Tucked away in the denim capital of Okayama Prefecture, Japan, the Nihon Menpu mill stands as a monument to craftsmanship, preserving century-old manufacturing methods. This dedication to tradition is exactly what drew designer Frank Muytjens, the creative mind behind J.Crew’s Wallace & Barnes collection, to this iconic mill.
"For me, denim is all about timelessness and dependability," says Frank. "Denim has an extraordinary history, and each pair of jeans should pay homage to that legacy." Guided by this ethos, he partnered with Nihon Menpu, one of the few remaining mills in the world that continues to use authentic indigo-dyeing and weaving techniques from the 1920s.
The process at Nihon Menpu begins with soaking cotton yarns in a dye bath - crafted with a closely guarded formula - and weaving them with precision and care. The outcome? A lightweight, naturally textured fabric that feels as good as it looks.
This exquisite fabric is then transformed into jeans by none other than Frank Muytjens himself. The Wallace & Barnes collection blends Nihon Menpu’s impeccable craftsmanship with Frank's signature straight-cut design, creating jeans that are as refined as they are rugged.
And who better to model these iconic jeans than Frank Muytjens himself? In the photo below, he showcases his vintage-inspired Wallace & Barnes creation, a testament to the seamless collaboration between Japanese tradition and American design ingenuity.
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