Denim Magazine List

[digital_denim]

Posted a Lightning magazine list here a loooong time ago. And since we're all becoming more knowledgeable about Japanese denim, I thought it be fun to scan parts of the magazine. If someone can translate how they went about rating these, that would be great too. I've included the first 4, let me know if you want me to keep adding pics. My scanner's slow, so it takes awhile.

Edited by digital_denim on Jun 1, 2006 at 11:37 AM

[Chicken]

Hi DD,

I have this mag myself. The way they explained it was to use this list as a guide to find your "perfect pair". I don't think it was by any means a list of the best jeans in the world in that order. It actually had a pretty detailed descriptions of many jeans companies, but already few years old now.

I think this was the same issue with a talk session between the Denime guy, Evisu guy and McCoy guy. Good stuff.

[BumbaClot]

Thanks DD,

Post more scans if you can.

[chrisbunnington]

this is really cool.

any way to get my hands on this in Canada?

[digital_denim]

The other cool thing is that they have a pic of every era Levi's 501s, Wrangler, Lee's.

[digital_denim]

Edited by digital_denim on Jun 1, 2006 at 05:17 PM

[Chicken]

Okay, let me try to contribute a little. I'm going to translate some of these pages, but I'm by no means a professional translator. (If I was I'd be charging you all money.) So don't hold me legally responsible for every word. And grammer/spelling, all that good stuff. But here it goes:

Headline: Sugar Cane. Sugarcanes that inherited the flavor American soldiers loved.

Subhead: Awesome choice of materials as well as coolness of originality. (Well, something like that.)

Text: The frontrunner of Toyo Enterprise, Minato Shogyo, incorporated right after WWII. They began by importing things like souvenir jackets into the US Army bases. In 1975, Sugar Cane was born for demin and work-ware. Currently (2004), they're producing products that are difficult to mass produce. In order to maintain traditional flavor, they're putting a lot of effort in the process which involves creating original materials and using lots of hand work. But they don't just follow traditions for tradition-sake, but also are constantly pursuing coolness, which is their secret to their popularity.

(I thought this was going to be easy. It took me a good half-an-hour. WTF?)

[denimdestroyedmylife]

thanks for the pics, digi-nim

thanks for the trans, chick'n.

i had no idea sugar cane has been in business since 75. where are those 31-year-old canes now???

wish i had that book and could understand japanese-----and had PBJs.

Using chain stitch, your train of jeans is fading wind.

Edited by denimdestroyedmylife on Jun 1, 2006 at 09:17 PM

[Chicken]

Hey DDML,

It's really difficult for me to tell from that short paragraph, but it might just mean that Sugar Cane was originally started in 1975 to import denim, and not necessarily produce them. Sorry, that'll take some more serious research to find out exactly.

[asfberg]

i mentioned it before, not sure if it was your old post or not, but the lightning list is NOT a ranking

it's just a list

they ask manufacturers to pick models they'd like to feature

if you notice many of the bigger advertisers have full pages and are listed earlier in the sequence

[digital_denim]

It's just wierd that some jeans get full page layouts, while some are half a page. Maybe they didn't buy enough ads?

[asfberg]

or maybe they only paid for a half page

it's not exactly consumer reports

[Chicken]

I noticed there are different issues pretty much dedicated to different companies. For example, I also have "vol. 12 Retro American Style Book The Greatest '50s" and the majority of the book is filled with Flat Head ads and articles.

The one we've been talking about here seems to be the big one featuring a lot more at once.

[Chicken]

02 Evisu

Huge hit in Europe. Appeal with hipness.

The one and only originals reflect Hidehiko Yamane's uniqueness.

Evisu, known for their painted gulls, is getting a lot of hype in Europe. As if to ridicule other brands who were faithfully reproducing vintage denim, they have been releasing products full of originality since their debut in '91. It is well known that unique jeans reflecting Yamane's idea of vintage-ness has already influenced European designers. It can be said that they are the instigators of the current denim-craze.

[Chicken]

03 Warehouse

Denim depot that faithfully recreated Americanness

Concept work that passes on all the qualities of real vintage.

Established in '95, aimed to recreate vintage wares. The name of this brand derives from vintage warehouses in the US. Close reproductions were made possible by analyzing their own vintage wares in stock. They were able to revive not only the details, but also the smell and the character of real vintage. Recently, they've also been producing sweat shirts and neru (flannel) shirts under the same concept. In 2003, they released Dubble Works which pushes their sewing and distressing techniques they've developed until now.

[Chicken]

04 Fullcount

Aimed to be everyday jeans. Boasts "forbidden" comfort.

That comfort is what creates the vertical fading in the realm of art.

Founded in '92, this brand's goal is to achieve the ultimate everyday wear and ideal comfort, but based on the good old craftsmanship of the '50s and '60s America. The material they use is Zimbabwe cotton, the highest-grade cotton commonly used in expensive dress shirts. When you wear it, it feels soft but there's also a distinct rough texture. Which creates an artful vertical fading, as if there were many dots connected to create lines. These are "forbidden" denims -- once you wear one, you can't wear others any more.

[Chicken]

lol, I'm starting to feel like a denim salesman.

[digital_denim]

hahaha, thanks for the translations. I'll try and post some of the more popular jeans on here.

[digital_denim]

Just thought I'd add these. They were the first two pages in the magazine. No captions to explain further.

[Chicken]

Quote: It's really difficult for me to tell from that short paragraph, but it might just mean that Sugar Cane was originally started in 1975 to import denim, and not necessarily produce them. Sorry, that'll take some more serious research to find out exactly.

Just read in another book called "Nippon No Jiinzu, Made In Japan" that Sugar Cane began by producing work wear for Japanese people in 1975. There might still be some work pants and/or jackets floating around somewhere from around that time.

[Noddy]

wow thanks for the heads up

[Chicken]

Any time. Just trying to give something back to the community.

[Chicken]

I figured I'll skip Stormy Blue and Spellbound for now:

07 Studio D'Artisan

Forerunner of Vintage Replicas

Vintage replicas started here...

Studio D'Artisan, established in 1979, is known to be the first brand to produce vintage denim replicas in Japan. They released the model "D0-1" using natural indigo, kase-zome multi-colored green and red selvage, copper rivet reinforcements, two-pronged cinch back imported from France and two color stitching. Their attention to detail is reflects their brand name, "Studio D'Artisan".

[Chicken]

08 Pure Blue Japan

Jeans born from Japanese indigo dye culture

Impossible without the skills of Japanese craftsmen

This is a popular brand getting featured in magazines overseas. It began when Kenichi Iwatani, denim-lover and ex-employee of Okayama's textile mill, founded Shouaiya in '97 to create his ideal denim. One thing unique about the company is that it's more concerned about the finished product than the price. Also known as "Shouaiya" (Indigo Dye House), they're passion for indigo dye runs deep, as evident in their patch design with an indigo dye craftsman. These denims, resulting from manufacturers spending countless hours at the factory, is a big hit among denim-experts.

[mizanation]

chicken, thanks a lot! i would help, but my reading is pretty crappy.

btw, "chicken" is not a reference to ogawa is it?

Soooooo, Studio D'Artisan is the first japanese company to make vintage repros???

so, evisu wasn't the first?

can someone confirm/clarify this?

http://mizanation.blogspot.com

[denimdestroyedmylife]

this thread is deeply enriching. thank you!

Using chain stitch, your train of jeans is fading wind.

[Chicken]

Real glad if this helps. Digital D laid the foundation and I bit the bait.

I'd like to post more but my stupid scanner software (Microtek) at home has been worthless for the past two Mac OS updates. Will try to get some more intreresting things up here once I get it resolved. Or, if DD posts some more photos. Hehe.

By the way, the name Chicken is nowhere that deep. It's a long story, but not an interesting one.

[digital_denim]

Thought I put in Somet when I saw Snugglepony's jeans!

And of course the famous eternal

[Chicken]

Whoa, that was fast. I'll try to get on it later tonight or something.

[mizanation]

chicken, i sent you a pm.

http://mizanation.blogspot.com