Pure Blue Japan

Pure Blue Japan is a denim label founded in 1997 by Ken-ichi Iwaya in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan's historic denim region. Iwaya worked in local clothing sales before launching his own jeans line, and built the brand around indigo and natural-indigo (ai) dyeing plus heavily textured cloth. Fabrics are woven on vintage shuttle looms in Ibara, Okayama, using low-tension weaving and custom machinery that produce pronounced slub and neppy character. Silhouettes are contemporary rather than strict vintage reproduction. Jeans typically retail around $300 and sell through specialist denim retailers worldwide.