The classics always get better with age. Like that one song that never gets old, that one playlist you run top to bottom over and over, or that good pair of denim whose style never fades — unlike the fabric, maybe. Known best for the latter and resonating with the former, AG Jeans understands what it takes to uphold the standard of a “classic.”
Landing during NYFW, the LA-based denim brand continued this pursuit by inviting a select audience to the East Village for an evening steeped in cross-cultural exchange. Taking over the famed Nublu Classic, AG Jeans hosted the most recent installment of the “Indigo Sessions,” the brand’s flagship series dedicated to the spirit of expression, curation, and craft.
After the first iteration saw the brand partner with the famous Hollywood Bowl in Southern California for a night celebrating the spirit of jazz, AG Jeans’ New York takeover aimed to reinterpret that same energy for a more intimate crowd.
Inside, guests were immersed in the venue's nostalgic ambiance. Opening in 2002, Nublu Classic carries on the tradition of the Manhattan neighborhood’s vibrant music history, making it the perfect backdrop for the latest edition of AG Jeans’ exhibition.
Soundtracked by Niyah West’s impeccable vinyl set, which included a mix of experimental and classical jazz tunes, the evening’s atmosphere held a moody allure as conversational chatter filled the room. Between exchanges, attendees sipped cocktails and indulged in a small spread from a Golden HOF food truck just outside the venue — the Busan Lobster Roll and the Honey Butter Pancake quickly emerged as crowd favorites.
With just enough time for one final bite, multi-instrumentalist and jazz musician Isaiah Collier stepped on stage and delivered a performance that felt straight from New York’s Black Renaissance era. Avant-garde in approach, Collier, accompanied by drummer Tim Regis, gave an hour-long demonstration that communicated the deep history of a timeless sound, broadening the same ethos AG Jeans has championed for years.
After the final note, guests left with a tote bag filled with mementos to commemorate a night when music, fashion, and culture overlapped to serve as a real-time example of artistry that will never grow tired. A shared reverence for craft reveals an understanding across disciplines that, no matter the medium, the pursuit of authentic creation remains unfading — from jeans to jazz.
Afterward, we caught up with Niyah West, Isaiah Collier, and AG Jeans’ Creative Director Charles Sands to hear their discussion of what makes a “classic.”
ISAIAH COLLIER: When we think about classics, what makes something really timeless, to me, is its commonality. Despite all the other obvious distinctions we have —race, gender, whatever — it’s an internal necessity people need to experience in their lifetime. That's something that is extremely precious.
CHARLES SANDS: Just to jump off of that, at AG, we constantly are thinking about what makes something timeless, what makes something classic. As creatives, when we put something out into the world, you don't know what the response will be. And I think, Isaiah, you’re 100% right that it's this commonality and this intimate, intangible feeling that a community rallies behind something, and it evokes a feeling in everyone.
And when you create, whether that's a collection or a record or a DJ set, you don't know until you put it out into the culture what the response is going to be. And at that point, it becomes something that's no longer any of ours. It becomes the world's. Oftentimes, you don't know a classic's going to be a classic until 10, 15, 20 years later.
NIYAH WEST: I think it also supports the idea that the choices we make can turn a simple action into something timeless. And there were so many amazing examples of that during the Indigo Sessions event. Isaiah, the way you pulled together your whole outfit was really amazing. You looked comfortable and grounded when you were performing.
Last night, especially in the second half, I really fed off of what Isaiah gave us, and left my experimental tracks for the end. There are a lot of good people in this world who make choices that might not feel conventional, but they know it means something. And I think that's what we all did last night as artists.
IC: It felt like a blank canvas. I didn't have any expectations. All I knew was we were going to have a good time. The music was everybody socializing. The whole thing showed how AG shows up in this community effort. It felt like such a beautiful natural nod in the right direction for everything around the culture.
CS: I appreciate you saying that. The conversation I had with my team when concepting the Indigo Sessions was that it draws inspiration from the past, but it has to be put back into the community so it can be built on. It was about people coming from different avenues and just experiencing something together.
Even just the location in the East Village — talk about a historic location and the fact that we’re helping continue that tradition; there's something in the air that just felt amazing.
IC: If you take care of the music, the music will take care of you. And we, as musicians, are just there to serve what we're doing in that moment. It just so happens that everybody else feels the intentions behind it, and finds the words to describe what they're actually feeling.
NW: Yeah, I agree 100% with everything that you're saying. And it also feels like an anchor. It feels like this time capsule. After 50 years of living out in the ears of people, you start to look back and think, “Wow, people really did party like that in the '70s, or that's how people saw the world, or that's how people saw the future.
I think records or even artists, performers who have found a common thread between the past and the present and the future possibilities and try to meditate on it for a little bit in their art end up creating those classics.
CS: We all get to stand on the shoulders of the giants before us and re-innovate and reinterpret. As creators, we look at what came before us, respect it, and want to take it and elevate it. I think that's what classics come out of. That's the beauty of it.
Head to agjeans.com for more.
