Collection: CLASSIC CITRUS

Starting July 29th 2022, Degrade will be closed for sales will be in a creative hiatus to develop for 2023's collections. Prepare to grab exclusive creations while we're live!

Although we would be closed on sales, we are still open for pulls and collaborating with stylists, photographers, art & creative directors. Feel free to reach out to us to inquire about borrowing Degrade creations for photoshoots, video shoots, events and more!

Our Classic Citrus styles reflect the birthplace of Degrade. Through years of experiments with citruses and bio-design, it's only fit to offer Citrus pieces for all Degrade clients.

Lē Matthew, founder and designer of Degrade, grew up in Lagos, Nigeria where they remember eating green oranges as a child.

So why are the oranges green, and not orange?

"The colours in most fruits are dictated by photosynthetic pigments. In green fruits, chlorophyll is largely responsible and in orange ones, carotenes.
Temperature plays a role in determining what colours are latent/ dominant, how much light is absorbed. In Nigeria, oranges retain a lot of the chlorophyll created because of the large amount of sunshine they receive. In temperate countries, oranges are often ‘cold-shocked’ to allow the orange color to shine through. Or exposed to ethylene gas, which fragments the chlorophyll and releases the beta carotenes."
Info sourced from: The Kitchen Butterfly

After talking with Lē about their inspiration for Degrade, citrus fruits and specifically oranges, are rooted in Degrade's origin story. Lē mentioned that oranges are the first fruit he remembers eating and experiencing happiness. "It brings out my inner child, and it's a food that has molded, changed, and stayed with me throughout my life. I used to love sitting with my parents and peeling oranges as we ate them. I used to peel them in such a way that I could put them on my head and wear them as a hat.