Unique Kaihara project sees denim processed by sea breezes

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 25, 2017

Japanese denim maker Kaihara Corp has launched the Cruising Jeans project to produce jeans with denim fabrics exposed to sea breezes during cruising, a first of its kind in the world.

The company said it’s offering “slow fashion in the age when fast fashion is blooming.” In fact, it’s very, very slow fashion and while the production method is hardly one that can be applied to the mass-market, it’s certainly interesting as yet another option for creating high-end denim.

The manufacturer, which is based in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, a world-renowned denim production area, said it has launched the initiative an effort to face up to intense competition when it comes to denim innovation.
It said the method of producing denim is unique and sees a ship’s sails being made with denim fabrics and exposed to sea breezes during cruising before being processed into jeans.

The sails, which are fully exposed to breezes in the Seto Inland Sea, “take on a unique tinge and do not easily fade in colour because substances such as sodium and magnesium, contained in sea breezes combine with the indigo in the materials,” the company claims.

After cruising over a total distance of more than 700 kilometres over a 40-day period, calling at 14 ports, Kaihara processed the denim sails into a number of items, including jeans, T-shirts, bags and shoes, which it then put on sale.