Naked & Famous

Appetiser

In my denim collection, I have quite a lot N&F denim. I really like their approach to denim, they both do the more classic fabrics but they also have a wide variety of wacky and challenging fabrics.
To name a few of the wacky there are Glow In The Dark, Scratch-n-Sniff Mint and Cookies & Cream 2. All of them are to me gimmick jeans, and I wouldn’t wear them on a daily basis. But I would buy them for my collection and maybe wear them on special occasions.

A regular part of Naked & Famous line is their Elephant series. Around 6-7 years ago, the first instalment in the Elephant denim series, saw the light of day. It was a 19oz, deep indigo warp and with weft, that had tonal stitching. From that pair, the Elephant series has moved from the 19 oz and up to 22oz in the different editions. Most recently it was the Elephant 6, that offered a 22oz denim in a broken twill construction, with a deep indigo warp, white weft and contrast stitching.

I have a huge love for the Elephant series. My first meeting with the series was the Elephant 3. I bought them second hand, without much wear but they were to big and I never wore them more than a couple of times.
Then around the start of 2015, I saw there was a DWC I joined the competition with a pair of Elephant 4. A pair that I still occasionally wear, and love the fabric and fade potential of. But the fit really never was to my liking.

When I saw that Naked & Famous would make an Elephant edition, of their Made In Japan line, I was hooked.

Info about the jeans

This is the fourth instalment in Naked & Famous Made In Japan line. The jeans come in at 21OZ, Naked & Famous states that the fabric comes from their elephant fabric reserve.
The fabric has undergone a tenpi treatment which is best explained by the denim experts at Naked & Famous:

WHAT IS TENPI TREATED?
It is an unsanforized jean that has gone through a soak treatment that is designed to preshrink the fabric and preserve the natural rigidness and beauty of the fabric. Ready to wear from day one and you don’t need to worry about shrinkage.
(Source: Naked & Famous homepage)

Details to the MIJ 4 pair

21OZ Tenpi Treated Japanese selvedge denim, women at a small studio in Japan.
Limited to 500 pairs
100% Iron buttons (custom designed)
Copper rivets / Hidden back pocket rivets

Peek-a-boo selvedge coin pocket
Real thick leather patch, designed by Alvin Lee
Back pocket maple leaf embroidery
Raised belt loops

And of course

All Made in Japan

Fit

Towards the fit, this is stated as a medium rise, slightly roomier thighs and a slight taper from the knee to the hem.

Below are the measurements for the jeans:
I use following method for the measuring.

Size: 31 (non-wash)	Waist	Thigh	F. Rise	B. Rise	Knee	Hem	Inseam
Cm	42	29	27	35	21	18	89
Inch	16,5	11,6	10,6	13,8	8,3	7,1	35

I think that the fit is almost optimal, the only thing that is off for me is the hem. I would have preferred, that it was more tapered. But for the average person, i think that this fit is very modern, and is liked by a lot of the raw denim community.

Below are some fit pictures, to visualize the fit:

(Unfortunately the patch is sewn all way round, so the belt can’t go under. That is too bad, with such a cool patch)

Fabric

This fabric is very uneven and slubby, and that for me was one of the points that made me want a pair. The tenpi treatment gives the jeans a resemblance, with a pair of raw denim that has been washed for the first time.
I like the overall feel of the denim very much, and the fabric are very soft to wear.

With wear, the heavyweight denim will develop strong creasing eventually yielding a high-contrast blue fade.
(Source: Naked & Famous homepage)

The fabric also got a real hairy feel to them.

Overall score

This is a pair that stands out from the crowd, it is nothing like any other pair that I have.
If I had to give it the resemblance to another pair, it would be a pair of Oni’s. But these still feels different, maybe it’s the tenpi treatments fault.
I would suggest this pair to the denim connoisseur, because of the finish of the jeans and the fact that they bear some details that not everyone would be into.