An A–Z Overview and How to Choose Between the Many Japanese Denim Brands
Have you also noticed @amekajihead popping up in newsletters this week?
He was in Blazer on Monday—and then again in Brock McGoff’s weekly newsletter on Wednesday. I sent both to him as soon as I saw them, and from his replies, it sounds like I broke the good news to him on both occasions.
It’s been a busy week on my end too. I spent a day in Amsterdam on Wednesday at Kingpins, where I caught up with a lot of familiar faces from the denim scene. I also closed a couple of new sponsor deals for the site.
But the main story for this issue is something I’ve been working on for a long time: a new guide to Japanese denim brands that turned out to be much bigger than I expected.
In This Issue of the DH Weekly
• The Definitive Guide to Japanese Denim Brands – An A–Z overview to help you navigate the landscape
• The First Weirloom Shirt – My take on the heavyweight flannel, now available for pre-order
• From the DH Archive – The origins of Japanese denim and the story of the Osaka Five
The Definitive Guide to Japanese Denim Brands
A couple of months ago, I mapped out a series of new buying guides focused exclusively on jeans—along with updates to some existing ones.
After publishing my guide to the best raw denim brands, the A–Z of Japanese denim brands was next on the list. It’s also one I wish had existed when I first got into raw denim—and one I’ve been wanting to build for years.
Japanese denim is everywhere now. It’s easier to buy than ever. But at the same time, it’s also harder to navigate because there are so many brands and different styles.
It began as a simple idea—an A–Z list of brands—but quickly turned into something much bigger. The more I worked on it, the more obvious it became that the list alone wasn’t enough. You need context. You need a way to group brands and understand what they’re known for and how they compare.
At some point, I also had to make a call. I could keep refining it for another couple of weeks—or I could publish it as it is. I decided it was good enough to publish. I’m already really proud of it, but it’s not static. It will be a living resource, and there are things I already know I want to add—like clearer guidance on which jeans to look for from each brand.
If you’ve ever tried to get an overview of Japanese denim brands—or just wanted a clearer starting point—this guide should help.
If you feel like something is missing when you read through the guide, you can contact me here to share your feedback.
The First Weirloom Shirt Is Here
Last Friday, after about six months of working on it, I finally launched the first shirt from my own brand.
For years, I’ve worn heavyweight flannels (my wardrobe is full of Iron Heart UHFs). They’re some of my most worn pieces. But I’ve always wanted one that wasn’t a check pattern—which is why I was also so excited about that Brund collab UHF from 2024.
This is my take on the heavyweight flannel I’ve wanted for years. It has the softness and warmth of flannel, but it’s indigo-dyed, so it’ll fade and develop character like denim.
It’s cut to fit as a shirt, but you can also wear it as an overshirt. With the warming weather right now, I’m wearing mine more like a jacket, but I know it’ll be my go-to “indoor” shirt when it gets colder again.
Just like when I launched the first Weirloom jeans, this is a pre-order. That means I produce what’s ordered. This ‘First Edition’ is a super limited run, and once they’re all gone, that’s it. Will I make more shirts? Hell yes, that’s the plan! But this is where it starts.
From the Archive: The Origins of Japanese Denim
Inspired by what Wouter is doing in his Long John newsletter—which I encourage you to subscribe to—I also wanted to start bringing more from the archive into DH Weekly.
So for this issue, I’ve uncovered two articles that are worth revisiting if you want to go a level deeper after the Japanese denim brands A-Z.
They were both published on Denimhunters in 2017, shortly after Blue Blooded came out. Around that time, I started adapting parts of the book—and building on the research behind it—to create series of articles here on the site, including some on the denim history.
One is my own piece on how Japan helped shape what we now call heritage fashion—where the focus on quality, detail, and fabric really comes from. The other is a profile of the Osaka Five, the group of brands that played a key role in building the Japanese denim scene.
The post The Guide to Japanese Denim Brands You’ve Been Missing appeared first on Denimhunters.
DENIM and PATCHES sourced this post originally published on this site