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Denim is a very personal fabric. Your jeans invariably become your favourite garment in your wardrobe, personalised by the very lifestyle you lead, unique to you through natural fade and wear.
The number of brands producing jeans is overwhelming to say the least. There is however a minority who passionately produce the finest jeans with the greatest quality cloth and detail. The denim selected by many of these brands comes from cotton mills of Okayama, Japan, who have maintained the tradition of producing denim on shuttle looms. These looms weave the fabric with one continuous thread, a time-consuming process, but one that produces a selvage denim of tighter weave and a fabric of heavier weight that lasts.
The design process is driven by attention to detail, from the leather patch to the smallest rivet. Many of the models featured on superdenim use vintage models as their inspiration for style and fit.
sizing / shrinkage
Before the denim is woven in the mill, the threads are treated with wax/resin so that the threads are stiff and strong – this helps with the weaving process. It produces a fabric which is very stiff, making the cutting and sewing of the denim easier. The final denim jeans are stiff like cardboard. Originally all jeans were sold like this.
When the raw jeans are wet for the first time the fibres will tighten, making the jeans shrink in size. The amount of shrinkage depends on the fabric and can vary. Some fabrics are pre-treated (sanforised) to reduce the amount of shrinkage you will get. We try our best to simplify this guessing game by giving you the suggested shrinkage for each model, based on a cool wash.
the fade
In general, during the first washes the denim fibres constrict and expand. The colour will become darker as the dark blue warp threads loose their sheen as the sizing is removed and they expand to hide the white weft threads. The fabric will also lose its stiffness and the creases will become less defined. The indigo used by our brands is the finest available. Japanese brands invariably use pot-harvested indigo, where the tips are picked, crushed and stored in pots, which are then buried in the indigo fields for around 25 years. The result, a beautiful concentrated indigo that will brighten with wear.
The secret to a good fade is to wear the jeans a lot and to wash them very little. Daily wear and tear will cause the indigo to rub off the high abrasion areas of the denim – so the crests and ridges become whiter. The jeans will be personal to you, and the envy of all around you.
washing
Use as little soap as possible and try to use vegetable soaps. Most commercial clothing detergents contain chemicals for brightening and softening your clothes, so you should not use them. Wash your jeans on a cool wash, no higher than 40 degrees. Wash them inside out. Avoid the tumble dryer.
Your jeans are a garment designed for wear. Wash them when dirty, wear them when clean.
With all this in mind, we hope you enjoy your jeans and they make you happy.