Unknown Japanese Brands

[Maynard Friedman]

First Silverstone Ground-alls and now Gardener. I wonder if there are any other dormant Japanese repro companies out there about to be resurrected?

[beautiful_FrEaK]

I was thinking the same. Seems to be a trend to revive old in-shop (?) brands. Where they all in-shop brands or independent?

Probably a lot more available. Like Levin Scheme, RRR, and many others. @Double 0 Soul knows 1 or 2 more  

 

[Double 0 Soul]

Ikr! .. it's like the second summer of love.. we're living through a golden age people!.. i like to think we're a contributing factor.

Nobody mention cash grab..

[Double 0 Soul]

Can i just throw my hand on the table and say.. those Gardener 43s look great but that Typ2 looks incredibly uncomfortable with it's high collar and drop shoulders, the nipped waist is only going to push the jacket further up the body.. it'll feel like you're always having to pull it down to get the collar to sit on the neck, hence^^ worn with the top button open.. not to mention those square pocket flaps ..

[beautiful_FrEaK]

I would love see a DenimJunkie revival!

[Lorcan]

The type ii looks like a Copper King/ Can’t Bust ‘Em repro

https://vintage-mushroom.net/?pid=178886059

I actually like the pocket flaps…

[Double 0 Soul]

Yep, you're right.. good spot!

I don't mind the look of them.. but from a practical pov, pointy bits on workwear tend to catch and snag while you're working.. i'd be forever buttoning the pockets.. i have all on keeping my cuffs buttons fastened.

[Lorcan]

Ha yeah I guess the tips will curl up and stick out more? Didn’t think of that.

I was stuck on the philosophical choice of pairing a Lee adjacent jacket repro with Levi’s style jeans as a ‘matching’ setup 🙃 Glad someone is considering practicality!

[Double 0 Soul]

Damn! That’s even more of a quandary

My next work jacket is a war model 506 with no flap, the only disadvantage will be the open pocket constantly filling up with wood shavings.. it’s the same with cuffs / turn ups.. they always collect sawdust.

When I lived in the countryside.. i’d walk through meadows at this time of year and my cuffs would be full of seeds.. if it rained and my jeans got wet, they would germinate then die from lack of water.. I always fancied watering my turn ups and growing a mini, flowering meadow in the bottom of my jeans 

[yung_flynn]

9 hours ago, okimoto said:

35 inch inseam in one wash state:

Damn 35 inch once washed inseam. Short inseams usually help my impulse control. The Gardener are mercifully sold out in 31 though

I like the look of these at a quick glance though. The pocket bag colors are particularly nice.

That oxidized Slash Overall denim also caught my eye, but mercifully those jeans are likely too short and too much of a hassle to obtain

Edited May 14 by yung_flynn

[Lorcan]

4 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Damn! That’s even more of a quandary

My next work jacket is a war model 506 with no flap, the only disadvantage will be the open pocket constantly filling up with wood shavings.. it’s the same with cuffs / turn ups.. they always collect sawdust.

When I lived in the countryside.. i’d walk through meadows at this time of year and my cuffs would be full of seeds.. if it rained and my jeans got wet, they would germinate then die from lack of water.. I always fancied watering my turn ups and growing a mini, flowering meadow in the bottom of my jeans 

Surely there must be a Tender Co fan out there somewhere with some parsley and radishes sprouting out the cuffs of their Oxford jeans. This is what I choose to believe anyway 😄

[Double 0 Soul]

Pollen

Seeds

[ATWM]

2 hours ago, Lorcan said:

Surely there must be a Tender Co fan out there somewhere with some parsley and radishes sprouting out the cuffs of their Oxford jeans. This is what I choose to believe anyway 😄

I’m feeling a little inspired by this but need some 136s first…

[indigoeagle]

On 5/13/2025 at 8:34 AM, beautiful_FrEaK said:

@Broark I contacted the guy behind Slash Overall's as well regarding an order. I would really like a pair of his "vintage aged" jeans with his proprietary denim.

https://slashoverall.base.shop/blog/2025/02/08/214931

https://slashoverall.base.shop/blog/2024/11/30/142325

 

So what is he saying?

I think there were jacket and jeans available at Barnstormer a few years ago. But they sold really quickly.
And then afterwards there were events at the Barnstormer shop, where customers could buy.
It seems he prefers to have customers see and feel his products before buying.
Except for some items that he sometimes puts up in his online shop.

He has interesting blog articles, always testing and researching more and more. Sounds great.
I'm writing the following from the info on his blog to sort all the info for me. And it might be of interest to others here.

He seems to want to stay close to the vintage originals, also in their cuts. Making jackets longer or narrower to make the silhouette more modern or fashionable is not his philosophy.
The aim is to make his products indistinguishable from original vintage items, when one ignores the brand name on the buttons or patches.

His first fabric apparently was LF44 (low tension 12.5oz denim).
And then in January 2024 he came out with a new one, NP01.
The NP01 is a much darker dyed fabric (original 12oz denim).

Then in November NP02 he developed the NP01 further and changed its name to SO02.
In November he also introduced another denim fabric, the SL01- a special order fabric made by the Okamoto mill in Okayama.
He developed this denim in close collaboration with the president Okamoto.
It's around 13oz. It seems to have as he writes on his blog "the characteristic bounce, elasticity, and stickiness of vintage denim, as well as a "dried-out feel."
His trousers are all called S01XX (no matter where pre war, war or post war models.)
And similarly for the jackets S06XX.

The Okamoto Textile company has been mentioned on this board before, nearly 20 years ago.

 

 

[beautiful_FrEaK]

13 hours ago, indigoeagle said:

Okamoto mill in Okayama

A certain (small) denim maker is in contact with this mill as well for some denim

[beautiful_FrEaK]

On 5/14/2025 at 8:05 AM, okimoto said:

I noticed the same thing. Maybe they will ship with the tab… no arcuates though.

Another example of the 1943 with an UEKI's tab

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJb1OmiuLyT/

[indigoeagle]

4 hours ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

Another example of the 1943 with an UEKI's tab

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJb1OmiuLyT/

Nice touch with the name of the craftsman on the tab.

[indigoeagle]

Some more interesting items from his blog.
On the shape of his jeans:
"The s01xx is designed to be like the vintage 501xx, which has  a smaller front and a larger back.

Many of the replicas today have been modified to make the back bodice smaller and the hips look smaller. If worn just right, it makes the legs look longer and is very stylish, but if worn oversized, it creates an unattractive silhouette like a diaper."

The diaper butt phenomenon has been experienced by many, I think.
I don't really understand what he's talking about. It seems to be about pattern making and the right proportions. What has been discussed before: if you have a rare vintage pair in 30 it can be a challenge to make a size 36 from there. If you just multiply the different parts by 1,2, it might turn out weird.
 

[indigoeagle]

And he had worked with Samurai. (this has possibly been posted before somewhere on the site. But I hadn't been aware of it.)
He had been fascinated by Samurai's original 15oz denim (I guess the otokogi).
On a whim he asked Mr Nogami, whether he could make a jeans out of his denim and immediately feeling bad about asking such a question.
The denim is of course a main component of a denim company.
But to his astonishment Mr Nogami agreed.

The results look pretty cool. It seems they were never for sale.
Pictures from his blog:

 

[Lorcan]

There was a limited edition wwii jacket produced with samurai. Think it sold very fast. 

https://www.samurai-jeans.com/en/collections/jacket/products/os555xx-15oz男気デニムジャケット

 

[beautiful_FrEaK]

13 hours ago, indigoeagle said:

"The s01xx is designed to be like the vintage 501xx, which has  a smaller front and a larger back.

Isn't this something Full Count also did now with their revised cuts? Seen a lot of 0105s lately over on reddit and can't say they look really good though. Haven't tried the new cuts though and don't plan to do so.

[indigoeagle]

8 hours ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

Isn't this something Full Count also did now with their revised cuts? Seen a lot of 0105s lately over on reddit and can't say they look really good though. Haven't tried the new cuts though and don't plan to do so.

Ah, smaller and larger here means shorter and longer front and back rise (the translated English was a bit confusing to me).

Interesting point.
I have the new 0105. It feels quite baggy, but still good.

SO on his site only states the waist and inseam, I think.

That blog post is from more than three years ago. There had been another post afterwards about a new shape, the leg was slimmed a little, I think.

[indigoeagle]

I found this pair:
https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/japan/en/special/order/confirm/https%3A%2F%2Fjp.mercari.com%2Fitem%2Fm56078343119/13_1/

For a W32 waist: 41cm and rise: 31cm. The back rise is not stated. But the front rise doesn't seem very small.

So FWs might also be close to the original then with their relatively long back rises.

[TripicalMidbooster]

On 5/14/2025 at 1:18 AM, okimoto said:

Gardener's has re-released a 1943 model, all iron laurel buttons, no rust proofing, flannel pocket bags, 35 inch inseam in one wash state:
https://store.spiraljeans.jp/en-us/products/gardener_1943xx-コピー

and a type 2 adjacent jacket, squared pockets, single row stitched pleats, very tapered:
https://store.spiraljeans.jp/en-us/products/gardener_579xx-コピー

Both seem to use all lemon thread and same denim. They both look really slick and I'd hope to see them on the forum.

if only they still had the ueki's tab... one of my favorites ever!!

[beautiful_FrEaK]

On 2/27/2025 at 8:02 PM, beautiful_FrEaK said:

Looks very Western orientated which gives me some low-key Tanuki vibes. But the denim looks more normal.

My thoughts were confirmed:

Omoto Denim is run by the guys from Japan Blue and is targeted at the Western community. 

[youngofthesoonest]

23 hours ago, beautiful_FrEaK said:

My thoughts were confirmed:

Omoto Denim is run by the guys from Japan Blue and is targeted at the Western community. 

Do you know if he left Japan Blue and started Omoto? I couldn't tell if it was a separate thing or if it was another brand owned by the PE firm that bought Japan Blue Group 

[chicote]

Came across these Del Bombers in size 32, barely worn... anyone know anything about these?

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/japan/en/special/order/confirm/https%3A%2F%2Fitem.fril.jp%2Fb39bd035101933e676f2202d39a6949d/19_1/

[Double 0 Soul]

I think they were the in house brand from ‘The Warriors’ store.. there have been numerous variations over the years.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

You can also buy Del Bombers from Gleem (who also seem to have their own in-house brand)

@chicote Here your pair in question, not much info there though

https://gleem.ocnk.net/product/251

 

And Del Bombers is also a shop:
https://delbombers.ocnk.net/product-list/36

[Double 0 Soul]

Are they all linked? Warriors also sold Gleem..