Evisu has spent the last two decades developing their yarns to be as authentic as today’s vintage jeans can be.
All Evisu Heritage jeans are made of vintage selvedge denim, meaning they are crafted from antique, 29-inch shuttle looms rather than modern 60-inch projectile looms. In simple terms, the cross thread of shuttle looms moves back and forth throughout the weaving process, while in modern looms each thread is shot through individually. This results in a frayed edge, as opposed to the clean edge from a shuttle loom. While threads can be easily sewn up to imitate the quality of a selvedge edge, a true denim connoisseur can recognize counterfeits.
Since shuttle looms can only make cloth about 30 inches wide, much thinner than the 60-inch or wider cloth of projectile looms, none of these vintage machines have been made for over 40 years. Therefore, the looms used to produce Evisu Heritage and other men’s jeans have become as reliable as a 50-year-old station wagon. Because the fabric made on these looms is so narrow, Evisu designers need approximately three yards just to make a single pair of jeans. To maximize usage, the traditional method entailed having a straight outside seam cut right up to the selvedge. This way, when you inspect the reverse side of the jean, you are able to see the two selvedge edges of the denim masterfully stitched together. It can also be seen on the inside of the coin pocket.
All Heritage and Evisu men’s jeans are dyed by using loop dying machines. Rare and ancient machines as well, they work by feeding a rope of cotton yarn through vats of indigo dye and then back out and up to the roof of the factory. This allows the indigo to oxidize before the yarn returns back for the next vat. Evisu denim has a minimum of 16 dips, though some jeans can have as many as 30. This creates our signature, deep blue color.
Because we reproduce each stage and technique of original jean production, Evisu uses 100% cotton threads. While these are authentic to the process, the threads break more easily during the delicate sewing process. Preventing this requires the use of a large number of specialized sewing machines that have not been produced for decades. Another mark of Evisu’s commitment to tradition is our chain stitch hem: a thick stitch line that is visibile when you turn up the jean. Wherever possible we try to use Union Special machines, which were the Rolls Royce of sewing machines in 1950s U.S. Many of our styles also display the Evisu logo, hand painted by Japanese artists onsite.
This all tends to provoke the following question: why bother? In simple terms, it is a result of the Japanese fascination with detail. This obsession has triggered a love of denim, initiated by Mr. Yamane (the founder of Evisu), that spreads throughout the Evisu family to produce a population of genuine “denim maniacs”, as he calls them.
Denim produced on shuttle looms is naturally irregular, and these irregularities find their way out as the jean fades, making every pair develop its own patina, unique to the wearer. The rich blue color and pattern in which the jeans fade can only be achieved by using the traditional loop dying system and by following the decade-old, detailed process. The final product, authentically crafted with accurate precision, is a labor of love unmatched by any other clothing in the world.
Tags:
heritage,
Jeans,
raw,
selvedge,
vintage
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