Born X Raised, the brainchild of Chris “Spanto” Prinup, has always been a retelling of growing up in Los Angeles. More specifically, the brand has always served as a way for Spanto to honor both his history and the city in which he grew up. Now, after the passing of his father, Butch, Spanto is honoring his dad and their indigenous heritage in a capsule collection with Levi’s.
The collection is composed of Levi’s Type I Trucker, two versions of Levi’s 501s, and a graphic tee, adorned with a multi-colored graphic design—which Spanto named his angel graphic—that depicts his father watching over him. The design was inspired by the iconography of his indigenous heritage that he found while recovering his father’s belongings in Memphis.
The 501s come in light wash and selvedge styles. The light wash features four large versions of the graphic, two in navy and two in black, screen printed on both the front and the back of the pants. The angel graphic is made out of a leather patchwork on the selvedge 501s and runs down the outer seams.
The Trucker is adorned with the leather-patchworked graphic above the chest pockets, as well as a large version on the back in the middle of the “Born x Raised In Loving Memory” embroidery. The graphic tee sees the angel graphic in red on the arms, with “Born x Raised In Loving Memory” underneath a black larger format of the graphic on the back.
Spanto blends together his childhood memories and his half-Apache, half-Seneca heritage through the designs—of him in his youth visiting his father and his White-Mountain Apache relatives in White River, Arizona—in a beautiful retelling of a personal story that hasn’t been shared before. Utilizing thr campaign of the collection, Spanto commemorates those who have been there throughout his life: His mom, sister, and brother, his Venice neighborhood mentor Sleepy Joe, his Apache relatives, his friends, and actor Richard Cabral all wear the collection in a stunning photoshoot in both L.A. and White River, Arizona.