Private icon: Japanese selvage denim

Hiroki Nakamura & Diane Pernet

 Here's a preview article which focuses on the origins of Japanese selvage denim. Fashion icons such as Hiroki Nakamura, Nigo, Pharrell all subscribe to the true provenance of high quality denim. PhsicsMag's Private issue in the works. Thank you - Tebs

Japanese selvage denim

The Japanese city of Okayama, the capital city of Okayama Prefecture situated about 540 km south west of the country’s capital, is renowned for its mysterious 400 year old castle, which sits on the banks  of the Takahashi River. The fall of the Meiji government and the subsequent post World War II reconstruction meant that Japan’s cities saw rapid economic growth and exponential industrial expansion. Denim production only reached Japan in the 1950s. This was due to a decline in the demand for imported denim from the U.S and Europe, which led to the purchasing of traditional shuttle looms from American denim milling facilities by Japanese denim manufacturers. It’s fair to say that Japanese selvage denim actually originates from the States, well… the technology thereof. 

denim dying process

 A shuttle loom is a piece of machinery that is used in the weaving process of yarn. The first loom was patented by John Kay in 1733, which was known as the Flying Shuttle. Between the 1930s and 1950s, an increase in the demand for denim in America meant that milling facilities had to adapt their machinery to meet the growing demand. A lot of facilities chose to let go of the traditional shuttle looms, which are said to have been inefficient and cumbersome. Letting go of these shuttle looms paved the way for automated projectile looms, which produced in mass, and allowed for an effective economies of scale. Japanese milling facilities bought the shuttle looms at the time. 

shuttle loom

Today, selvage denim is perhaps the most desired denim fabric due to its superior texture and authentic feel. What’s the difference, you may ask? In the weaving process of a traditional shuttle loom, the horizontal edges of the thread loop continuously, without leaving any edges which would have to be stitched once the entire process is complete. This quality feature means that your denims last longer.  Selvedge denim doesn’t fray, nor shrink. The craft element is perhaps the most distinguishing factor behind authentic Japanese selvage denim, one which makes it a Private icon. People who appreciate fine craft understand that we are all connected; whether it’s a selvage denim weaving craftsperson in Okayama or a denim enthusiast in South Africa.

Namedrop: Shruti Parekh & Truth Be Cold

Earlier this year our friends at Ugmonk agreed to collaborate with PhsicsMag on our Namedrop feature. The logistical challenge of arranging a shoot which would take place in the U.S remotely from Europe wasn’t an easy one for me, and it taught me that building strong relationships with people leads to attaining success no matter how ambiguous the situation. Without giving much away, photos from both shoots will be featured in our third annual issue which drops this November. Special thanks to Jeff Sheldon, Shruti & Bharat Parekh, and Truth Be –Tebs

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

Shruti Parekh

Shruti Parekh is an artistic film director from Atlanta. She’s currently based in NYC and has directed some of my favourite music videos to date. Having worked with DD172, she’s currently doing freelance and improving her artistic know-how while growing her network. I had the pleasure of interviewing Shruti late last year and our interview will be published in the third issue of PhsicsMag.


MURS "Remember 2 Forget" from Shruti Parekh on Vimeo.

Truth Be Cold

Truth Be Cold is an Atlanta based musician and one of my personal favourite rappers. He infuses jazzy elements and word play to bring us a timeless appeal to his music. Truth Be has two mixtapes out; Not Your AverageTexas Nigga and A Day In The Life Of A Spacecadet, which are also available for download. My full interview with Truth Be will be available in our next issue along with the shoot.

Are brand power and signature still releated?

Tao Okamoto - Emporio Armani SS12

The Damier Canvas pattern has evolved from being a signature to being a part of Vuitton’s DNA. Although some may argue that there is a saturation of what was first considered to be a hyper exclusive signature, Vuitton continues to improve its brand image, despite moving away from the traditional notion that the rarer a luxury brand is, the more desirable it will become. Do CMOs at some of the world’s leading brands still consider exclusivity as a key component of their expansion strategies?  How does a brand like LV, which can be considered to be ‘saturated’ in the sense that it is available everywhere, remain being the most valuable brand in terms of its brand equity? Does niche targeting still work? A couple of years ago you wouldn’t talk about product positioning without mentioning niche targeting. One would feel that the 2008 financial crisis was partly responsible for this shift in mind set. I’ll explain. 

Interbrand - Lux Brand Equity 2002-2011

Brand equity is a brand’s value in monetary terms. Defining how much a brand’s equity is requires a lot of research which takes into account both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the brand’s environment. Interbrand is one company that has been able to capture brand equity accurately. Interbrand gives a detailed method of what it takes into consideration when calculating brand equity, to mention a few; authenticity, relevance, consistency, presence, clarity, and responsiveness among others. When you look at the chart of brand equity by luxury industry, you’ll see that since 2004, Vuitton’s growth in brand equity took off in an exponential manner. The other brands on this list are the ones that wanted to remain exclusive, ‘unsaturated’, under segmented, or to be known as simply ‘signature brands’. I for one am questioning the niche targeting strategy. I understand that it’s better to be known for one thing and to excel at it, but we live in a fast paced world! What business school graduates call the ‘learning curve’ is becoming more vertically straightened than ever; anybody can execute the exact same ‘signature’, and to make it worse, at an even lower cost price. 

Interbrand - Top Lux Brand Equity 2011

Niche targeting is dead! If you want to survive then evolve, adjust, learn continuously. Consumers are always curious, but consumers have more options now. Make your presence felt by occupying more than one product category. The influx of goods from low cost manufacturing destinations makes it harder for signature brands to survive. Instead, exclusivity must turn into personalization. Niche brands are always caught trying to satisfy their customers, forgetting that their customers’ purchasing decision making changes all the time. As an illustration, every brand at the moment is playing the environmentally friendly card. It’s time to rethink niche strategies because less exclusivity does not mean saturation. There are control mechanisms that a brand can apply.

#ALIGNMENT

The Airplane Boys - photography by Justin Create

Track ten from The Airplane Boy’s new mixtape inspired this write up; 2012 is the year of ALIGNMENT! As I write this, the song Parachute is blaring loud in my headphones. I recall my interview of these two talented artists late in 2011 for PhsicsMag issue two. Since then, they’ve released their new mixtape a few days ago, and will be performing at Coachella this year, a major achievement in my book.  Salute to Beck & Bon and to the whole Beau Monde Collective , you guys are truly gifted. For those who've missed the Airplane Boys, PhsicsMag interview, here it is below.  #ALIGNMENT 

phsicsmag (p): What was it like working on your debut mixtape with Illangelo?

The Airplane Boys (Beck Motley & Bon Voyage) Bon: It was amazing...I mean, It was a learning curve for us. In terms of the recording process we had to be in the studio for like an hour, but we would be there for late hours and just trying to fit the songs in to a time. We didn’t really have the money to pay for studio time so it was just a lot of ‘run -and- gun’ type of mentality.

p: And Beau Monde, that’s your creative team right?

Beck: That’s our crew, that’s our family. It’s the foundation behind The Airplane Boys. Not only do we make music but we have a brand director, a producer, a photographer, art direction, it’s all about arts in this crew. We’re all brothers, we all grew up together in the same neighbourhood, we all think alike and we hangout. It’s the foundation of The Airplane Boys artistically and moving forward.

p: You’ve recently got back from touring the U.K with Snoop Dogg. And you’ve also opened for Big Sean. What did you take out of these experiences?

Beck: In terms of opening for Big Sean it was a humbling experience because that’s a young artist that’s coming out now, that’s relevant, a lot of the young kids grew up to that and one that we got to see throughout , an artist that has longevity. For Snoop it was incredible because it was overseas. People drive on the right side, everything’s different there. The currency’s different, you feel like you’re far from home. We’ve never performed for like 20 -25 thousand before and Snoop garnered that kind of audience overseas. We are humbled by the experience; even fans on our own tour further share our music out there.

p: One of the first things that struck me about you guys was your heavy style presence. Does fashion play a role in shaping who you are musically?

Beck: Fashion plays a big role in shaping our music, arts in general. Every time we get the chance to go to art galleries and fashion runways we’re inspired by a lot of colours and watching films, reading books, anything that has to do with expressing yourself. Because that’s what we are first and foremost. We’re trying to express our stories as storytellers on our music. We have a message in our music all the time. Any form of expression we try and look into it. Whether its films, fashion, just art in general.

p: Where do you see yourselves five to ten years from now?

Bon: That’s hard to say. We just see ourselves established, more presence, Beau Monde the company growing, moving forward, really just touching the people more.

p: Any projects, tours, or happenings that we can look forward to?

Beck: We just out in Los Angeles right now finishing our next mixtape. We’ve been out in the U.K, New York, doing a few songs here and there, and letting the environment write our music, so when we’re in the U.K we listen to a lot of electronic and dubstep music and try to implement that into our body of art. And here in Los Angeles we’re more under the sun, so our music’s gonna translate to that. We just gonna pick the best songs and ready it for the top of the year, give it to the supporters, the believers.

Issue Two

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

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