JASON'S BLOG

A couple of weeks ago we had the honor of hosting the launch for Losers second range of sneakers, whilst the team was in town from Tokyo we a chance to take them around and show them what we do in our down time. After a couple of bad days weather wise, we finally had some sun, which meant beers and an afternoon on the pier relaxing. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking from here, but I’d like to thank Sneakerwolf, Thian, and Zen for making the trip over, and hopefully we’ll be seeing them again soon!

Images
- 01. The finer details… Losers’ signature camouflage shark.
- 02. Sunsets in St. Kilda with Mister Zen-San.

With my old 3sixteens tucked away on the shelf it’s time for me to start wearing in a new pair of denim, and what better pair to start with than Noir’s new Jean002. The heaviest denim I’ve had the pleasure of wearing in to date, crafted using 17 ounce Japanese selvedge denim. The Jean002 takes a more western with a looser straighter leg than what I’m use to, but after a few wears, and a pin roll of the cuff they’re perfect. This thick denim has a beautiful, grainy texture, with the occasional slub making an appearance in the fabric, something that over time will develop character as the denim wears, and ages.

Each pair of Noir denim is crafted by hand in the southern Japanese district of Okayama, and bears the details, and craftsmanship of hundreds of years of experience. I could roll off an endless list of the finer details, but with 2 metals, 2 different buttons, 4 materials, 5 different types of thread, 8 different sewing machines going into each pair of Noir Denim I’ll leave the details to them, and let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Images
- 01. Prior to their first wear, Noir’s Jean002.
- 02. Noir’s signature snakeskin patch, and pocket detailing.

With over eighteen months of everyday wear, three separate repairs, one beach wash, one tub soak, and one machine wash, it’s time to hang this well worn pair of 3sixteen’s ST100X denim on the rack and start a new… that is, at least until summer comes around. This has been one of my favourite pair of denim to date. With that said, I say that every time I wear a pair in and leave them to develop character over this many months. The indigo has almost disappeared from the most worn parts of the denim revealing the grain of the weave in the denim along the whiskers, combing, and any other creases. The denim has become so soft and lush, completely the opposite of the raw version I began to break in over 18 months ago. There are a few holes, and places that will need repairing and reinforcing on the darning machine before summer starts, but until then, I’ll leave the photos to do the rest of the talking…

Images
- 01. Eighteen months of wear, the front of my well worn 3sixteen ST-100X.
- 02. Denim will wear away but the hardware will always remain.

Last season I had the opportunity to head down south of Japan for the first time, heading out of Tokyo, and past Osaka, to the prefecture of Okayama to visit the workshop of Superior Labor. Tucked away in the hills of Okayama sits an old schoolhouse, surviving the destruction of war, Superior Labor have converted this historic building into a workshop, and office whilst bringing new life to the surrounding area with a small village, where they house production of their brands as well as, extra workshops, showrooms, as well as a small café, and store.

I’ll let the images speak for themselves, giving you an insight into the handmade processes of Superior Labor’s products be it leather goods, luggage, or clothing for this coming season, as well as the surrounding area that engulfs the brands location. I’d like to thank Kawai, Yoshimi, Taka, and the rest of the Superior Labor team, for their hospitality and ongoing support, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for this season’s collection from the brand as it will soon begin to arrive.

Images
- 01. Walking up to the old schoolhouse turned workshop.
- 02. Turning pieces of canvas into the first of this seasons bags.
- 03. Marking the engineer tote bags before attaching the handsewn leather straps and hardware.