Bull White Denim+True Black-T
Featuring an 11-ounce white bull denim, this piece follows a classic barrel jean design with a few signature updates. It includes my signature leather back hem, allowing for a natural distressed look from heel drag while maintaining the garment’s structural integrity.
Not Close, Not Far (ไม่ใกล้ไม่ไกล)
Collection: Green Uniform Denim + True Black T + Bootcut Denim + Fisherman Denim
In Thailand, the phrase ไม่ใกล้ไม่ไกล — translated as “Not Close, Not Far” — is a casual saying, but it carries weight. It speaks to perseverance — the idea that you’re almost there, so keep going.
I chose this name for the collection because it reflects both my heritage and my experience navigating Thai-American identity. A lot of my inspiration came from seeing everyday Thai streetwear and workwear when I’d visit — vendors in lightweight uniforms, motorbike taxi jackets, woven fisherman pants, old denim, and bootlegs. The layering, texture, and practicality always stood out to me.
This collection blends those elements with American streetwear cuts and construction. It’s not fully Thai, not fully American — it exists in the middle space, which is where I’ve always felt most at home. That’s Not Close, Not Far.
Fisherman Denim
This black 13-ounce denim skirt/short hybrid embodies the in-between space of cultural identity explored in Not Close Not Far. Drawing from the structure of traditional Thai fisherman pants, the silhouette grounds the piece in ancestral form. Meanwhile, the use of heavy denim — a material rooted in Western labor and industrial fashion — nods to American norms around productivity, work, and assimilation. By merging these visual and material languages, Fisherman Denim becomes a wearable tension: between tradition and modernity, softness and structure, belonging and distance. It reflects my lived experience navigating Thai and American cultural expectations — not quite close, not quite far.
Bootcut Denim
Featuring an 11-ounce black bull denim, this piece includes drop pockets and a bootcut silhouette, finished with my signature traditional leather pant hem. The leather hem is designed to take on distress from heel drag over time while still maintaining the garment’s structural integrity.
As part of Not Close Not Far, this piece plays with duality — structure vs. wear, tradition vs. utility. The bootcut is a Western silhouette, but the construction and finishing nod to Thai tailoring methods. It sits in between — not fully one or the other — and that tension is exactly the point
Green Uniform Denim+ True Black-T
Featuring a 14-ounce green selvedge denim, this piece taps into the ongoing wave — and even oversaturation — of selvedge denim in fashion. While the concept is often overplayed, selvedge still represents the highest grade of denim, rooted in traditional workwear and craftsmanship.
As part of the Not Close Not Far collection, it bridges contemporary silhouettes with materials that carry weight — both literally and historically. I added a Thai patch to the back from a visit to Thailand, tying it back to the collection’s focus on Thai-American intersections. This specific garment was made for my friend Adam, who was on that trip with me, grounding it further in the theme of cultural overlap and movement — not quite here, not quite there.
The True Black T is made from a 7-ounce black jersey cotton and features a denim pocket along with denim center seams that hold the piece together. The seam placement creates a clean “cut-in-half” visual — dividing the shirt while still keeping it minimal and wearable.
Ideation, Sketches, and Patterns
While many designers rely on sketchbooks and other contemporary methods, I find it most helpful to connect my rough drawings directly with fabric through the use of vision boards. For this collection, I used staples to physically layer and combine different ideas with various potential materials, allowing me to visualize texture, weight, and structure early on.
The patterns below include concepts for jackets, long sleeves, and the foundational pant pattern I developed for my garments
About the Designer
My name is Niko Freedman. I’m an artist and designer from Los Angeles, currently studying Art and minoring in Ethnic Studies at university. I’m self-taught — raised on YouTube tutorials and late nights with a sewing machine — and I began designing in high school as a way to understand myself and navigate the spaces between cultures.
As a Thai-American, my work explores the tension and harmony of hybrid identity. Through silhouettes, textiles, and cultural references, I aim to merge traditional Thai forms with contemporary design — reflecting the layered realities of diaspora. My Ethnic Studies background informs how I approach fashion not just as aesthetic, but as language: one that can express resistance, care, inheritance, and memory.
This summer,July 1st-august 15th 2025, I’ll be interning at OZMA of California, where I hope to deepen my understanding of sustainable practices and small-scale production. Sustainability is central to my own practice — I work with deadstock fabrics, upcycled garments, and slow methods that push back against the fast fashion industry.
My current collection, Not Close Not Far, reflects this ethos: each piece is a conversation between closeness and distance, tradition and innovation. I draw inspiration from designers like Yohji Yamamoto, Hedi Slimane, Alexander McQueen, and Laurence Bass — each of whom has taught me something about form, emotion, and storytelling through clothing