Quality denim and evolution of jeans
The beginng
Jeans was originaly designed as a workwear for miners at the end of 19th century. The fabric was cheap but very sturdy and durable, so it soon became the favorite workwear for cowboys, miners and farmers in the U.S. After Levi’s & Strauss added metal rivets to make them tougher, they started making the famous blue denim pants that many working men wore.
Modern jeans started to appear in the 1920s, but they were mostly worn by workers in the western U.S., like cowboys, lumberjacks and railroad workers. During World War II, blue jeans were considered essential and were only sold to people working in defense or the military.
During that time, American soldiers took their favorite denim trousers overseas. Even though denim production slowed during the war due to material shortages, after the war, jeans started being seen more as casual wear instead of just workwear.
Farmers wearing denim trouser in the 1930’s
50s evolution
In the 1950s, denim became popular fabric because of its dark color and stiff feel. Zippers were added in 1954, and young people started wearing denim for casual wear, calling them "jeans" instead of denim overalls. Movie stars like Marilyn Monroe made jeans look stylish and cool. James Dean and Marlon Brando changed denim jeans forever and became style icons in movies “The Wild One” and “Rebel Without a Cause”. Everyone wanted to copy them. Jeans became a symbol of youth rebellion in the 1950s and 1960s, as college students wore them to protest the Vietnam War and formal traditions. At the same time, it became popular with bikers and troublemakers, influenced by these movie stars. Jeans was linked to these rebellious groups, so many U.S. schools banned them. But this didn’t affect it’s popularity.
American soldiers in Europe and Japan often wore jeans off-duty to show their American identity. Jeans became a symbol of a happier life that people wanted, especially after World War II, so people in other countries started wearing them too.
Marlon Brando and cast on the "The Wild One" film set, May 31, 1954. Alamy
70s mass production
In the 1970s the demand for denim skyrocketed, leading manufacturers to adopt mass production techniques and they began using projectile looms, moving away from the old shuttle looms. This shift focused on speed and efficiency rather than craftsmanship, resulting in lower-quality fabrics. Many U.S. companies moved production overseas to countries with cheaper labor costs. While this reduced manufacturing expenses, it often led to less oversight and quality control. Standardization reduced attention to detail and consumer preference for fashionable jeans meant people accepted lower quality. Overall, these changes shifted the focus from high-quality denim to affordable, trendy options.
How American Soldiers Introduced Denim to Japan
Japanese people first came in touch with denim when American soldiers left their jeans behind after World War II. These jeans were sold in street markets and caught the attention of many. The style and ideas of American culture appealed to those looking for a more relaxed lifestyle. They were influenced by movies like The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause, along with stars like Elvis Presley and brands like Harley Davidson. Levi's jeans became a popular symbol of this new Japanese counterculture.
Japanese Selvedge Denim
When in the 1960s jeans became mass-produced and the quality declined, Japanese enthusiasts noticed this shift. With a strong textile tradition in Japan, they decided to create their own selvedge denim, inspired by the iconic jeans of the 1950s and early 1960s that were so important to their counterculture. They used traditional shuttle looms from Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, a subsidiary of Toyota. And this looms are still being used today by Japanese denim artisans.
In 1972, the Japanese textile company Kurabo successfully made the first Japanese selvedge denim fabric, called KD-8, in Kojima, a town known for its textile tradition. The following year, the brand Big John, also from Kojima, sold the first pair of jeans entirely made in Japan under the M-Series collection, using the Kurabo KD-8 fabric.
In 1979, Shigeharu Tagaki founded the Studio D’Artisan brand in Osaka, which became an icon of Japanese denim. He was later joined by brands Denime, Evisu, Fullcount and Warehouse. Together, they formed the "Osaka 5," creating a unique style and laying the foundation for Japanese denim culture. Japanese brands producing selvedge denim soon matched and then surpassed the quality and detail of iconic American jeans, thanks to cultural obsession with perfection and tradition. The "Osaka 5" were later joined by other brands like Samurai, and Kojima became a hub for small denim producers and craftsmen. Today, most of the world's remaining shuttle looms are in Kojima, where many small producers continue the high standards set by Big John and the Osaka 5, focusing on exceptional quality and attention to detail.
Selvedge denim and quality jeans today
Selvedge denim is a type of fabric woven on traditional 28" or 30" shuttle looms. Japanese denim is made on old shuttle looms from the 1920s to the 1960s, and only a few of these machines remain today. This method creates a closed edge that prevents fraying and features different colored lines along the seam. Japanese selvedge denim is famous for its high quality and heavier weight, reaching up to 28oz per square yard, and is known for its durability and ability to develop unique fades over time. However, Japanese selvedge doesn’t always guarantee superior quality, as there are other mills that also produce high-quality selvedge denim, such as CONE Denim Mill from Greensboro, USA, operating since 1891, and the Italian Candiani Mill, which has been supplying most fashion houses and operating since 1938.
So, if you're looking to buy a new pair of jeans, there are plenty of great options from different makers today, and it really comes down to your aesthetic preference. Just make sure to always check the type of fabric they use - this information is usually found in the description or under the details section. If you want quality jeans, you basically have two options: Japanese selvedge denim or Italian selvedge denim. If you see either of these, you should be safe.
