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Last month between May 26th-28th, vintage and workwear inspired lifestyle magazine, Clutch, hosted a groundbreaking tradeshow in Yokohama, Japan. Inviting brands both local and international, the result was a gathering of some of the most influential brands in high end denim and workwear clothing, and we are thrilled to be bringing you coverage of what we loved from the show.
While the focus point of the show was a traditional tradeshow for denim and workwear brands, there was also an amazing curation of vintage finds hosted by a multitude of vintage dealers from all over Japan. The vintage garments were housed in the red brick building seen on the right side of this picture.
Having been around the denim scene in Okayama for over a decade now, Anachronorm has been quietly pushing the boundary of vintage inspiration to new heights with their modern take on traditional garments and style. Ironically, rather than to display new items from their Fall/Winter line like every other brand chose to do, Anachronorm decided to bring items from previous collections (primarily well worn denim pieces) to put on display. The result was a mini-museum style feel that we really enjoyed.
Brown's Beach Jacket, hands down one of our favorite vintage reproduction garments. Original production commenced in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1901, but the company went defunt sometime during the 1960s. Having been revived since 2010 and produced entirely in Japan, every aspect of the vintage pieces have been analyzed to perfect the reproduction garments.
Rather than to show what most readers may already be familiar with, we bring you the latest from the Brown's Beach for next season, a creamy beige tone with grayish brown piping and the now classic black snap buttons
Really digging this new color, look out for this piece this Fall!
Another one of those brands we've always respected is the Burgus Plus name. Started as an in house brand for the Japan based jeans dealer, Hinoya, the brand has grown to be respected and acclaimed internationally. They have some beautiful pieces planned for the latter half of 2015. With a heavy focus on Indigo, one of our favorite pieces from their booth was a pair of jeans dyed entirely in Pure Indian Indigo dye, renowned as being one of the deepest and resistant Indigo dyes available on the market.
Mr. Mr. Taisuke Nishizawa of Burgus Plus
One of those brand's that has been quietly producing some of the most sought after jeans in the market, the Eternal brand composes of a small team of guys who believe in craft. Stemming from a background of school clothing production, the progression to denim came from a passion project within the last 18 years or so, by the latest generation of this three-generation old company. The standout piece here was definitely the down stuffed Indigo dyed traditional yukata top pictured above
One of the most impressive booths of the season by far was by Fullcount, but it was the garments that spoke for themselves. Without straying too far from the brand that many have come to truly appreciate, we welcomed cutting edge fabrics on a couple pieces that most fellow otaku would love
21oz. Selvedge denim spun from Zimbabwean cotton, applied to the Fullcount 1109 silhouette
Natural Indigo dyed jeans by Fullcount, limited to 100 pieces. This is a truly unique piece with all the right details. based off the 1108 silhouette
Forgoing the arcs on this piece, the clean finish in full indigo (leather patch included) is quite a sight in person
Fullcount 5oz. Chambray Shirt
Fullcount Indigo Dyed Watch cap
Fullcount Indigo Dyed Socks
Continuing the foray into developing and creating new fabrics and silhouettes, the Japan Blue crew always manage to bring something fresh to the table
"Material is a key factor to Jeans" - Japan Blue Jeans
We have here the JBCD0463 cut from 13.5oz Cote D'Ivoire Selvedge denim,
and the JB0412-ML featuring 16.5oz Green Weft "Monster" Selvedge denim
And the now classic, JB0412
Seen here with some vintage shuttle loom parts are the Japan Blue JB04S12
Definitely the standout out non-denim item from Japan Blue was this gorgeous blue Jacquard Camo shirt
Polka Dot Indigo Dyed craziness coming in a couple months!
Stepping up the sophistication, Japan Blue present this Selvedge Indigo Chambray Tailored Jacket for the Fall
The Denim and Chambray hat versions by Japan Blue will be available again next season
There was Indigo...everywhere. Easily the bluest booth of the show, literally every piece in the booth was indigo.
Iwaya-san of Pure Blue Japan, denim whiz and all-around great guy
Any real Jeanmaker isn't afraid to get his hands a little blue - the hands of Iwaya-san after a full day of showing his latest garments
While jeans were the focus at the PBJ booth, there were some solid indigo pants options
Standout Selvedge detail on this pair of Indigo Duck Cotton pants by PBJ
Shirting was on point as always, with some pleasant surprise mixed in there
Indigo Seersucker Gingham Check shirt looking sharp
We always feel real good about discharge, and this piece is no exception!
With the same discharge print motif being applied to several garments, we are pleased to be bringing this new style this coming Fall
Another surprise came by way of this Indigo Jacquard Raglan L/S Sweatshirt, a pattern and fabric that was completely unexpected but inexplicably cool coming out of the PBJ camp
Continuing the foray into indigo discharge printing with the Indigo Discharge Dyed Bandannas
And now for the creme - the Jeans
Another surprise from PBJ was the inclusion of this brand new 16oz weight denim fabric with stretch! That's right, it is 95% Cotton/5% Polyurethane, a bit of a surprise for a company that has always made 100% cotton Men's Jeans. But given the reasoning behind this (in order to go heavier in weight while slimming down the cut, the minute touch of stretch in the fabric allows for comfort from initial wear. Anyone that has started from a blank canvas with anything Raw over 14oz can attest to the fact that breaking in is never easy, thus these jeans and the fabric in general is a complete game changer
The KS-013-ST is one of Iwaya-san's proudest moment, a type of fabric that he believes will define the future of Men's Japanese denim
Seeing and feeling beat up PBJs should be a hobby in itself, and with some well worn pairs on display by the brand, we were pretty excited with needing out over hues and patinas for more time than we had to waste
Starting from the Left, there is a pair of AI-001 with 6 years of wear, the XX-007 with only a year of wear, the XX-010 with only a year of wear, the XX-003 with three years of wear, and lastly the XX-003 worn for a year. A breathtaking collection of fades.
Our favorite beanies made an appearance too!
Never the type to not please, The Real McCoy's had a beautiful and eloquent presentation of some immaculately crafted garments and goods. The Real McCoy's excel at anything they touch, but their real forte is leather jackets.
The J-24L, a classic Motorcyle jacket with an extended torso and Alpaca fur collar liner
A full range of reproduction Flight jackets
The Buco Motorcycle jacket range
More of the Buco motorcycle reproduction pieces
Some gorgeous MA-1's by RMC
Some heavier outer, like the Navy Peacoat in the middle, are seen pictured here
While the RMC really accelerate on outerwear like their leather Flight and Motorcycle jacket range, the jeans are of superb construction and fabric
Military genus, Uchida-san of The Real McCoy's Product Development team
One of those brands that we are excited to be bringing on board very soon, is SDA (short for Studio D'Artisan), one of the original Osaka 5 players.
One of those all around stellar pieces was this Natural Indigo Dyed jeans by the Studio D'Artisan guys, a salute to honest and immaculate craft
The SDA creed - "Reconstruction of Great Old Things"
The brand that developed the Indigo Dyed MA-1 Jacket that got such great reception from our Mag Tradeshow coverage a few months ago, Soulive are excited to be the new kids on the block. Their craft goes beyond simple quality construction, with the development of custom fabrics and design of brand new modern silhouettes.
Stevenson Overall Company (or SOC) are one of those brand's that may not be familiar to everyone, but those who do follow the brand are die-hard fans. Creating a lifestyle heritage brand is not easy, especially one that steps out of the norm of the classic 5-pocket jeans to discover and create new standards for Men's denim. The brand that has aptly managed to do this for years is Stevenson Overall Company.
Covering this tradeshow while juggling buying for next season was not easy, but transparency is one of the driving forces of our business, and we find that it is imperative for our customers and fans to share this experience with the rest of us.
Brian Awitan of Levi Strauss & Co. made an appearance as an invitee of the Clutch crew, definitely a well known guy in the raw denim trade.
