Japanese Streetwear

Evisu was started by a man named Hidehiko Yamane in Osaka, Japan. During the late 80’s, Yamane, a trained tailor, began to notice the lack of quality in mass-produced denim products. Yamane had already begun selling a line of golf and fishing apparel, but his dream was to find ways to reproduce the high quality denim jeans of decades past. It was a difficult process to locate and purchase the ‘obsolete’ machinery needed to reproduce the old fashion denim style, but through acquiring Levi’s unwanted vintage shuttle looms, Yamane was able to start production of his premium denim jeans.

Evisu Premium Denim Jeans

The process to create premium denim was expensive and labor-intensive. Initially, only 14 pairs of jeans could be produced each day. To finish each pair, Yamane marked his jeans with a gull logo on the back pockets. This pattern was hand-painted and has become a signature feature for all Evisu products.
Evisu, the name that brands Yamane’s line of denim, and now other street wear clothing like T-shirts and shoes, is the Japanese Buddhist god of money. Traditionally, the god is portrayed as a fisherman, which just happens to be one of Yamane’s favorite past times. Yamane’s other loves include money, women and beer. Evisu would meet critical success in Japan’s fashion scene during the 90’s and beyond. The company’s attention to detail and use of high quality fabrics is exactly what’s needed to capture the educated and style conscious Japanese consumer. But these characteristics have furthered its success globally, as premium denim jeans have become a much sought after item after the popularization of Japanese streetwear clothing in Europe and North America.

Denim Indigo Dye

One characteristic that makes Evisu jeans so special is their incredible color. Evisu jeans are dyed with natural indigo. To manufacture this indigo, Yamane keeps a plantation of indigo producing plants, just to supply his denim. Evisu denim is dipped repeatedly into vats of indigo to ensure a deeply rich color that will naturally fade in time. Each pair of jeans is dipped a minimum of 16 times, but the highest quality denim line is dipped approximately 30 times! These jeans are sold as raw unsanfortized denim, which means they are not washed after dying and sold to the customer in a ‘dry’ form. This causes the pants to fade naturally through wear, which can produce stunning distressed patterns and features that are totally unique to the person’s lifestyle.