Kaisha

There is a blessing; "Made in Japan"

There is a curse; "Made in China"

When looking for mills two years ago, it was much easier to look in Japan than in China. For me, then, everything that came out of Japan was good. And at the same time, i thought, finding a comparable quality in China was a shot in the dark.

Today; wouldn't it be ignorant to think that, for example, if the indigo is from India, the cotton from Zimbabwe, that only Japanese mills could do a good job putting it all together?

As i'm writing this i think of what difference it would make if i bought the same ingredients for me and a gourmet chef, and compared the results. But then again, ignorance is bliss.

Vinz-

Hidden rivets are so nice. Kinda like how a good pair of jeans on a girl make your imagination run amok.

And I agree that some sort of backpocket stitch would be good. Its that balance of not overdoing it but still holding your own. I definitly overdid it with my first designs.

Some sort of smart implementation of Canada in there maybe?

I think this is mentioned in the Dior thread... the darts give the jeans more fit around the seat.

The Japanese mills i have been in contact with have broken down looms, and they also have spareparts, and lots of them, so you could probably build a loom from that as well. If this is for Evisu, i'm sure if you look in the right places you'll find one without too much hassle.

edit: didn't see the "in the US", sorry. Then i'm not sure.

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showpost.php?p=5453&postcount=17

Hope that helps!

Josh Homme?

Not woven on a shuttleloom, no. I'd like to see pictures of the fit though.

edit: it looks like its the different colored stitches keeping the fabric from unraveling.

Steve McQueen?

im not skeptical to your proposal... i just dont like the way youre coming off. maybe im looking too much into how youre wording what youre saying but you sound a little bit pretentious to me, like we should be all running to you because you think you can help us do some jeans.

Truly, I'm sorry if I came off like that. It was in no way intended.

Kaisha - i'm actually interested in hearing what you have to offer, also, how did you manage to speak to mills/constructors/etc?

Well my obsession with denim started about 6 years ago. That, combined with that underlying urge to create and experience with cut and sew, resulted in the process of creating my own label making jeans in Japan using Japanese denim.

I spent a couple of years finding someone down there with the proper knowledge (which turned out to be 30 or some years in the trade) that could help me in the contact with the different mills and constructors.

I have been lurking here for years, and will always be grateful for the knowledge given to me here. So i guess as a "thank you" i wanted to see how far the process of making a pair of genuine Superdenim jeans had gone, and maybe give it a push towards realizing it.

just know that it's been tried before and due to the huge range of voices here it has never really turned out properly.

That's very kind. No jeans in it though...

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780767923194

(i'll edit this later and erase the shameless self-publicising...)

It will be a great intermission between reading about denim and denim and denim.

Although he IS wearing jeans on the cover of that book

A new book? Great!!

Yes it is something i already have. But it is more with mills and constructors directly, not with labels i'm afraid. My English is very limited, and i can see, with my 19 posts, that people are sceptic to my proposal. I'll ask again when i have made more friends here.

What Kiya is doing is really nice i think, because it is rare that stores get into denim and the brands at that level. I wish him the best of luck.

If you had established a good trustworthy relationship and friendship with a Japanese supplier, you'd see how i could make the costs what they are.

In any case, I thought there were genuine interest in something like this, but it seems the time is not right at the moment. Maybe one day...

i think the closest attempt came from sling & stones, ilovespaz held a bit of a discussion although the real problem was the huge diversity of wants. denim weights, cuts (rise, inseam length, leg opening, etc), hardware - and then there was the ultimate problem of costs.

he even suggested a DIY denim kit, to solve all the problems of wants - but that didn't go down too well.

A DIY kit? Well that would be something.

As far as costs I think, if people could decided one ONE model where almost everyone got something they wanted on there (of course, sacrifices are inevitable), they wouldn't be too bad. Under $200 i'd roughly say. And this project wouldn't be done to make alot of money.

I have always though that the Superfuture font would good as a woven label...white on SF green.

Hey Ande!

I've kept an eye on what you have done from day one here on SF. You have become quite the craftsman. Woven label as in between things, in the back of things or on

the outside of things? or all?

so in a sense this message board's thoughts and suggestions are always taken into account when finalizing my design specs.

I know what you mean. Without this place, and Paul T's book, I don't think I'd ever spend so much time working on my own denim thing.

Unless you work with a really small company that is willing to make a lot of acomodations, piece minimums would be a problem for you guys here. Also remember that the cost of making samples is pretty high, so the more models there are, the more money is sunk into the project before anything actually goes to production.

As long as its above 50 pieces, i think it is very possible to pull this off.

Multiple cuts is an idea, but yes, samples are pretty high.

When you say 2channel, do you mean 2chan? Or am I just going off on a tangent.

this one:

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=11861

what are "specs from this board" ?

different people, different oppinions....

Very good point, we would have to find some glorious middlepath between all opinions; that might seem impossible.

I love those one sentence, no punctiation SF answers.

No, what I'm asking is if anyone is working towards making a pair of Japanese denim jeans with specs from this board?

I might be able to help with this.

A while back, in the 2channel thread, there was mention of making Superdenim jeans.

I have thunk about this for a while now, and I'm wondering if anyone has made any steps towards this?

How many people would be interested?

perhaps it is time to let this issue rest.

I was waiting for that. Someone here said it is just another chapter in the history of denim, and I agree. And as disturbing as it seems now, we will all cope.

Found this:

http://www.hampdenmainstreet.org/history.html

There are dummies in the Luxoro Civic Museum in Genova from the 17th and 18th seccoli that look to be dressed in costume make from indigo dyed twill. A hard wearing, cotton twill, indigo warp, neutral weft....just like denim. A somewhat speculative link, but it may add some mystery if not mystique.

That one caught my attention.

Tweedlesinpink - Based in Norway, and in the start-up phase of a label.

Raul - I'll answer in a couple of days... christmas and all that

You do have a homefield advantage on that Italian denim, so if i was you, I'd go for it!

About that polo shirt, you can find Chinese factories that will do small amounts for you. The key is finding THAT one. I spent several years finding a good one, and believe there are alot of half-assed suppliers that will tell you one thing and do the complete opposite. Again, since you have the luxury of being Italian in Italy i would look at the factories there first, as it would be a great opportunity to learn about the whole "clothes-making" thing

Now i have to admit i love Japanese mills even more. As a christmas gift they sent me a wooden shuttle! How happy can a guy get.

Raul - Do you plan on making your other garments, tees, etc. in Italy?