Hello, I'm a New York-based journalist seeking to identify the "ultimate" kind of jeans, if such a thing exists, and thought I'd put the question to this forum. To be more specific about what I mean by ultimate, I'll give a couple of examples from other categories. For cars, it's not a Rolls-Royce, or a Ferrari, or a Lamborghini. It's a Bugatti. And not just any Bugatti, but a Bugatti Veyron. For wine, it's not a Mouton-Rothschild '82, or even a Mouton-Rothschild '45 (though that comes close), but rather a Cheval Blanc '47: That's the particular combination of chateau and vintage most revered and coveted by connoisseurs (it has often been called "the wine of the century"). In other words, I'm talking about things that are exceedingly rare and expensive, often esoteric, and a level (or two, or three) above the usual suspects that the average, untutored person might think of as "the best." So, to come back to jeans, what would be the equivalent? Should I be focusing on custom/bespoke jeans from, say, 45 rpm or Ernest Sewn? Should I be focusing on vintage jeans, or are such jeans, unlike vintage wines, purely for collecting (rather than wearing/drinking)? Should I be focusing on raw selvedge jeans from Japan, made by an artisanal producer involved in the creation of the fabric itself (such as Momotaro)? I'm interested in jeans that merit their cult status for substantive reasons--a particular kind of denim, or quality of craftsmanship, etc.--rather than because they are are merely fashionable, or dripping with thousands of dollars of diamonds. So, what do you all think? When it comes to jeans, what is The One?
Holy Grail Denim
in superdenim
Posted
Hello, I'm a New York-based journalist seeking to identify the "ultimate" kind of jeans, if such a thing exists, and thought I'd put the question to this forum. To be more specific about what I mean by ultimate, I'll give a couple of examples from other categories. For cars, it's not a Rolls-Royce, or a Ferrari, or a Lamborghini. It's a Bugatti. And not just any Bugatti, but a Bugatti Veyron. For wine, it's not a Mouton-Rothschild '82, or even a Mouton-Rothschild '45 (though that comes close), but rather a Cheval Blanc '47: That's the particular combination of chateau and vintage most revered and coveted by connoisseurs (it has often been called "the wine of the century"). In other words, I'm talking about things that are exceedingly rare and expensive, often esoteric, and a level (or two, or three) above the usual suspects that the average, untutored person might think of as "the best." So, to come back to jeans, what would be the equivalent? Should I be focusing on custom/bespoke jeans from, say, 45 rpm or Ernest Sewn? Should I be focusing on vintage jeans, or are such jeans, unlike vintage wines, purely for collecting (rather than wearing/drinking)? Should I be focusing on raw selvedge jeans from Japan, made by an artisanal producer involved in the creation of the fabric itself (such as Momotaro)? I'm interested in jeans that merit their cult status for substantive reasons--a particular kind of denim, or quality of craftsmanship, etc.--rather than because they are are merely fashionable, or dripping with thousands of dollars of diamonds. So, what do you all think? When it comes to jeans, what is The One?