.

But other times it stems from coming up with new ways of working with various partners. One upcoming release features a reworked Avirex bomber jacket that was already limited in supply to begin with. Starting with a canvas of 20 Avirex jackets that had irregularities from the factory, each one was deconstructed and re-merged with a HIDDEN Bomber silhouette known as the Hardware Bomber.

Other iterations of these jackets were turned into bags featuring the recognizable Avirex logos on the side. More interestingly, many of the jackets came in different colors, so they were varnished and dyed black in-house, while others were colored white, ensuring two unique uniform colors.

But perhaps one of the most interesting part of the HIDDEN GEMS process is the fact that there’s a team of one making it all happen. At its core, the team that helps the brand aspect of the HIDDEN community function has always been a small one, and that scrappy, DIY attitude not only reflects the spirit of the subcultures that continue to inspire HIDDEN today, but also sheds some light on the challenges that almost all independent brands face.

Beyond logistical challenges, production timelines, and all the other difficulties of running a brand that has a regular release cadence, the fact that HIDDEN GEMS exists primarily as both a labor of deeply personal love and a recurring token of appreciation to the most loyal members is really what’s all about.

Although upcycled garments seem like a category unto themselves at this point, it’s always a welcome sight to see how other brands are embracing the art of reuse and implementing it themselves.

For example, just a few years ago there was the previous partnership with Needles featuring Rebuild By Needles products made from reused HIDDEN apparel. And there’s something particularly interesting with the way Our Legacy approaches the idea with Our Legacy Work Shop—not simply getting rid of old stock at discounted prices, but breathing new life into them and turning them into more interesting, one-of-a-kind grails.

All of this is to say that the mind of the mad garment scientist behind HIDDEN GEMS is always thinking of the next thing. And there is a lot of thought that goes into each release. Just a few exclusives ago, there was a new work jacket made from repurposed fire-retardant uniforms and other utilitarian garments. Those went through a painstaking process of deconstruction, recutting, and making new pattern before the finished product could finally come together.

That itself is a lot more complicated than the work that goes into something like a Needles 7-Cuts shirt—which, while a recognizable piece in its own right, essentially puts garments through a vertical paper shredder and then sews random strips back together in a previously established pattern.

So take into account the short lead time to produce many of these special products, the very limited number of staff putting it together, and the sheer ingenuity and love for the game that goes into what makes HIDDEN GEMS such a special part of the HIDDEN universe, and it should be easy to see how a little bit of pressure truly makes these items shine.