Evisu was formally born in Osaka Japan in 1991, although the research and planning necessary to reproduce the perfect pair of vintage jeans had been going on for several years prior to this.
The founder of Evisu is Hidehiko Yamane. Yamane-san was trained as a tailor but his love for vintage jeans and his disappointment with the mass-produced modern versions led him firstly to the vintage clothing import business and then, revolutionary, to start putting together the elements required to reproduce vintage-style jeans.
The initial production line allowed about 14 pairs of jeans a day to be produced and each of them was lovingly hand-painted with the now famous seagull logo by Yamane-san himself. Evisu (also written Evis or Ebisu) is the name of the Japanese folk god of money who is usually portrayed with a fish and a fishing rod. His name was selected for the new venture as money and fishing are tow of Yamane-san’s five favorite things (the others being beer, women and golf - in no particular order).
Although initially Evisu was more a labour of love than a commercial venture, Evisu jeans captured the imagination of the detail-obsessed Japanese fashion crowd, spurring a revival of interest in vintage denim which has now spread around the world.
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