Once upon a time there was a real connoisseur of jeans, Hidehiko Yamane – as expert and demanding as only certain Japanese “otaku” can be. He passionately searched for the best products to import from anywhere in the world. He soon realized that quality denim, the original, was impossible to find on the market. Then, during one of his trips looking for vintage pieces, he came across a 1950s American loom capable of weaving forty metres of“selvedge” denim a day. Yamane had an idea: why not make exceptional jeans for connoisseurs like him? So the Evisu adventure began. In 1988 Yamane – who calls himself a tailor, not a designer of jeans – created a cult product. He originally called his jeans Evis, after the Buddhist god of prosperity, and they were made in Osaka from pure American cotton.