James Perse Window Display

Marc Atlan Design Inc., has been making window displays for James Perse since 2006. Take a look at the sublime work of Marc Atlan below (all pictures from www.marcatlan.com).

Best,

BA

Before anyone did anything, Evisu did everything

A very anticipated comeback is on its way. The seagull denim from Japan, Evisu, has teamed up with denim guru, the founder of Paper Denim and Earnest Sewn, Scott Morrison. It already appears as the perfect match. From our previous experience with Earnest Sewn, we know that the products will be as good as anything out there. We recognize the same product feel, and the rumours tell that both the fittings and washes are amazing. We are glad to announce that Blender Agency will represent Evisu in the Scandinavian market as from 2010. We still have our old raw denims from Evisu in the closet, and can't wait to get hold of the new ones.

Evisu SS10

History

Evisu is the first true collectible “purist denim” brand in the world, introducing casual denim wearers across the globe to connoisseur-quality Japanese selvedge denim and custom distressing. Evisu plays a pivotal role in the history of denim, the brand that many credit for starting the Japanese “Replica Movement” which in turn, birthed the premium denim category we know today.

Evisu SS10

In 1988, Hidehiko Yamane, an avid denim collector, importer, and tailor by trade, set out to replicate the American classic 1944 Levi’s 501 with an obsessive attention to detail. He founded Evisu in 1991 in Osaka, Japan, naming the company after the Japanese god of prosperity, who is sometimes playfully portrayed on the label. Evisu is one of the five unofficial members of what most people in the denim industry know as ‘the Osaka Five’; the five most influential and respected denim brands in Japanese denim history.

Now

For 2010, in preparation for the new decade and the commeration of Evisu’s 20th anniversary, the design baton for Evisu was passed to American designer Scott Morrison. The overall rebranding and updated style changes of the new 2010 collections reflect Scott Morrison’s signature approach to denim. Morrison is considered by many as a pioneer in the denim world, founding and designing both Paper Denim & Cloth and Earnest Sewn. With his arrival at Evisu, he and his team have brought a renewed focus to denim, fit and wash, as well as an updated approach to Evisu the international brand.

Evisu Woman SS10

The Seagull

The famous hand-painted Evisu “Kamome” (“Seagull” in Japanese) logo on the back pocket was a reference to the Levi’s 1944 printed ‘Arcuate’ logo, which for a 9 month period during WWII, had to be printed instead of sewn due to US government restrictions on thread and other materials essential to the war effort. Over time, the hand-painted logos chipped and faded as the denim became more and more distressed - each jean becoming an individually distinctive, and collectible, one of a kind item.

The “Seagull” logo has evolved a great deal over the past 20 years, and once again we’ve decided to update the iconic seagull. Basing the newest incarnation of the logo on a found example of an early 1990’s original hand-painted design, the new, thinner ‘less is more’ gull.

The lines Scott and his staff will present will be Evisu, Evisu Genes and Private Stock. In addition there will be a more fashion oriented line called Stylecraft. We have just reveived the first pictures of the FW10 woman collection, and the pictures are looking very promising (see below).

Evisu will most definitelly find it's way to a store near you within 2010. We hope you are as excited as we are.

Evisu SS10

Best wishes for 2010,

BA

Travelogue # 5 | Tokyo 1.09

We went to Tokyo a few weeks ago, and visited a huge amount of stores in a few days. Tokyo is a brilliant source for inspiration, and among the highlights this time were Standard, Ku, Sophnet, Free & Easy and Opening Ceremony. In addition, the usual supects in Tokyo; Beams, Ships, Loveless, Porter, F.I.L (Visvim), Original Fake, American Rag, among others. See below for a picture guide to our favourite stores in Tokyo.

So long,

BA

Brand profile : Duvetica

Duvetica is an Italian down jacket brand founded by Giampiero Vagliano and Stefano Rovoletto, who both have a history at Moncler, where Vagliano was President and Rovoletto held the position as Brand Manager. When they started working at Moncler in 1995, the brand had great challenges both in terms of turnover, positioning and image. Over the course of five years they managed to increase global sales from €2 million to €30 million, while greatly improving both brand awareness and brand equity. After resuscitating Moncler they wanted to make something of their own, and five years after leaving Moncler they launched Duvetica in the Japanese market in 2005.

They are currently one of the largest down jacket brands in Japan with an incredible 1200 points of sales. Duvetica has now set their eyes on the European market, where they are growing at an explosive pace.The name Duvetica stems from Duvet (French for down) and Etica (ethical), and sums up their two main principles; 1. All products from Duvetica contains down. 2. They strive to maintain an ethically sound production. The down is from Perigord, France, and the fur is from Finland. In other words you can be sure that the down and fur is not coming from the aggressive parts of down/fur-production that sadly some suppliers out there are using.

The collections are designed by a Japanese-Italian duo, where the Italian designer also acts as a colour forecasting consultant in the yarn industry. In other words, she is one of the select few who sit and decide which colours will dominate two years ahead in time. The colours black (999 Nero) and Duvetica red (405 Rosso Granato) can always be found in the collection, while ALL other colours are changed each season. For FW09 there were 23 different colours available in the basic styles. Next season there will be all new colours, except black and duvetica red. They operate this way so that there is a constant progression through new colours, small seasonal changes to all models, and a massively large collection with over 600 style/colour options for women’s and 500 for men’s. Duvetica jackets have a tailored feel with clearly defined fits – something that the down jacket market is severely lacking in a segment dominated by shapeless unisex-jackets and fits belonging to a completely different era.

The favourite subject of the people from Duvetica are the qualities where they pay enormous attention to the slightest of details, all the way down to finding the sewing thread that best stops feathers from protruding through the seams. The zippers used are from manufacturers like Lampo (Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior), Riri (Visvim, Number Nine, Marc Jacobs) and Meras (James Perse), but Duvetica has now even started producing their own zippers in collaboration with some of the finest zipper manufacturers.

The down used is exclusively grey goose down from Périgord (Dordogne), which is the type of down with the best filling power – i.e. the down isolates better per gram compared to white goose down, or even worse; duck down. The composition is 90 % down and 10 % feather, which is the best balance. If you apply more feather the product will feel stiff and heavy, and if you use less feather the product will not balloon out as well after being compressed. Even though the qualities Duvetica uses are supreme, the prices are still very competitive. Duvetica are able to keep their prices down through owning most parts of their supply chain, which drastically cuts the production costs. The jackets are produced in the EU, with the exception of a small percentage of the production which is produced in Croatia.

Duvetica are available through fine retailers throughout Scandinavia, please send us an e-mail at info@blender.as for store inquiries.

BA.

Blue Gold

Something really interesting was pitched for us earlier today. Our friend Marius showed us a teaser from the forthcoming denim documentary Blue Gold : American Jeans.

Denimology has spoken to the director Theis Jessen, and the persons and companies involved in the movie, certainly raise the expectations:

Jean Touitou - APC, Tommy Hilfiger, Seven jeans, Mark Ramone (The Ramones), Daryl Hall (Hall and Oates), Models, Edun, Ralph Lauren, Cheap Monday, RRL, Calvin Klein, Jim Moore - GQ Magazine, Renzo -Diesel, The Gap, ISKO - denim mill, Andrew Olah - Olah/Kingpins, Levi's, EVISU, Dao-Yi Chow, Sean John and Scott Morrison.

We are definitelly looking forward to this one, and it is reassuring to see that our friend, and CEO of Evisu, Scott Morrison is involved.

By the way, check out photographer Marius' new project: Without Sun.

Best,

BA

James Perse Tricycle

The kings of natural-coloured basics, in the softest and best quality there is, give you their own take on a classic tricycle. In their own words:

"The James Perse Tricycle is a 1970's inspired design. Custom made with an extra low center of gravity design so it won't tip over. Sturdy construction made with heavy duty steel and powder coated for superior chip resistance. Attached deck is made of teak wood."

Head over to James Perse, for more details.

Best,

BA

Common Projects Q&A

The people at Selectism have done an Q&A with Peter or Flavio from Common Projects. Follow this link. Below are some pieces from the FW09 collection.

Keep it common!