Introducing myself and a couple of quesitons on manufacturing denim!

[Guest]

Hey guys, my name is Jem and myself and 2 mates are attempting to launch a mini label in Sydney, Australia. We basically just want to make our own jeans and sell to friends and stuff and a bit over the web too and I figured it would be a good idea for us to check out this forum and so far we have learnt heaps about the industry and you people too. I just wanted to introduce myself as I'm going to start contributing to threads so make me feel welcome bitches!

It's been interesting to observe the people here and their dedications to higher end denim and I'm really fascinated by the whole sufu scene in general. I haven't met that many people in Sydney that are so into selvedge and vintage looms and the whole aspect of what goes into production etc. It's always refreshing when I do though so it's cool to have an outlet such as this.

In terms of our label, so far we have been sourcing the people that will be helping us with this project such as our pattern maker, PR lady, web designer etc. I'm a graphic designer and photographer so I'll be doing alot of the branding myself which saves us startup costs. The launch range will consist of 4 cuts for men and women (which are still being worked out) but expect to see a skinny cut, straight cut and a more relaxed cut for men and women. We are going to be branding these supremely and we want the touches to be in the details so we are also looking at designing inner pocket material and some subtle hidden touches too.

Our brand will show a mature and classic approach to denim with nothing over the top or extreme. What we are looking at doing is creating a product that is as top quality as possible but selling at a more decent price point than most of the premium denim companies out there at the moment.

I know alot of you are about super quality denim and may scoff at producing in China, but so far the only place we've found that can give us a run of 2000-2500 jeans in 8 styles with different washes is in China. We've seen samples from this factory and their manufacturing abilities seem rather decent! However the denim leaves something to be desired.

Which leads me on to a question for you dudes. Whereabouts can we source some really nice denim (with not so high minimum purchase quantaties) that are strong, will be able to wash really nicely into soft fades and have a nice soft touch with a bit of stretch for the skinny cuts? It's all about the quality for us and we don't mind spending more money on amazing denim if it means a better product.

Before you answer please consider that this forum shouldn't only be about elitist Japanese selvedge denim and I'd love to get some informative answers from you guys. We are also looking at a raw selvedge range too so basically if you know of any places to get some top quality denim please let us know. Also if anyone knows a manufacturer that could help us out we'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

If you have any questions for me then by all means please ask

Cheers,

Jem

[kolourhero]

bring in the RAW stuff, no one really cares about washes here.

[Guest]

bring in the RAW stuff, no one really cares about washes here.

Hey mate, as I said before we are looking at doing both washes and raw. If you have anything to offer on raw denim sources then by all means, pipe up.

[horriblyjollyjinx]

you can get Chinese denim that is every bit as good as Japanese denim(the synthetic indigo, raw denim, washes are probably worse).

I've seen some great stuff. I dunno about manufacturing though, but hopefully they can do that well too.

pm me your email and I can help you get some good denim. dont bother with washed crap btw.

[hollaforadolla]

you can get Chinese denim that is every bit as good as Japanese denim(the synthetic indigo, raw denim, washes are probably worse).

I've seen some great stuff. I dunno about manufacturing though, but hopefully they can do that well too.

pm me your email and I can help you get some good denim. dont bother with washed crap btw.

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/levis.html

someone in china is working 19 hours a day for a dollar or two a day for your jeans.

[horriblyjollyjinx]

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/levis.html

someone in china is working 19 hours a day for a dollar or two a day for your jeans.

no.

I bet you prefer the mass-unemployment of the 1980's China though. Very solidaric of you

[Guest]

horribljollyjinx - PM sent, thanks mate.

hollaforadolla - We will be going to the factories and ensuring that there is no slave labour / sweatshop labour going on and the factories are morally and ethically run. As it stands we have no choice but to use China as our limited run was not accepted at any of the other factories we contacted in Turkey, India and Vietnam.

[annacobra]

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/levis.html

someone in china is working 19 hours a day for a dollar or two a day for your jeans.

Without being sarcastic, working hours range from 12-14hrs a day, with income of about $10 a day.

[Tyro1]

having a denim label is the new having a t-shirt label...

[bonanz]

posting about having a denim lable [sic] and never producing any jeans is the new having a t-shirt label...

FYP

12346789

[Guest]

Bonanz, I look forward to proving you wrong.

[kelvin]

I could probably help you with connections in Hong Kong, but as a small start up I would strongly suggest not manufacturing your brand there. You need to be on top of it. First and foremost you have to get a good fit. This is a hard market and if your fit is not there nothing else matters. I am at my factory here in the US at least 3 times a week. My design partner lives in Hong Kong, but we do none of our denim manufacturing there nor do we buy our denim there. I would be happy tell you more about my experience. Just pm me. Best of luck.