Good Jeans

It was in January, on a grey, rainy day, when I was first introduced to Blue Blue and Stretch Fraise. The brands, owned by the umbrella company Seilin & Co., are two of the foremost practitioners of ametora, the Japanese menswear movement that saved Americana and Ivy League silhouettes from fading into irrelevance across the 20th century. Trying on one of Stretch Fraise’s excellently crafted plain white tees was a revelation: the fabric thick yet supple, the fit flattering my broad shoulders, the feel sturdy yet smooth. Paired with a Blue Blue indigo denim set – a beautifully made denim jacket, and straight legged jeans with a sewn-in handkerchief design – I felt like I was living my James Dean dream. Where had these gorgeous clothes been all my life?

In Japan, it turned out. The country has long maintained a reverence for craftsmanship, reflected in the shokunin ethic, an attitude of technical excellence and almost spiritual obligation every craftsman must aim towards. As the economic logic of cost-cutting and offshoring took over America in the 1970s, many of the original selvedge looms were sold to Japanese factories. A scholarly appreciation of American workwear had existed in Japan since the 1940s, and continued to thrive across century. Military wear brand Buzz Rickson's published entire monographs on WWII American flight gear, while Evisu founder Hidehiko Yamane studied original Levi's construction so closely he hand-painted the arcuate stitching on early pairs because he couldn't immediately replicate it with machinery. 

Now, two of Japan’s finest ametora brands, Blue Blue and Stretch Fraise, are making their UK debut, in their first outing outside their home country. Hosted until mid-June, this Harvey Nichols pop-up features some of the brands’ greatest hits: Stretch Fraise’s signature rib-knitted shirts, along with other loungewear offerings, and Blue Blue’s selvedge denim shirts, jeans and jackets. The brands has collaborated with London-based artist Philip Mark Carter, whose impressionistic abstract paintings decorate the store, with different paintings being featured over the next few months. In recent months, Kristen Stewart, Cillian Murphy and Andrew Garfield have all been spotted in the brands' clothes – though celebrity endorsement feels almost beside the point. These are garments that reward the wearer, not the photographer. As spring comes into view, slip into something that was made, quite literally, with devotion. Japan has been waiting.

The Blue Blue and Stretch Fraise pop-up runs until mid-June. Shop the brands below!