Men's New Fashion Trends

It's always great to mix trendy pieces with more classic looks to give you the perfect look that always looks up-to-date. Color is big for men this season (I love colored interesting shirts of all kinds), as are relaxed chic looks (like relaxed suits), etc.

Accessories that are hot are really simple: well kept shoes. It's one of the first things people notice, so always make sure the shoes are right and clean. Here's something I like to do. Instead of looking at celebs, I check out various magazines and advertising and check out different looks I like (for You GQ, Cargo) and then get shopping!

If you are wondering why some of today's most sophisticated men's stores - Polo Ralph Lauren, Bergdorf Goodman Men, Barneys New York - are stocked with enough hard-core color to resemble the team uniform section of a sporting goods shop, well, perhaps that's fitting. Color has become practically a contact sport.

Mens wear Bright New Look In the last few seasons, many men have developed a major passion for sharply tailored suits and brightly patterned dress shirts, snapping up $200 Etros by the half-dozen. But this spring, in the eternal game of one-upmanship known as fashion, the look has been taken to a new extreme. Solidly colored pants, sweaters and blazers - in tangerine, lemon, viridian, magenta, royal blue - have raised the stakes, and some men are, to retailers' surprise, taking the bet.

Retailers report that traditional two-button cotton sport coats and pinwale corduroys struck by a lightning bolt of color have become some of the hottest sellers of the season. And in a rare meeting of minds, old-school retailers like Paul Stuart are sharing a design aesthetic with edge-of-fashion lines like Burberry Prorsum and Duckier Brown.

"The first thing that blew out of Barneys was all the color," said Daniel Silver, a partner in Duckier Brown. "When we were designing it we were thinking: 'It's so bright. Are guys really going to buy this?' But they have. It's like someone knocked down the wall between his and hers closets."

The trend has obvious appeal to men who want an easy new way to express a bold streak. But it has an august precedent as well, in the late, great NBC peacock, Johnny Carson. In 1973, when country clubs swarmed with pants and blazers of every hue, Carson's own fashion line was the best-selling men's tailored clothing line in the country, according to Homi Patel, the chief executive of Hartmarx, which owns the line. In 1973 alone, 80,000 electric blue sport coats (with five-inch lapels!) were sold.

Unlike many looks with roots in the past, this one is a study in jarring contrasts. It has both the edge and cheek of early 80's New York, when Day-Glo color fueled the New Wave scene, and the ease and entitlement of an early 70's Republican enclave in Palm Springs.

"The roots are in that country club thing," said Joe Zee, the editor of the men's wear magazine Vitals. "The edge is in its conservative aspect." Striped shirts and plaid jackets can play into a conservative look, but solid colors, Mr. Zee suggested, are bolder. "Men are more used to pattern," he said. "So a pink striped shirt is easier for a lot of guys than an all-pink shirt. That's a more specific fashion statement."

No sector has taken up the call to color more than the hip-hop world, in which dandies like Usher, Farnsworth Bentley and Andre 3000 of OutKast (hard at work on a fashion line called Benjamin) will wear, and combine, the splashiest of colors. "You have urban rappers from Nelly to Puffy saying, 'I can wear this without being a sissy,' " Mr. Zee said.

Chris Chambers, a dapper vice president for publicity at BMG Music, feels the pull. "There's definitely a mixture of an urban thing with classic country club." he said. "I'll wear the pink Ralph Lauren blazer but maybe not with the white slacks they show. I'll wear it with some Evisu jeans and a cool sneaker."

Still, it takes guts. "I think a solid bold color looks fresh, but you have to have a level of confidence for it," Mr. Chambers said. What makes the look less brash and more appealing, he said, is its history as the onetime uniform of 19th-hole golfers everywhere.

Ross Geisel, a Manhattan fund-raiser, has taken a shine to color because of its associations with a life of gentlemanly ease. "I can get away with wearing it to work, and then if you go out afterward, you don't look like you came from the office," Mr. Geisel said.

Another reason he likes extreme color is that there are so few rules about wearing it. That, he maintains, makes it easier, not harder to dress. "It doesn't matter what you do," he said. "I have a loud pink shirt on today with a corduroy chocolate brown blazer. I can wear it spring, summer or fall, with any shoe I want."

Even with his outlaw attitude, he said the style reminds him of his father's country-club clothes. But the concept of Johnny Carson as a symbol of style is lost on him. "All I remember is Carnac," he said.

Hand Painting Evisu Jeans by Mr. Kobayashi Evisu No1 Paint Writer

Hand Painting Evisu Jeans in Osaka Japan



The jeans are being painted by “Mr Kobayashi Evisu No1 Paint Writer!” in the Evisu store in Osaka, Japan. Mr Kobayashi teaches the other shop staff to paint and is considered Yamane’s most trusted painter and Evisu maniac. The jeans that are being painted are Deluxe prototypes for SS08 and were painted as a special souvenir. The purple colour paint is “Osaka Purple” which they only paint in Osaka shops (Tokyo has navy blue, and other stores have unique colors), and the characters on the right pocket say Osaka. The video is better than watching paint dry!

Selfridges Yellow Centennial

Selfridges is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and asked a number of brands such as Coca-Cola, Converse, Creed, Dutalit, Diptique, Levis, Marc Jacobs, and Ralph Lauren, to create centennial birthday products in their famous Pantone 109 Yellow.

Not many things last 100 years, but people have been wearing jeans for that long.
Our multi-pocket-jean has been with us since the inception of our brand, so we thought this iconic jean was the perfect match for such an iconic store. We created the Selfridges centenary jean by fitting 95 extra miniature pockets onto a standard 5 pocket jean. Along with the jean, we also produced 100 unique embroidered T-Shirts. Like everything we make, both the jean and the tee are constructed utilizing time-tested construction and materials - from chain-stitching to rope-dyed unbleached woven cotton - they can only be found at the Evisu counter at the 400 Oxford Street London Selfridges store.

The party kicked off May 1st and will continue throughout the Summer. The first of our centennial events will be master paint writer Kanji Kohanda customizing jeans on May 30th. We know hand-painted pockets won’t last 100 years, but faded paint, just like falling indigo, marks the natural progression of time. We will keep you posted, but for a greater list of the spectacles please visit Selfridges.

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Evisu Genes Spring 2009

The Million Dollar question: what do skulls, tigers, hula dancers, white dragons, maps, elk, and passenger ships have in common?

Venture a guess?

If you speculated ‘things you think you see while your heavily intoxicated’……incorrect, but that was our first reaction too. If you guessed ‘traditional imagery stitched on the back of souvenir jackets’; you are correct and should seriously consider becoming a Jeopardy contestant.

This Spring, our Evisu Genes collection takes a trip to the warm, laid-back island of Okinawa. Okinawa is a small island located just off the coast of mainland Japan, in the south west. It is a veritable tropical paradise with the best white sand beaches, along with some strong seasonal rains and a few typhoons.

Okinawa was one of the first places occupied by the U.S. military. As a result, the culture on the island (while inherently Japanese) carries a distinct Western feel. For example, the bustling music scene incorporates traditional Okinawan instruments combined with American genres (rock, jazz, etc.). After World War 2 ended, American soldiers brought their jackets to Japanese tailors and had them embroider images on them to commemorate their tour of duty. These designs had a distinct Japanese feel to them – incorporating iconic, traditional Japanese motifs (dragons, tigers, etc.) and drawn in a stylized manner. Now, original jackets are collector’s items – not only for what they symbolized but also for their vibrant colorways and gaudy fabrics (silk & satin). Throughout our Spring 2009 collection we’ve used souvenir iconography. Everything from Japanese-inspired fonts to animal imagery are reinterpreted in a fresh, modern context. So make sure to check them out here and get an Evisu souvenir (or two) of your own!

Worn Denim

True denim maniacs know that the character of Evisu denim is only revealed through extended, borderline “religious” wear. In fact, we recommend wearing a new pair daily for 6 months without washing. This allows the denim to mold to your body: thus setting characteristic wear marks on certain areas of the jean. The lap area (crease marks, aka “hige”), the back pockets, and the back of the knees (aka “honeycombs”) produce the most distinctive fades. Heavy wear in general, however, will produce natural fading throughout the jean due to abrasion – known by the Japanese term “Atari”. In the end, it’s all about crafting your own personal experience with your new pair. Wear ‘em and wash ‘em whenever and however you want. There are no rules.

Here we have examples of some of our jeans that have been personally “customized” by their owners. Each started off in an exclusively raw state and each uses different denim. As time passed, the wearers put their own personal stamp on these jeans – essentially making them almost a “visual diary” of their life. When possible, each worn jean was photographed with its virgin counterpart.

Our first jean features D330 denim. Japanese indigo (used for centuries in kimono, sashimono, obi, etc.) is traditionally green-cast, while the American indigo of early jeans was mainly red-cast. Unlike most of our other Japanese denim, D330 is red-cast. Our world-renowned denim mill creates this fantastic fabric with smooth finishing and a pink selvage line. We created this fabric for those looking for traditional Western authenticity and fading.

Evisu Spring/Summer 09: The Seas of Japan

Evisu was like a splash of cool ocean water in the midst of Milan fashion week. The brand, that prides itself in high quality denim, found inspiration from the seas of Japan and the journeys and adventures that have graced its waters. The collection showed two brands of Evisu, Evisu Heritage and Evisu Deluxe. While both lines where sea bearing inspired each took to heart a specific and historic inspiration.

The Evisu Deluxe line is a hand-crafted collection that expands on founder Hidehiko Yamane’s desire to create the perfect pair of jeans. Trained as a tailor, Hidehiko went to the extremes to create what he considered the perfect pair of jeans. Evisu Deluxe follows this enthusiasm through the detail and dedication put into the collection. For this season’s collection they went as far as hand-washing the jeans in the sea and drying them in the sun on the near by rocks. The inspiration that motivated the detailed washing was Kanrin Maru. In the winter of 1980 Kanrin Maru was the first Japanese ship to set sail to America. The mainly Japanese crew also carried one American officer and the Evisu collection reflects this influence by blending traditional American attire with Japanese history.

The Evisu Heritage line, while still taking inspiration from the sea, looked at a different part of Japanese history, the Tairyouiki (big fish flags). The bright colorful flags are used by the fisherman when they have a good catch, so that the villages know to prepare for a feast. Often pictures on the flag carry sea creatures, waves, rising suns and celebratory kanji. Evisu heritage used these images for embroidery and print, like large colorful embroideries, fish scale print logo’s, and even Tairyouiki written in two parts on the back pockets.

The overall show was light and playful. Shirts had a vintage feel with double neck yoke and bias neck bindings, techniques typically used in the 50’s and 60’s. Colors ranged from sea blues to buoy brights and fisherman earth tones. While Evisu may have played on a lot of historical and vintage ideas the collection was young and lively. With eco-conscious materials like cotton bamboo mixes and coconut buttons Evisu is on trend in more ways then one.

Cult of Denim by Stuart Semple

For the past month, Stuart Semple has displayed his “Cult of Denim Project” at the world-renowned department store Selfridges (London). Evisu and a few other leading denim brands provided the pop artist with bolts of denim in lieu of a canvas, our denim naturally being selvedge. Aside from the paintings, the project includes prints, hand painted jeans, and an installation with 20% of the proceeds going to the UK Charity Refuge.

About denim, our founder Yamane-san said, “Not Renaissance, but eternal. Putting on a shirt, a jacket, or a pair of jeans you don’t need solemn words. Nobody rediscovers it, it’s been there all the time, the real style will never grow old”. Semple has a similar denim philosophy saying, “I’m interested in how this second skin protects and broadcasts. How it reflects our identity and cultural tastes. Whether flared, distressed or just perfectly fitting, they can tell us so much about the body within them and ultimately the mind of their owner. I’m fascinated by the way this interacts with our outer environment, the way our bodies move and what they come in contact with changes these garments to be unique in their wears and tears, blemishes and stretches”. Our raw jeans are about creating a garment that reflects you. Both Semple and Yamane-san understand that jeans aren’t just about woven fabric, copper rivets, cotton stitching, and indigo: Jeans are the perfect garment to wear everyday, reflect your individuality, and serve as a “record” of your daily life. Semple explains that the Cult of Denim represents the brands that “understand our inner needs, in them we trust the transition from inner identity to outer communication. If idolatry is the worship of any cult idea or image other than God…”.

It’s apparent that Stuart and Evisu share common views of denim’s transformative quality saying, that it represents “an infinite palette of choice, a way to present our ideology to the world, surface identity being shaped by environment and body”. Raw denim almost serves as a blank canvas for us to express ourselves – making denimheads everywhere “artists” in their own right with their bodies serving as the medium.

Stuart’s Evisu painting is titled C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me), which is well-suited for a brand named after one of the Seven Japanese Gods of good fortune. Semple’s references are as varied as the mixed media used to create the painting including acrylic, paint marker, charcoal, household gloss and glitter. His imagery spans a timeline of Japan, which suits our brand’s reproduction roots. The painting includes fighter planes, a linear Hokusai-inspired landscape of docked Japanese fishing boats, a bamboo baton wielding femme fatale, along with our iconic motifs such as Kamome gulls, a traditional Ebisu statue, and our Godhead patch. His eye for color combined with imaginative composition serves to create a dynamic piece that embodies the Evisu ethos - although it’s clearly missing an empty sake bottle or two.

Lastly, we would like to thank Emily Mann, Stuart Semple, and Selfridges.



Relate Link : www.evisu.com

Sneak Peak - Evisu’s Tribute To Lee - Lazy S Slim Jeans

After a lot of research, Evisu pays homage to Lee with the Evisu Lazy S Slim Jeans. The HD Lee Mercantile Co was founded in Salina, Kanasas, USA in 1889.



The denim is Evisu No. 13 LEFT which is the true Left Hand Twill new vintage Selvedge denim woven on shuttle looms in Osaka Japan by Kaiahara. Left Hand Twill denim is named like this for the opposite weave (top left to bottom right) direction of the diagonal lines on the denim instead of the normal right hand style. This denim will also wear down even softer than its right hand equivalent. No. 13 LEFT is green caste indigo, and has mismatched selvedge; one side is plain white and the other side has a single warp thread of indigo woven into it, following the Lee version. Jeans cut from No. 13 LEFT denim have the leather patch sewn on the left side of the waistband.

Right hand twill is the early Levi’s design, but our other favorite Liss liked to use left hand twill for its soft feel and comfortable wearing. Vintage Lee jeans were cut from slightly wider denim than Levi’s, so the leg often shows only one selvedge line, and one side of the overlocking.

The fit is the 0005 Slim fit and the silhouette is inspired from 1960’s Wrangler cowboy jeans. It is similar to 0001, but with a slimmer leg and thigh. Unlike 0001, the 0005 is cut straight over the hips and waist with a higher rise, originally allowing great freedom in the saddle. The snug fit across the seat and hips makes this cut particularly flattering.

Also look out for the celebrated LAZY S pocket writing, which looks a bit like horns of a bull, not a Levi’s eagle or a friendly Evisu seagull. Other Lee inspired details you will find are the Evisu Heritage label on the inside waistband that pays homage to the 1930’s Lee “House” label, showing the factory roof symbolising the fact that Lee overalls were union made. The Evisu Heritage woven label directly references this.

No. 13 LEFT is 14 oz regular and the sanforized denim will shrink about 3-5% after washing. The Evisu Lazy S Slim Jeans will be available for purchase from January 2009.

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Our Autumn/Winter 08 collection is online now at Evisu.com.

This season’s Heritage looks to it’s proud ancestry of the Samurai Warriors. The Samurai were “samurau” or servants to their lord the Emporor and ferociously defended Japan from its enemies both foreign and home-grown. The Samurai reign lasted from their foundation in the Taika Period (646) under the Emperor Tenji until the last days of the Samurai in the Show Period (1949).



An important icon of the Samurai was the Sashimono, a banner mounted on the back of the warrior’s armour to display his allegiance. The Sashimono appears as an Evisu flag or Red Tab on the backs of fearsome Samurai warriors and also as a banner showing Evisu’s conquest of Osaka; our home town. Also appearing in this season’s collection is the Kabuto or Samurai helmet. This is very important as protection, but it must also be extremely terrifying to scare off all those who dare to oppose the Mighty Samurai.

While We were finding out about the Samurai, we noticed that actually their armor and way of life are not so different from the uniform and spirit of one of our favorite sports - American Football! Japanese collectors love to find vintage football jerseys and banners, so we mixed the two together to make the Evisu Osaka Samurai’s American Football team. We were thinking also about our founder, Mr Yamane’s, favorite baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, who used to be the home town toeam of our our town, Osaka. So we go the idea of Marvelous True Vintage letterman appliques to put on our jeans, sweaters and T-shirts, as well as some very old-style graphics and techniques.

EVISU FALL/WINTER 05/06

EVISU FALL/WINTER 05/06

Evisu’s AW08 Milan Mens Show

Evisu’s AW08 Milan Mens Show Video

The international fashion pack gathered in the magnificent Palazzo Visconti to see Evisu’s AW08 edgy and wearable collection, inspired by the theme ‘Fighting for Japan’. The collection is the most exciting and dramatic to date consisting of Evisu’ trademark collections; Deluxe, Heritage and Mainline each taking on their own interpretation of the theme.

Evisu Deluxe is inspired by the Wartime Prints by Mr. Kiyochika Kobayashi of 1894-95, as seen in a double breasted coat made by the official fabric that was used in the war in the late 1800’s. Along with suits, coats, ties and silk cotton shirts, Deluxe introduces the ‘Finest Jeans Ever Made’. Each pair is individually sewn from start to finish by one machinist using only a single-needle sewing machine and then personally signed on the label.

Heritage looks to its proud ancestry of the Samurai Warriors who ferociously defended Japan from its enemies. The jeans, t-shirts and sweaters took on true vintage letterman appliqués giving the Japanese theme a sporting twist.

Mainline was inspired by the theme of “One night in Tokyo” and is based on the underground and dark side of the city. Shirts and t-shirts are embroidered and printed with bullet holes, the Evisu smiley face and two faces godhead tee. These are combined with vintage jeans for the perfect Tokyo look.

it very nice event.

Evisu’s SS09 Milan Spring Summer Video



Evisu denim continues to develop “The Finest Jeans Ever Made!” (The unique Evisu Deluxe technique where every pair is entirely sewn by a single operator who signs the each completed pair). This season, to fit the seasonal theme, the jeans have been hand washed in the sea and naturally sun-dried on the nearby rocks. This means the denim dries hard and improves the definition of the “whiskering” and “honeycombs” that appear with wear. Avid Japanese denim collectors swear by this washing technique.

Evisu’s fully-fashioned knitwear for Spring 2009 was crafted from a mix of pure silk and bamboo. The yarn has the luxurious lustre of silk paired with the light weight bamboo fibers. The shapes were inspired by traditional Japanese nautical knits, and are decorated with passages of Japanese taken from the story of the Kanrin Maru.