These Ain't Diesel...

The Japanese Denim Brand That Became a 2000s Status Symbol

Americans may have invented denim in the 1800s, but it was Japan that turned the hard-wearing fabric into something covetable. In addition to a bustling vintage scene that birthed a whole generation of denim nerds (including NIGO, who referenced his own archive for a recent Levi’s collaboration), much credit is given to the Osaka Five, five distinct den…