Five things you didn't know about Selvage Denim
Denim is basically a cotton twill textile with a unique weave that gives you the familiar diagonal ribbing that you see on your jeans. Selvage (also known as Selvedge) is a particular type of denim that forms a clean natural edge that does not unravel.
Most selvage denim is available in its raw or unwashed form, though you can also get washed selvage. Selvage is made using retro-styled shuttle looms in which the cross-thread goes back and forth as one continuous thread, rather than as individual threads.
This gives selvage denim its clean edge as opposed to non-selvage denim, which has a frayed edge.
Before the current denim boom started in the late ‘50s in the US, denim used to be made on shuttle looms. As rock’n’roll hit home and demand for jeans skyrocketed, manufacturers decided to switch to modern, projectile-looms to bring down costs.
These new looms could produce a 60-inch fabric much cheaper. In the ‘90s, an increasing interest in traditionally-made denim prompted Japanese manufacturers to buy up the moth-balled shuttle looms in the US and begin crafting beautiful denim using real indigo dyes to colour them.
The rarity of such looms—as well as ancient dying machines—make Japanese selvage denim among the rarest fabrics in the world today.
In one word—beauty. Most selvage denim is carefully crafted, from the weave to the dying to stitching.
Denims made with shuttle looms are by their nature irregular and age enhances their irregularity, and every fading pair of jeans made from selvage denim gets its own unique pattern.
How do you recognise Selvage Denim?
The word selvage is a distortion of the phrase “self-edge” or the natural edge of a fabric. Traditionally, shuttle looms produce denim so narrow that up to three yards of the fabric is required to make a pair of jeans.
As a result, manufacturers use all of the fabric with a straight outside seam. You can see the selvage edge in places like the coin pocket or when the cuff is turned up, revealing the two selvage edges where the denim is stitched together.
The edge is usually stitched using a red thread, though yellow, brown or green threads are also used.
Evisu
A pioneer brand of Japanese selvage jeans, Evisu was formed in 1991 and is today considered among the best makers of quality selvage denim.
www.evisu.com
Nudie
A Swedish clothing brand founded in 1999, Nudie single-handedly put Sweden on the denim map, using Japanese selvage denim for its unique line of jeans. A fashion icon.
www.nudiejeans.com
The brand image of a Buddha playing the guitar has become iconic. Started in 2002, True Religion jeans are known for their horseshoe-shaped stitching on pockets and a twisted in-seam.
www.truereligionbrandjeans.com
PRPS
Although a New York-based brand, PRPS manufactures its jeans in Japan. The brainchild of former Nike designer Donwan Harrell, this is jeans for true denim fanatics. It has its share of celebrity fans, David Beckham and Brad Pitt being among them.
www.prpsgoods.com
Samurai
This 10-year-old Japanese brand is not just for selvage buffs but also for those who like their denim to be coloured with 100 per cent pure indigo with no filters. Something of a cult favourite around the world, your best chance of getting hold of one is to go to Japan.
www.samurai-j.com
Other great selvage denim brands
include Cheap Monday, Sugar Cane, Rifle, Momotaro, 7 for all Mankind, Studio D’Artisan and Takumi.
