Topman has launched a Japanese denim collection in collaboration with Kurabo Mills in Kojima, Japan, which was founded in 1888 and remains one of the country’s preeminent denim producers. The partners created three pieces for the collection: two styles of jeans with the distinguished selvedge, which Topman explains are “cut to a classic slim fit and come raw or in a worn vintage finish”; and a denim jacket with a hidden placket. Denim is one of the most versatile of textiles, but its charm is more discreet: it softens over time, and it’s often recommended that one abstains from regular washing in order to experience, and understand, the loyalty a great pair of jeans inspires. “The longer you wear your denim the better it will look and these pieces are produced with longevity and quality in mind, each style can be worn every day in order to achieve a personalised character that’s unique to every customer,” the brand said.

Japanese denim is valued for its superior construction, but only a small percentage of the industry produces selvedge denim. Kurabo pioneered the original process in the late nineteenth century on old shuttle looms, which now require increasingly rare skills. Typically, denim is produced by passing the weft (transverse thread) through two or more warp threads (the longitudinal threads). Mainstream denim is usually coloured with synthetic dyes on the warp threads, whereas selvedge denim, a premium breed, employs natural dyes. Following tradition, selvedge denim is now produced in long strips of 31 inches (about 89 cm), whereas non-selvedge denim is about twice the width. The denim produced is so narrow that modern developers have to weave it to the extreme edges, and the end of the fabric roll is bound and folded back to reveal the signature red stripe. Selvage denim, unlike its alternative, is less prone to fraying and unraveling, as in the case of Topman’s new collection.