KOJIMA, Japan (AP) — Denim, that All-American fabric, is all about being Japanese in the town of Kojima, where the main road is named Jeans Street, with real pairs of pants flapping like flags overhead.
Associated PressWEAVER SHIGERU UCHIDA and his colleage inspect vintage loom machines at Momotaro Jeans in Kojima, Okayama prefecture, western Japan, on Sept. 4, 2024. KOJIMA, Japan — Denim, that All-American fabric, is all about being Japanese in the town of Kojima, where the main road is named Jeans Street, with real pairs of pants flapping like flags overhead.
Japanese jeans tend to be high-end, dark and durable. Although a tiny part of the global jeans market, they have carved out a niche with a reputation for craftsmanship. Kojima gave birth to popular brands like Big John, with roots dating to the 1940s, and now supplies international fashion brands, including Gucci.
What you will find are people taking pride in “monozukuri,” or “making things,” connoting a devoted, laborious attention to detail. It’s an ethic entrenched throughout Japan, from big carmakers to the local tofu store. He knows by smell and feel the right state of the indigo, which he compares to a living thing. He swears it’s a 365-days-a-year job, as the dye has to be checked and mixed every day.
Thomas Stege Bojer, founder of Denimhunters, an online site devoted to denim, says Japanese brands use “raw denim” that ages well and lasts a long time. He echoed the “ slow clothing” movement that has arisen in reaction to cheaper, mass-produced clothes. Momotaro Jeans, for instance, come with a lifetime warranty: Tears and other problems get fixed for free, within reason. Japan Blue Co., which runs Momotaro, a brand that debuted in 2006, said annual sales totaled about 1.6 billion yen for the latest year. About 40 percent of sales come from outside Japan.
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