“Bury Me in Some Evisu Jeans”

7 Comments / Sep 02.09 / Collections, Etcetera / by Casanova Ruffin

Evisu’s relaunching their brand! And they’ve commissioned Scott Morrison as new Creative Director and CEO. Scott, a pioneer in the premium denim movement, founded Paper Denim and Earnest Sewn. The new collection will be unveiled for first time this week at “Project” in Las Vegas (1-3 Sept) and sold exclusively at Barneys in November.

I remember when I first saw Evisu’s hit the scene. Yeah they had those huge logos painted on the ass for the more flashy types, but they also had simpler designs, and the denim was undoubtedly high quality. Well now they’re coming back to reclaim their throne with help from a successor, no less.

This could make a good movie.

For more info on the premium denim movement, click after the break…

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The 5 pocket jean was originally designed in 1880s. Around 200 years later, in 1991, Evisu launched the “premium denim” movement, which in the late 90s, gave rise to popular brands like Earnest Sewn, PRPS, Earl Jeans and Paper Denim.

Re-Launch of Evisu
Evisu is now re-launching its brand with a new collection for men and women (from $150 to $700 a pair). The collection pays homage to the fascinating and forgotten roots of the brand.
The re-launch of Evisu will focus on the quality, craftsmanship, and authenticity that made them the IT jeans in late-90s, when there was a long waiting list for the 12 pairs that Barneys received each month. Evisu was also the first denim brand to sell in mass for over $100 a pair.

“Replica Movement”, hand-painted logos and start of premium denim
- In 1980s, vintage denim was sought by collectors around the world. Especially in Japan, vintage denim enthusiasts, or “otakus”, obsessively searched for methods to produce an exact replica of vintage jeans down to the minute details.
- In 1988, Evisu’s founder Hidehiko Yamane, a trained tailor, managed to find and buy a 1950s American shuttle loom capable of weaving 40 meters per day and produced exact replicas of vintage jeans. His production of only 12 garments per week, started the “Replica Movement”.
Evisu as a brand is tied to origins of denim in many fascinating ways beyond the meticulous attention to quality and detail.
- In Japanese Levis is pronounced “Levisu”. Evisu was originally known as Evis jeans, after the Japanese god of prosperity, and later became “Evisu”.
- The hand painted Evisu logo has its roots in vintage jeans as well. In 1944 (during World War II), the US Government banned the use of non-essential materials that could be better utilized in war efforts, and as a result this was the only year that Levi’s screen printed the arcuate logo on the back pocket of its jeans. Over years these printed arcuates became distressed, chipped and faded, and this Levi’s 501 from 1944 became the most valuable and collectible jean.
- That influenced Hidehiko Yamane to hand-paint the logo on the back pocket of its jeans – which like the most valuable vintage jeans would get chipped and distressed over time. The logo inspired by the American Eagle and the Levis arcuate is synonymous with the Evisu brand today.

Best Quality Denim & Unique Process
Besides using the best Selvedge denim in the world, Evisu jeans go through a “dry” and “wet” process” that gives each pair its unique look and can take upto one week for a pair to be finally ready.
· The dry process is completed by hand: The uniqueness of each garment is created during the dry process as a craftsman hand-sands one piece at a time on an apparatus called a “Sanding Tandem” and uses hand applied scrapping tools to create vintage effects, forgoing molds or more conventional methods.
· Wet process is completed in washing machines. Resin, color treatments and other liquids are applied. The jeans are then put into a bath with an enzyme or stone wash giving each pair its unique look and feel.

Each Pair Tells a Unique Story
Evisu is bringing back the tradition of jeans that tell a story as living testimonial to the wearer’s many life experiences with inspiration coming from different places:
· Tateoti book (“the bible of Evisu brand and its histroy) with archive images of Evisu jeans from raw to the worn state tracking the evolving nature of each unique pair.
· Inspiration for one piece came from an old pair of Evisu jeans that Scott Morrison found in a flea market. Previously owned by a painter, they had paint stains, key and knife imprints and marks from heavy labor.

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Comments ( 7 )

I swear, only til recently, I always thought Evisu’s were stretched out Rock N Republics. Damn ghetto booties.

ArmandLeg added these pithy words on Sep 02 09 at 1:27 pm

Quick poll: Does anyone still wear True Religions?

casanovaruffin added these pithy words on Sep 02 09 at 1:38 pm

Chicks do. And also men with pencil thin beards, and last names ending with -ian. Accompanied with the lavish button up shirts (gold flakes optional). And a name tag reading: Douchebag.

ArmandLeg added these pithy words on Sep 02 09 at 3:45 pm

Young Jeezy should teach us a lesson on what Evisu means.

casanovaruffin added these pithy words on Sep 02 09 at 3:49 pm

hahha omg tons of people in Vancouver still wear True Religions! I hate that dumb horseshoe logo, looks so tacky. Evisu is still somewhat pristine though.

MizzJ added these pithy words on Sep 02 09 at 5:08 pm

Yeahhh I don’t think Evisu really fell off, but I think a handpainted logo starting from the leg, moving up to the ass, and down the other leg is a bit much tho.

casanovaruffin added these pithy words on Sep 03 09 at 10:36 am

Honestly, while anything is better than that infinite amount of pocket shit that Evisu was putting out a year or two ago, I don’t know what image Scott Morrison is going after with this new collection. Looking at these pictures and the description, I’m left wondering how Evisu will be different from… Earnest Sewn.

IZDong added these pithy words on Sep 03 09 at 12:15 pm

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