The True History of Edwin Jeans
The Edwin company can be traced back to 1947 in Japan. Buying and producing jeans was quite problematic for the Japanese people at this time as America was one of the only places to get them. Since World War II had not long finished, the relationship between the two countries was currently on thin ice. Japan were being delivered many inferior fabrics and tools and many Japanese seamsters were tiring.
K.K. Tsunemi, the founder of the Edwin company, wasn’t going to let these problems stand in his way. His passion for jeans wouldn’t fade easily and to get his hands on denim, he needed to import it. Unrelenting from his goal of becoming the first and best producer of denim jeans in Japan, he busied himself with obtaining as much fabric as he could. After import, he worked several hours everyday fixing and treating the fabric to ensure it was substantial enough for manufacture. This was a procedure made even more difficult just by deficiency of acceptable tools. Tsunemi realised that he could not reply on these offcuts and scraps from the USA and at around the same time, a few land workers were finally beginning to produce natural cotton domestically within Japan.
In 1951 the first domestically manufactured jeans were available in Japan. However, they were expensive and of inferior quality compared to their American counterparts. Using these jeans as a benchmark, Tsumeni was driven to work on his own quality domestically produced denim jeans, with greater sophistication in fits, washes and quality until in 1961, the first pair of Edwin Jeans were made. Utilising the letters in DENIM (reversing the M creating a W) he created the brand name ‘Edwin’.
By 1963 Edwin had produced the world’s heaviest ringspun denim jean (16oz), featuring the famous three-colour rainbow selvedge, which is still being used today. From this point on in Edwin denim history, quality, craftsmanship, innovation and integrity have all been paramount to the ethos and aesthetic for the brand. Over the next 50 years, Edwin grew to be a world famous body associated with jeanmaking.
In the 1970s Edwin were the first company in the world to create the old wash, designed to replicate denim which had been worn from its rigid, unwashed state. In the 1980’s Edwin invented stone washing, which revolutionised the entire denim industry and was a pivotal moment in the evolution of denim manufacturing.
Today, Edwin Jeans still follow Tsunemi’s ideas and priorities when it comes to the highest quality of denim fabrics, finishing skill, sewing techniques and fitting patterns. The brand is one of the most authentic denim labels in the world and prides itself on innovation and craftsmanship, utilising exclusive fabrics and fabrication, hand wash processes and continual progression in both fit and design.
The popularity of denim as a fashion fabric from its earlier utility as just a durable cloth is due to it’s tremendous variety as well as availability. You can wear denim in both casual looks as well as formal occasions thanks to the massive variety of patterns, finishes and colours.
Denim is also very durable as a fabric and requires less maintenance. It can retain colour and shape for many years. Today, there are a countless amount of brands of jeans and most have been well patronized by consumers. Some brands though, stood the test of time having proved themselves within a tough industry. One of these is surely the Edwin brand.
