Why Japanese Denim Is So Expensive | So Expensive

it takes between one to two months for hiso manabe to dye these threads a deep indigo blue denim made from these threads will maintain this rich color and so will manabe's nails for three weeks that's because manabe uses real indigo instead of the synthetic dyes most jeans are made with today a pair of momotaro jeans dyed with natural indigo can cost over two thousand dollars but using real indigo is just one element that can raise the price of japanese denim each stage of production requires meticulous attention so what exactly makes japanese denim different and is that enough to make it so expensive in basic terms japanese denim refers to denim made in japan but today it often implies selvage denim the name comes from the way fabric is woven on these old shuttle looms they weave fabric with a sealed or self-finished edge hence the name self edge it means the end of the fabric won't fray or unravel you'll notice a pair of salvaged jeans by the cuff there's typically a colored line along the outseam this type of denim is made here in kojima japanese [Music] is one of kojima's most well-known denim brands but before momotaro makes denim it must first dye the threads the company's most expensive jeans are hand-dyed with natural indigo natural indigo comes from the leaves of the indigo pharah plant dyeing fabric with natural indigo has been a valued art form in japan for centuries [Music] [Music] 60 rolls of cotton over several days he rings each roll out and hangs it up to dry before dyeing another [Music] otherwise the color won't be a dark enough blue [Music] dyeing jeans this way doesn't only take longer it also costs more a kilogram of some synthetic indigo can cost between four and five dollars depending on the quality natural indigo might cost ten times that um that one veil is only enough to dye about 15 pairs of jeans although using natural dye raises the cost of production it has unique effects on genes that can't be produced by synthetic dyes [Music] today cheaper synthetic dyes have mostly replaced natural ones so jeans still made with natural dyes are often considered a premium product which is partly why momotaro's kenton or gold label jeans are worth over two thousand dollars the increased price of this pair is a nod to the extra effort skill and money needed to dye the threads by hand and get the color just right not all japanese denim or momotaro jeans are made with natural indigo but even so the price remains high around 200 to 300 for a pair like this and that goes back to the way japanese denim is woven before toyota made cars it made looms like this originally introduced in the 1920s these toyota looms are no longer made today and although they look and sound like they're working fast weaving fabric this way takes five times [Music] despite the looms being automated an experienced momotaro technician has to keep a close eye on them as they run he checks to see each loom is working smoothly and that all the threads are aligned correctly even so it's possible something will go wrong um on top of weaving slowly the looms produce fabric less than a yard wide that's about half the width of non-selvedge denim so producers need more fabric to make a pair of selvedge jeans this is yet another factor that increases the cost of production and ultimately the final price of the jeans shuttle looms are also less precise than projectile looms but variations in the fabric make each yard unique and ironically that's what gives these jeans one of their biggest appeals while most other genes have a smooth surface japanese denim is a little bit rougher so it's while most momotaro jeans are made on the automated looms the most expensive gold label jeans are produced with an even slower more traditional method by hand with an antique loom it takes one hour for kazuki ikeda to weave just 10 centimeters of fabric while this process raises the price the extra effort gives the jeans a distinctly different feel and for denim enthusiasts traveling from thailand to tokyo is worth the trip to buy momotaro's most expensive pair usually when you brought a new pair of jeans you feel it's a little bit hard and you you feel like a little bit it's a little bit hard to move at first right but this one even from the start yeah it feels so comfortable like you have void for sometimes after the fabric is woven by hand or shuttle loom it heads to the sewing room [Music] according to huddles on average most other types of denim weigh between 11 and 14 ounces while most denim from japan weighs 20 ounces a heavier fabric makes naomi takebayashi's job more challenging [Music] another cornerstone of japanese denim is the artisanal nature of the way the jeans are finally formed at mamotaro all the stitching is done by hand [Music] the same goes for adding each copper rivet [Music] the final look and feel of a finished pair largely depend on takebayashi's dedication to detail because shuttle looms are less precise the fabric will naturally have several imperfections but if momotaro's retail stores find anything wrong with a pair of jeans they mark it with a small sticker and send it here to the quality control room takebayashi sists through the flag jeans using a tweezer to repair each marked spot momotaro is one of around 40 denim makers in kojima considered the birthplace of denim in japan while japanese denim from this city has found a luxury category to call its own the denim industry hasn't been prominent in kojima for very long [Music] in the decades since japanese denim has reached far outside japan today it's considered one of the finest types of denim in the world you

Channel: Business Insider

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Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, So Expensive, Japanese denim, Japan, denim, indigo

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Length: 11min 7sec (667 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 30 2022