Here’s a quick roundup of the latest news from leading denim brands.
Naked & Famous
Naked & Famous is taking its obsession for heavyweight denim to a new level. Last week the Canadian denim brand unveiled the Super Heavyweight 40 oz. Indigo Selvedge jean.
Naked & Famous founder Brandon Svarc described the fabric as a “super beefy” version of the brand’s regular indigo rope dyed Japanese jeans.
Related Stories
The fabric, woven in Okayama on a specialty shuttle loom, is roughly four times the weight of traditional denim. It required two sewing operators multiple days to assemble one pair of the unsanforized jean using a special sewing machine for horse saddles.
Additionally, it required custom trims including a double thick 30 oz. cowhide leather patch hand stitched using elk sinew and extra-long 100 percent copper rivets that are typically used for leather.
Other details include a custom long button in bronze, a heavy duty Waldes zipper from Japan and red selvedge ID. A 5 oz. vegetable tan leather label replaces the brand’s traditional woven label placed at the center of the waistband. The pocket flasher is also super-sized, made with three layers of corrugated cardboard.
The regular tapered fit jean launched at Tate + Yoko in Montreal.
Cone Denim is one of the iconic locations represented on the new Monopoly: Greensboro Edition board game produced by Top Trumps.
The game showcases the textile town’s “charm, history, and vibrant culture” by using landmarks such as Cone Denim’s headquarters as one the properties players can invest in. The mill is joined by other local destinations like Greensboro Science Center, Palmetto Trail and Lake Brandt.
The game retails for $39.99
Brother Moses and Ceasar Cone founded Cone Export and Commission Company in Greensboro, N.C. in 1891. They established their first mill in the city in1895, followed by White Oak Cotton Mill in 1905. The now shuttered White Oak plant went on to supply a third of the world’s denim demand. Its historic selvedge looms are still a topic of intrigue in the denim industry.
Muji
Denim plays an important role in Muji Labo’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection.
“From playful skorts to structured gilets and the perfect washi-blended jeans, this iconic textile has been reimagined in an array of contemporary silhouettes and innovative material compositions,” the brand stated.
Muji Labo is the Japanese retailer’s design lab focused on revisiting its origins and driving evolution. The new collection pairs natural materials with traditional production processes, creating simple yet elevated sustainable wear.
Highlights in the collection include Trucker jackets and jeans that are made with 83 percent cotton, 5 percent polyester and 12 percent traditional Japanese washi paper. Muji said this “centuries-old fabric is derived from the natural fibers of the Paper Mulberry plant and is then intertwined with cotton yarn to form a uniquely durable, moisture-absorbent, environmentally conscious textile.”
A denim skirt, short-sleeve shirt and long gilet are made with 59 percent cotton and 41 percent hemp blends that have a linen-like look and hand feel. The hemp blends are also used for women’s darted wide-leg pants and men’s pleated straight pants. An A-line skirt is made with a kapok blend.
The collection also include linen suiting, cotton high gauge knits, water repellent nylon outerwear and silk-linen tops.
Outland Denim
Outland Denim teamed with Australian design studio, St. Agni, to launch a capsule collection of sustainable jeans.
The women’s collection combines St. Agni’s minimalist aesthetic with Outland Denim’s commitment to the environment.
The collection includes two fits: the 90s Low Rise Jeans and the Mid Rise Balloon Jeans. The bottoms are available white, black and 90s blue washes. The white jeans are made with 13 oz. fabric made with 100 percent regenerative cotton. The blue jeans are made with 12 oz. 100 percent organic cotton, and the black jeans are with a 60/40 blend of organic cotton and recycled cotton.
The jeans retail for $330.
Less is more is part of St. Agni’s design philosophy. The studio designs handwoven leather accessories, footwear, swimwear and premium ready-to-wear.
