Japanese jeans with a lifetime warranty, made “like a kimono” in the denim mecca of Kojima

The Japanese city of Kojima is famous for its denim.

The main road is called Jeans Street, pairs of jeans fly overhead like flags, the vending machines at the train station are plastered with images of jeans, and the roads are painted blue with pink and white lines at the edges, the distinctive seam colors of Kojima jeans.

With about 40 jeans The area in Okayama Prefecture in southwestern Japan, including denim-themed cafes, and shops, including denim-themed cafes, attract about 100,000 visitors annually, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Japanese jeans are usually high-end, dark and durable. Although they make up a small part of the global denim market, they have carved out a niche with a reputation for craftsmanship. Kojima birthed popular brands such as Big John with roots dating back to the 1940s and now supplies international fashion brands including Gucci.

A weaver runs a handloom at Momotaro Jeans in Kojima. Photo: AP

“The Japanese industry has developed a way of looking at denim from a much more connoisseurship and collector’s perspective” than mass marketing, says Emma McClendon, an assistant professor of fashion studies at the University of St. John’s in New York.