45R GLOBAL

While searching for a new possibility in denim, we encountered a rare workshop in Tokushima that carries out both indigo dyeing and weaving under one roof. Dyeing and weaving are usually separate crafts, yet here, naturally dyed yarn could be woven on a Japanese shuttle loom capable of producing true selvedge denim. Because indigo is alive, it changes with the day—sometimes vigorous, sometimes resting. Watching its condition, the artisans dye the yarn over two to three weeks until the color penetrates to the core. Around 2,200 warp threads are then aligned by hand and woven on a 1950s shuttle loom that produces only 30 meters a day. The clean white selvedge and the textured irregularity are marks of this loom, and even after repeated washing, the denim does not fade to white but deepens into a misty, purplish Japan Blue.