EVISU JEANS- "Rolls Royce of Jeans"
Evisu or Evisu Genes is a Japanese clothing company that specializes in producing premium denim wear through traditional, labor-intensive methods. "Rolls Royce of Jeans", the EVISU brand was founded in 1988 in Osaka, Japan by a real connoisseur of jeans Hidehiko Yamane.
Yamane-san was trained as a tailor and his love for vintage jeans led him firstly, to the vintage clothing import business and then, to start putting together the necessary information required to reproduce vintage-style jeans. This required the gathering together of all the various parts of machinery, none of which had been produced for at least 40 years.
He soon realized that quality denim, the original, was impossible to find on the market. During one of his trips looking for vintage pieces, he came across a 1950s American loom capable of weaving forty meters of a "selvedge" denim a day. Yamane had an idea: why not make exceptional jeans for connoisseurs like himself?
So the Evisu adventure began.
Evisu (also written as Evis or Ebisu) is the name of the Japanese Buddhist god of money who is usually portrayed with a fish and fishing rod. This name was selected for the new venture as money and fishing. Originally EVIS was changed to Evisu when the brand expanded worldwide in 1991 because the previous brand name was said to be too similar to "Levi's."
MAKING OF EVISU JEANS
MAKING OF EVISU GENESEvisu denim is made on old style shuttle looms rather than modern projectile looms.
Cross thread in the old style weaving process goes back and forth during the weaving process. But modern projectile looms, shoot each cross thread through individually, hence the edge of the cloth is frayed rather than clean.
Traditional method was to have a straight outside seam and cut right up to the selvedge so that when you turn the jean up you see the two selvedge edges of the denim stitched together. You can also see it on the inside of the coin pocket.
Evisu chain stitch the hem which gives the thick stitch line visible around the hem when you turn the jean up. This requires a special machine which has not been produced for 40 years.
The Japanese line has 3-4 basic standard lines of denim quality and is denoted by a number on the patch. so No.0, No.1, No.2 and No.3. 0 being the highest in quality and price and 3 being the lowest in quality and price.
No.0 - It's like a Evisu prototype denim, seems very rare/limited and is meant to be more irregular and textured than the no1. Really no one knows much about it.
No.1 - 14.5oz. Selvedge and made in Japan. High quality and is not pre-shrunk (unsanforised), is slightly darker than no.2.
No.2 -14.5oz Selvedge and made in Japan. high quality but may be not as dark or seen as good quality as No.1 and is preshrunk (sanforised)
No.3 - Mass produced outside of Japan in CHINA. medium grade quality and not selvedge.
Evisu denim is indigo dyed by loop dying machines
Old shuttle looms have not been made for over 40 years.
Old Shuttle Looms make cloth about 30 inches wide.
Projectile Looms can make fabric 60 inches or even wider for much less money.
Evisu jeans has a minimum of 16 dips and some styles have 30 dips.
Evisu need approximately 3 yards to make each pair of jeans.
All Evisu jeans are made of vintage selvedge denim.
Evisu has spent the last 10 years developing their jeans to be as authentic as today's vintage jeans can be.
COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA
"Selvage denim (sometimes called selvedge denim) is a type of denim fabric woven on old-style looms that create a narrow fabric. Jeans made out of this fabric are more durable because the vertical seams are made up of selvedge denim, not cut edges, which are less prone to fraying."
PAINTING OF EVISU JEANS VIDEO
Hand Painting Evisu Jeans
The guy painting is "Mr Kobayashi Evis No1 Paint Writer!"- he teaches the other shop staff to paint. The purple colour paint is "Osaka Purple" which they only paint in Osaka shops (Tokyo has navy blue etc etc), and the characters on the right pocket say Osaka.
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WASHING YOUR EVISU JEANS
WASHING INSTRUCTIONS !Your Evisu clothes should last as long as you do, if you wash them properly.
INDIGO, UNWASHED DENIM !
In a cold/cool wash: The waist will shrink 1 inch. The length will shrink up to 2 inches. The indigo dye will run and eventually fade with every wash. Deep dry or dry flat.
PRE-WASHED DENIM AND ALL EVISU EUROPEAN EDITION JEANS !
In a warm wash:The waist will shrink up to 0.5 inches. The length will shrink up to 0.5 inches. The dye will slowly fade in a hot or cold wash. While Evisu uses a variety of denim throughout each collection, the vintage Indigo and unwashed denim is the most traditional, and these tips will ensure their longevity.
WASH YOUR JEANS FIRST !
When you buy your jeans in the shop, there will be starch on the denim, making it feel very hard. Turn your jeans inside out and wash them in cold or luke-warm water. This will get rid of the starch in/on the denim and (in the case of non-shrunk denim) cause it to shrink so that you can cut the length. Your jeans will shrink even more if you use a dryer.
CUTTING THE LENGTH !
If you wish to cut your jeans to length, do so AFTER washing and drying them. Mr. Matsukura suggests the following style: "Just little gap between floor an socks. When you wear shoes it will be just right. If it is too long, damage fabric easily." You can also choose to turn the jeans up showing off your selvedge.
TO WASH OR NOT TO WASH !
Many people choose not to wash their denim fearing it will damage the fabric even when they are quite dirty. Mr. Matsukara, a shop manager in Japan, advises you to "buy few pairs of Evisu jeans and wash sometimes".
Evisu Men No.1 Jeans
- Evisu No.1 Jeans
- Evisu No.1 Jeans from trusted Ebay Sellers
