What exactly makes Japanese selvedge denim so special? I tend to trust anything with a “Made in Japan” label, no questions asked. Maybe that’s because I, too, am made in Japan and grew up appreciating the meticulously designed, impeccable craftsmanship of everyday goods there. So without knowing much, when I first heard of “Japanese selvedge denim,” I instinctively understood that it meant high-quality jeans made slowly by artisans who likely spent their lives perfecting the craft. Was I wrong? A quick search told me, no, I was not.
It wasn’t the whole story, though. And with Japanese denim surging in popularity, you may be curious to know more too. Like, what exactly is the difference between Japanese and American jeans? And how is Japanese denim made? Why is Japanese denim more expensive?
The story of Levi Strauss and his partner, Jacob Davis, inventing the first American blue denim is well documented. Less so is the story of how these jeans made their way into Japanese pop culture. Let’s get into it: After World War II, American denim became a symbol of freedom and cool to the Japanese, and plenty of jeans were left behind by American soldiers in Japan. But as the popularity of jeans grew, importing American jeans became expensive and heavily restricted. Meanwhile, across the pond, jeans were growing even more in popularity in America, prompting brands like Levi’s and Wranglers to abandon their slow shuttle looms for fast, high-output projectile looms as a way to cut costs and mass-produce more jeans.
Throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, Japanese entrepreneurs started buying and importing these discarded vintage American shuttle looms and applying their obsessive craftsmanship to perfect the once-American art form of making selvedge denim.
What is selvedge denim?
Selvedge denim is a type of dense cotton weave made by traditional shuttle looms. They have a very clean-cut appearance with self-finished edges (recognized by a red line) that don’t fray. The process is slow and leaves room for fabric experimentation, something that the Japanese artisans take advantage of. The resulting denim is rigid, thick, durable, and functional—even suitable for motorcyclists—with each piece showcasing its own unique characteristics. The high quality and slow process make them a little pricier, but they offer a level of durability that mass-produced jeans don’t have.
Americans may have invented the craft, but they abandoned it for speedier denim production processes. The last major Western shuttle-loom production company that made selvedge denim, Cone Mills White Oak plant, permanently shut its doors in 2017.
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