There’s only a few garments that have developed their own cult following and one of them is G-Star RAW’s Elwood jean. The denim was ahead of its time when it was released 20 years ago and it’s still unique and groundbreaking now. Constructed using a 3D technique that sculpts the fabric to the wearer, the root of designer Pierre Morisset’s unique garment lay in the jeans and clothes real bikers used.

The G-Star Elwood was revolutionary because it was the first jean that didn’t approach the design as a flat one, instead sculpting and modeling around the human form. The five key design elements that signify the jeans are, at heart, all still present 20 years later: the saddle patch, 3D shaping knee darts, slanted thigh seams, heel guards and the distinctive knee patches. All mark the G-Star Elwood as a true original that remain to this day.

Beyond this though, the 3D denim technique applied conceptual ideas and theories of construction to the physical, traditional world of clothes manufacturing. We took those ideas of the physical and the tactile and reapplied them to the visual, with the technology used in the G-Star Elwood 3D jean reinterpreted through 3D motion-capture technology. The fluid movements of a martial artist demonstrate the 3D denim's adaptability; his visceral physicality celebrates its performance.

Watch our exclusive film, produced with G-Star RAW, above. Alternatively, delve deeper into the G-Star Elwood’s history, see the next generation of 3D denim from innovative designer Aitor Throup, who joined the brand as a creative consultant, or explore and cop the denim classic direct from G-Star RAW.