In the past two years, Mr Oishi has told us again and again how proud he is of Kiwami fabric. For him (and also for us), it is one of the greatest achievements in his entire career, and now he has taken it one step further with this new Kiwami SHM (Semi Hand Made) biological washed version. This Bio Wash pair stands out for a special treatment that achieves a natural vintage wash unique to each pair and results in an amazing vibrant blue colour with an outstanding rainy effect.
Masao Oishi has been aiming for many years to create denim that can express the colour and texture unique to hank dyeing with rope dyeing. He got it with the standard version of the Kiwami fabric, but he has outdone himself with a beautiful and suistanable washed denim that will look amazing when paired with a dark indigo jacket or just with a solid t-shirt.
The construction was inspired by early 20 th -century jeans. 5-mm double stitch seams have been used in some parts of the jeans, while others display a flat felled seam, obtained by placing an edge inside a folded fabric edge and then stitching down the fold. The fold encloses the unprocessed edges to protect them from fraying.
The jeans are made with all the superior-quality ONI details, such as copper buttons and high-quality pocket bags. The patch is cut from premium deer leather. ONI opted to stitch the leather patch after the stone wash to get the best look. This process has been costly because the jeans needed to return to the sewing workshop after the washing process
"I think Kiwami, is one of the top three denims in over 50 years of my career" - Masao Oishi.
The legend of ONI is alive to this day. In recent years Oishi-San has devoted himself to experimenting with widely varying grammages, rough textures, different indigo dyeing techniques and novelty cuts while always maintaining a very limited production and wielding his experience in denim which now goes back more than 60 years.
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