Massdrop x Naked & Famous Karui Stretch Selvage

There’s a reason 10-ounce denim is one of the most popular denim weights around. It offers a great balance of durability and comfort in all kinds of weather, and it breaks in a whole lot quicker than its heavier counterparts. For our latest collaboration with Naked & Famous, we used 10.5-ounce rope-dyed red-line selvage from the denim capital of the world: Okayama, Japan. The fabric is woven on vintage low-speed shuttle looms with 2 percent elastane for stretch, then cut and sewn in Montreal. And because it’s rope-dyed, it’ll fade faster into a unique pattern that reflects your use. Whether you’re looking for your first pair of raw denim jeans or you need a lightweight pair for year-round or more active wear (like biking to work), these jeans will be tough to beat. 

Before the denim is woven, it’s rope-dyed: a process that involves repeatedly dipping a rope of cotton yarn into a series of indigo dye baths. Between dips, the yarn is exposed to the air and the absorbed indigo slowly oxidizes, turning the yarn blue. Because the yarn is never left in the bath long enough for the dye to penetrate to the core of the yarn, the outer circumference is dyed while the core remains white. With wash and wear, the denim will gradually shed layers of dye and slowly reveal the white core underneath. Combined with the weaving process, which happens on a traditional shuttle loom, this makes for an extraordinary depth of color and a handmade feel that can’t be mass-produced. To learn more, check out our Intro to Raw Denim.

Once the denim is ready, it makes its way from Okayama to the Naked & Famous factory in Montreal, where it’s cut and sewn into the finished pair of jeans you see here. This collaboration is done in the company’s best-selling Weird Guy fit. Comfortable from the waist to the hip, the Weird Guy was recently revised based on customer feedback with a standard mid-rise and a slight taper from the knee to the hem. Each pair is complete with a four-button fly, Kentucky-made YKK hardware, and a vegetable-tanned leather patch that’ll darken and develop an aged look as it’s exposed to the sun. The custom patch features the company’s 1950s pop art–inspired logo.