How SOSOBROTHERS Found Its Way Back to Japanese Denim

This is a sponsored blog post, one of our paid services. We maintain full editorial independence. Read more here.

SOSOBROTHERS Brings Back Japanese Selvedge with Kaihara and Collect

Best known for made-to-order denim and extensive customisation, the Swedish brand has built a range of denims from classic selvedges to proprietary heavyweights, as well as more experimental options. Every pair is made in the brand’s own factory in Thailand.

But Japan hasn’t been the source of that breadth of denims. As sourcing needs evolved, Japanese selvedge became harder to source—and the flexibility that SOSOBROTHERS wanted wasn’t always available there.

Now, Japanese denim is back in the mix, with two options from Kaihara and Collect. It’s not a change of direction, but a return to one of the influences that shaped the business from the start.

It Started With Japanese Denim

The idea was ambitious from day one: made-to-order jeans built around the customer’s choice of fabric, fit and details. 

The denim itself, though, came down to what the young brand could actually source. Its supplier in Bangkok regularly received Japanese selvedge, giving the young brand access to the kind of denim that had helped draw co-founders Johan and Jannis into the business in the first place.

“We had to buy what the middlemen offered, and we usually bought what we could get our hands on before the denim prices rose,” Johan says.

As the years passed, that model became harder to sustain. Japanese selvedge became more difficult and expensive to get hold of. At the same time, the brand started exploring more adventurous fabrics—including the proprietary heavyweights and flannels that would become an important part of its identity.

Most of the denim in the range now comes from mills and producers in China, and that sourcing has helped build the broad fabric range the brand is known for today. Johan says those fabrics are still influenced by what SOSOBROTHERS admired in Japanese denim: the quality, attention to detail and willingness to push what the fabric can do.

But SOSOBROTHERS wasn’t immune to the allure of Japanese denim. It had been there at the beginning, and the team wanted it back—only this time without going back to buying whatever a middleman happened to have. What changed was the ability to establish direct relationships with Kaihara and Collect.

For Johan, that’s a milestone. The direct relationships provide a much better understanding of how the makers work and what they offer, and the team plans to visit Japan to deepen those ties.

Back With Two Signature Selvedges

The Japanese selvedge collection launches with two fabrics: one from Kaihara and one from Collect.

The lighter of the two is Kaihara’s original selvedge: a 13.75 oz. denim made from 100% organic cotton, with an indigo warp and a light beige weft. Johan describes it as a way of circling back to the beginning, given the role Kaihara denim played in the brand’s early days.

The second comes from Collect and weighs 18 oz. It’s an indigo heavyweight with a pink selvedge ID.

“We wanted to start out with the traditional indigo selvedge denims that Japan is known for,” Johan says. “One mid-weight and one slightly heavier.”

That choice fits neatly alongside the existing fabric range. There are already plenty of unusual textures, colours and heavyweight options; these two bring back the more traditional Japanese selvedge that helped shape the brand from the beginning.

Why This Is More Than “Two New Fabrics”

I asked Johan what matters most to him about this launch.

“I think I speak for the whole team when I say that by establishing a business relationship with these amazing mills, it’s quite a milestone for us in terms of growth and recognition,” he says.

There’s a sense of returning to something that was there at the beginning, but with a business that looks very different today.

“It feels like it all started with Japanese looms and it was time finally to re-incorporate that vision into SOSOBROTHERS again.”

That doesn’t mean Japanese denim is about to replace the existing fabric range. The brand is still proud of the denims it has developed and sourced elsewhere, and Johan is clear that Japanese selvedge is becoming both more difficult and more expensive to source.

Running Stock Doesn’t Mean Unlimited

Both are running-stock fabrics—in other words, part of the mills’ existing ranges rather than proprietary developments made specifically for SOSOBROTHERS. That doesn’t mean they’re permanently available. For this first drop, SOSOBROTHERS bought 100 metres of each. Johan says developing an exclusive fabric would mean much larger minimums—often around 1,000 yards—as well as longer timelines.

There’s no guarantee either of these exact denims will return once this first drop is gone. If more becomes available, SOSOBROTHERS may bring them back; if not, future drops will use other Japanese denims.

Being running-stock fabrics doesn’t make these two denims second-best options. Another well-known Swedish denim brand built much of its reputation on a selvedge denim that wasn’t proprietary. A fabric doesn’t need to be exclusive to become closely associated with the brand that uses it.

The direct relationships with Kaihara and Collect also create the chance to see what else might be possible. The team plans to visit Japan, learn more about the mills and explore where those relationships could lead.

The post How SOSOBROTHERS Found Its Way Back to Japanese Denim appeared first on Denimhunters.

DENIM and PATCHES sourced this post originally published on this site