“The way we walk - the way we sit. No two pairs of jeans wear in the same, they become an animalistic fingerprint. Are they worn at the knees or worn in the seat? Our indigo skin shows our scars”. – Stuart Semple

For the past month, Stuart Semple has displayed his “Cult of Denim Project” at the world-renowned department store Selfridges (London). Evisu and a few other leading denim brands provided the pop artist with bolts of denim in lieu of a canvas, our denim naturally being selvedge. Aside from the paintings, the project includes prints, hand painted jeans, and an installation with 20% of the proceeds going to the UK Charity Refuge.

About denim, our founder Yamane-san said, “Not Renaissance, but eternal. Putting on a shirt, a jacket, or a pair of jeans you don’t need solemn words. Nobody rediscovers it, it’s been there all the time, the real style will never grow old”. Semple has a similar denim philosophy saying, “I’m interested in how this second skin protects and broadcasts. How it reflects our identity and cultural tastes. Whether flared, distressed or just perfectly fitting, they can tell us so much about the body within them and ultimately the mind of their owner. I’m fascinated by the way this interacts with our outer environment, the way our bodies move and what they come in contact with changes these garments to be unique in their wears and tears, blemishes and stretches”. Our raw jeans are about creating a garment that reflects you. Both Semple and Yamane-san understand that jeans aren’t just about woven fabric, copper rivets, cotton stitching, and indigo: Jeans are the perfect garment to wear everyday, reflect your individuality, and serve as a “record” of your daily life. Semple explains that the Cult of Denim represents the brands that “understand our inner needs, in them we trust the transition from inner identity to outer communication. If idolatry is the worship of any cult idea or image other than God…”.

It’s apparent that Stuart and Evisu share common views of denim’s transformative quality saying, that it represents “an infinite palette of choice, a way to present our ideology to the world, surface identity being shaped by environment and body”. Raw denim almost serves as a blank canvas for us to express ourselves – making denimheads everywhere “artists” in their own right with their bodies serving as the medium.

Stuart’s Evisu painting is titled C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me), which is well-suited for a brand named after one of the Seven Japanese Gods of good fortune. Semple’s references are as varied as the mixed media used to create the painting including acrylic, paint marker, charcoal, household gloss and glitter. His imagery spans a timeline of Japan, which suits our brand’s reproduction roots. The painting includes fighter planes, a linear Hokusai-inspired landscape of docked Japanese fishing boats, a bamboo baton wielding femme fatale, along with our iconic motifs such as Kamome gulls, a traditional Ebisu statue, and our Godhead patch. His eye for color combined with imaginative composition serves to create a dynamic piece that embodies the Evisu ethos - although it’s clearly missing an empty sake bottle or two.

Lastly, we would like to thank Emily Mann, Stuart Semple, and Selfridges.

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This season’s Heritage looks to it’s proud ancestry of the Samurai Warriors. The Samurai were “samurau” or servants to their lord the Emporor and ferociously defended Japan from its enemies both foreign and home-grown. The Samurai reign lasted from their foundation in the Taika Period (646) under the Emperor Tenji until the last days of the Samurai in the Show Period (1949).

An important icon of the Samurai was the Sashimono, a banner mounted on the back of the warrior’s armour to display his allegiance. The Sashimono appears as an Evisu flag or Red Tab on the backs of fearsome Samurai warriors and also as a banner showing Evisu’s conquest of Osaka; our home town. Also appearing in this season’s collection is the Kabuto or Samurai helmet. This is very important as protection, but it must also be extremely terrifying to scare off all those who dare to oppose the Mighty Samurai.

While We were finding out about the Samurai, we noticed that actually their armor and way of life are not so different from the uniform and spirit of one of our favorite sports - American Football! Japanese collectors love to find vintage football jerseys and banners, so we mixed the two together to make the Evisu Osaka Samurai’s American Football team. We were thinking also about our founder, Mr Yamane’s, favorite baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, who used to be the home town toeam of our our town, Osaka. So we go the idea of Marvelous True Vintage letterman appliques to put on our jeans, sweaters and T-shirts, as well as some very old-style graphics and techniques.

The collection can be purchased from the North American and International Online Stores.

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The denim is Evisu No. 13 LEFT which is the true Left Hand Twill new vintage Selvedge denim woven on shuttle looms in Osaka Japan by Kaiahara. Left Hand Twill denim is named like this for the opposite weave (top left to bottom right) direction of the diagonal lines on the denim instead of the normal right hand style. This denim will also wear down even softer than its right hand equivalent. No. 13 LEFT is green caste indigo, and has mismatched selvedge; one side is plain white and the other side has a single warp thread of indigo woven into it, following the Lee version. Jeans cut from No. 13 LEFT denim have the leather patch sewn on the left side of the waistband.

Right hand twill is the early Levi’s design, but our other favorite Liss liked to use left hand twill for its soft feel and comfortable wearing. Vintage Lee jeans were cut from slightly wider denim than Levi’s, so the leg often shows only one selvedge line, and one side of the overlocking.

The fit is the 0005 Slim fit and the silhouette is inspired from 1960’s Wrangler cowboy jeans. It is similar to 0001, but with a slimmer leg and thigh. Unlike 0001, the 0005 is cut straight over the hips and waist with a higher rise, originally allowing great freedom in the saddle. The snug fit across the seat and hips makes this cut particularly flattering.

Also look out for the celebrated LAZY S pocket writing, which looks a bit like horns of a bull, not a Levi’s eagle or a friendly Evisu seagull. Other Lee inspired details you will find are the Evisu Heritage label on the inside waistband that pays homage to the 1930’s Lee “House” label, showing the factory roof symbolising the fact that Lee overalls were union made. The Evisu Heritage woven label directly references this.

No. 13 LEFT is 14 oz regular and the sanforized denim will shrink about 3-5% after washing. The Evisu Lazy S Slim Jeans will be available for purchase from January 2009.

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Translating the unique ethos, flair and culture of EVISU, arguably the world’s most exclusive denim brand, into a timepiece collection was no mean feat. But in doing, so a collection of high quality, exquisitely detailed Swiss Made timepieces has been created bridging the worlds of luxury fashion with luxury Swiss watch manufacturing.

Logos, and motifs inspired by traditional and modern Japan prevail in interesting combinations – and positions on the watch in a re-think of watch making design principles.

The range draws inspirations from vintage diver and military styles re-drawn for a look that is in tune with Evisu’s pedigree in luxury streetwear. Classic watch silhouettes are infused with design logo details and Japanese motifs from the home of the Evisu brand.

Much of the subtle detailing escapes the wearers first glimpse, but an incredible amount of attention has been placed on creating not only a highly unique hand crafted piece of timekeeping but in that a testament to the heritage and style of Evisu.

Swiss Automatic movements, more exclusive then ever before in the watch industry are used in various models, custom modified for the EVISUISSE Automatic sub collection with exhibition backs allowing a glimpse into the engineering marvel of the Self-winding automatic mechanism, with 18 jewels, beating at 21,600 times an hour.

EVISUISSE Timepiece are exclusively available at Selfridges Wonder Room of Exclusive Swiss brands, Evisu Retail Stores, and the Evisu International Online Store.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtWgbzmh-QQ

Evisu denim continues to develop “The Finest Jeans Ever Made!” (The unique Evisu Deluxe technique where every pair is entirely sewn by a single operator who signs the each completed pair). This season, to fit the seasonal theme, the jeans have been hand washed in the sea and naturally sun-dried on the nearby rocks. This means the denim dries hard and improves the definition of the “whiskering” and “honeycombs” that appear with wear. Avid Japanese denim collectors swear by this washing technique.

Evisu’s fully-fashioned knitwear for Spring 2009 was crafted from a mix of pure silk and bamboo. The yarn has the luxurious lustre of silk paired with the light weight bamboo fibers. The shapes were inspired by traditional Japanese nautical knits, and are decorated with passages of Japanese taken from the story of the Kanrin Maru,

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Evisu Deluxe tailoring is inspired by Japanese naval details, such as the shaped patch pockets, a high-buttoning reefer jacket, sailor collars, and wide-legged cuffed trousers. We’ve exclusively used fabrics woven in Osaka Japan by Takisada Mills (Est Nagoya 1864, four years after Kanrin Maru’s maiden voyage), including a soft herringbone fabric woven from cotton and bamboo. As usual all canvasses are fully handstitched under the collars and all buttons and linings are hand stitched.

Our Evisu Heritage is inspired by Tairyouki (big fish flags). These are brightly coloured flags that Japanese fishermen fly from their boats when they have a good catch, to show the families on the shore that they’ll have a good dinner. Each village will have their own flags, decorated with different fish and sea creatures, waves, rising suns, and celebratory kanji. Ebisu, the budhist god from whom we derived our name , is usually depicted with a fishing rod and fish, so he is sometimes also shown on Tairyouki. This season Evisu Heritage is also inspired by a deeply researched homage to another great jeans brand- Lee. The HD Lee Mercantile Co was founded in Salina, Kansas, USA in 1889. Our denim maniac followers and others amongst you who don’t get out much will spot a lot of subtle Lee references and details.

In Spring 2009, Evisu Heritage uses four newly developed selvage denims, including No13 LEFT, a Japanese woven close reproduction of the early denim used by Lee from the 1910s onwards. Jeans cut from to13LEFT denim have the leather patch sewn on the left side of the waistband. The focus is on fit, fabric, production and detailing.

Also check out the Evisu SS09 backstage photos.

• Evisu’s SS09 Milan Spring Summer Video (2)
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Check out the Evisu SS09 runway photographs.

• Evisu’s SS09 Spring Summer Collection (1)
• Evisu’s SS09 Milan Spring Summer Video (2)
• Evisu’s AW08 Milan Mens Show Runway Photos (5)
• Evisu’s AW08 Milan Mens Show Video (2)
• EVISU AW08 Milan Mens Show - Behind the Scenes (0)

The Flip Flops are made from 100% high quality rubber with a bright red base featuring the Evisu God Head and logo detailing. The toe straps are white rubber with an embossed red Evisu logo, as well as tiny seagull logos running the full length of the strap creating an intricate and subtle pattern and texture.

For a casual summer look wear these with your Evisu Jeans rolled up a few inches so it sits above your ankles. This is a must have item for summer!

See more pictures at the North American Online Store.

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To commemorate Memorial Day and the UK Bank Holiday we are offering 15% discount off everything at the North American and European stores until the 26th of May. Simply use the coupon JSTMTLG on the 2nd page of the checkout (just above your credit card details). And don’t forget we offer FREE SHIPPING and also free returns.

The button above is featured on all the jeans of our Evisu Genes collection, and is inspired by laurel wreath buttons that were created in response to U.S. wartime restrictions requiring less metal to be used. The button features a simpler “doughnut” shape that was hollow and used less metal. To bolster the war effort the victory wreath was added which dates back to ancient Greece and was awarded to those who celebrated a triumphant victory. Every little bit helps.

Check out the jeans and tees at the North American online store or European online store, and don’t forget to use the coupon JSTMTLG for 15% off.

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