How Dev Hynes Made Levi’s "Grunge Prep" Feel Real (EXCLUSIVE)
When Dev Hynes steps into a new medium, he brings a distinct personal touch with him. Best known for his singular musical voice as Blood Orange, Hynes has long been regarded as a stylish presence whose versatile wardrobe quietly informs his public image. This makes Hynes’ new collaboration with Levi's especially unusual, because he’s rarely as hands-on with fashion as he is here. The Levi’s “Grunge Prep” collection is a rare outing for Hynes as creative director and stylist for a major brand — he didn’t design any of the clothes seen here but he did hit upon the best way to display them.
Levi’s, of course, carries a heavy symbolic heritage. For Hynes, who is British, that history was not a constraint. “I find someone like me doesn’t tend to be pulled into that circle of such a thing, especially an American heritage,” he says. “So that idea of ‘the classic’ and what that means is super intriguing.” Rather than attempting to re-envision Levi’s legacy, Hynes pulled from memory: the basics he grew up with, the quiet familiarity of denim as lived-in clothing rather than iconography, the morning ritual of pulling clothes from the wardrobe to get dressed.
That philosophy comes fully into focus in the campaign, which Hynes styled and creatively directed himself, with photography from longtime collaborator Katharina Korbjuhn. The two share a deeply referential process, though they arrive there differently. “I think maybe I’m a bit more visual first,” Hynes says, “then build meaning within that.” Korbjuhn, by contrast, often works conceptually before translating ideas into images. The result is a fluid, creative exchange where each helps complete the other’s thought.
“She’s insanely knowledgeable,” Hynes adds, crediting Korbjuhn with constantly expanding his creative horizon and helping him translate ideas that might otherwise remain abstract. That trust is evident in the campaign’s intimate and effortless tone: relaxed postures and layering, and a sense that the clothes are being worn for the wearer, not the lens.
At its core, Levi’s “Grunge Prep” collection explores the friction between grit and polish. Grunge-leaning silhouettes like faded hoodies and checkered flannels brush up against preppy staples like rugby shirts; familiar Levi’s forms are reframed through distinctive pairings. It’s a study in clashing elements that somehow settle into harmony even as it marks a new terrain for Hynes. “I had never really done anything like this before,” he tells Highsnobiety. “And it felt like quite an interesting opportunity.”
Unlike album-making, which Hynes describes as an inward unearthing, or scoring, where he operates in service of a director’s vision, styling and creative direction of a clothing collection offered a different challenge altogether. “Making an album is me trying to excavate something inside me,” he explains. “Scoring a project, I’m a foot soldier for a bigger goal. I just want the director and everyone else involved to reach their vision, and I’m just trying to help with that.” With “Grunge Prep,” the task was more visual and compositional – responding to what Levi’s had already built and rearranging it into something personally resonant.
Styling plays a central role in translating those ideas. More than construction alone, it’s how the pieces are worn that tells the story. Styled through unexpected layering and texture mixing, with sweaters wrapped around the waist of camouflage cargo pants and collared shirts worn like a skirt over faded blue jeans, Hynes frames the capsule as a pursuit of comfort – not just physical ease, but mental alignment. “The older I get,” he says, “the idea of feeling mentally comfortable within whatever I’m doing is extremely important.” Risk still exists here, but it’s risk grounded in self-dialogue rather than spectacle.
As the “Grunge Prep” collection hits Levi's website and stores, Hynes' campaign positions itself less as a celebrity cosign and more as a rare moment of full creative authorship for Hynes within the fashion space. Asked what he hopes someone feels the first time they put on a piece from the collection, Hynes answers simply: “Warm.”
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