Brand Focus: Edwin
Edwin, with its signature selvedge finishes and the iconic ED-55 and ED-80 cuts, is today synonymous with easy-wearing, perfectly-cut jeans that can be relied upon no matter the occasion or season. While the brand is now one of many players in a Japanese denim scene full of exemplary craftsman, this wasn’t always the case.
Back in 1947, a good pair of jeans was hard to find in Japan. That all changed when Yonehachi Tsunemi, who had been sourcing his own jeans from the USA, decided to share the wealth and setup a denim import business. By 1961, and decided to give his compatriots a taste of what they’d been missing by creating the first ever pair of Edwin jeans, inspired by the pairs he had so lovingly handpicked from the USA.
After just three years, Tsunemi had created his first classic – the world’s heaviest ring-spun denim jean at a hefty 16oz – that always marked the world’s first exposure to the three-colour rainbow selvedge that is still held up as a denim icon to this day.
After revolutionising the denim industry in both the 1970s and 80s by pioneering the old wash and stone wash techniques respectively, the brand turned its hand to replicating classic washes from the 40s at the turn of the millennium, again reimagining what a great pair of jeans could be.
Today, the brand still prides itself on this same spirit of inspiration and craftsmanship – always going the extra mile to create washes and cuts that elevate the humble jean into something different entirely.
While Edwin jeans come in a variety of fits, the two most popular, and perennial favourites at the Hip Store, are without doubt the ED-55 with its relaxed, tapered fit and a mid-rise and the ED-80, a more contemporary slim fit with a leg that tapers just so.