Following up on our initial "Shinkai Slub" Selvedge series release just before the end of the year in 2024, we are stoked to announce the release of our second iteration of this fabric - dropping in a manner that is a little different to what we normally do. To give you a bit of backstory, we have only ever done one distressed collaboration project which takes us back all the way to 2015. In the development phase of the "Shinkai Slub" Selvedge, Japan Blue had presented us with swatches in three iterations. While we were already besotted with the raw and washed samples of the fabric, it was the Stone Bio Wash swatch that blew us away, leading us to put into production a full run of the Shinkai Slub jeans undergoing this factory treatment.
A washing format first developed in the 1980s, and perfected by the numerous denim washing houses scattered across Kojima, Okayama - Stone Bio Wash is a multi-step process that mimics a well-worn denim aesthetic. Using microorganisms to break down the face of the fabric, actual stones (a combination of natural and artificial pumice rocks) are added to the commercial washing machine in order to give the jeans a natural distressed and worn-in aesthetic. As the process can be rigorous to the denim itself, the finished garment in the case of our latest jeans shows the durability and fiber strength that is retained in our “Shinkai Slub” Selvedge denim.
The Stone Bio Wash process in the case of our latest collaboration is unique to Kojima, where the jeans go through a half-wash process in order to minimize damage to the denim, while breaking down the face of the fabric to achieve the worn-in aesthetic, then going through a hang-dry process outdoors to give the jeans a natural feel and finish. Along with this fresh denim development, we have renewed the construction details of the "Shinkai Slub" series. Along with the heavyweight Tochigi leather patch and indigo-dyed pocket bags featuring updated logo artwork, we also developed a blue and red rayon tab to represent the Japanese “Rising Sun” Flag and Indigo Blue.
*Due to the nature of Stone Bio Washing, these jeans have shrunk in comparison to the previous "Shinkai Slub" jeans release. As a rule of thumb size up one size, but also view the size chart below to deduce your appropriate size.