Why Are the Other OG American Denim Brands Better Outside of America?
Levi's can basically do it all, from sneakers to elegant retro reproductions to, er, jeans. But why is it the only OG American denim company capable of hitting so many highs? What about Lee, a denim line founded 46 years after Levi's in 1889, or Wrangler, arguably the most famous imprint of Blue Bell (founded as Hudson Overall Company in 1904)?
As with most things, you must look to Japan to find Americana done right.
Whereas Levi's does it all — affordable, luxury, celebrity, culture — Lee operates as an unremarkable budget denim brand while Wrangler has rebranded as a country-fried cowboy line which, hey, at least aligns with its heritage.
And that's about it.
In Japan, meanwhile, Lee and Wrangler are no less vaunted as Levi's and equally adventurous.
Epitomized by collaborations with large national retailers like BEAMS, Journal Standard, ÉDIFICE, and Tomorrowland, Lee and Wrangler stand for something of substance.
Their reference points are heritage but the appeal is universal.
Years of collaborations with N.Hoolywood have yielded Wrangler dress jeans and barn jackets, for instance, while an ongoing partnership with taste-making boutique LECHOPPE typically revives the adjustable jeans once worn by rodeo clowns. These are wildly disparate styles that're still utterly approachable and downright... cool. Something you can't really say for most modern Wrangler or Lee offerings.
Throwback inspiration translated into modern cuts and made covetable by superb styling. It's the same recipe for success mined by Japanese The North Face collections and it works just as well for denim labels.
There is an interesting twist, however.
Lee and Wrangler are operated in Japan by one company: Edwin. Capable of denim so classic that it's frequently utilized by Margaret Howell and so adventurous that it yields oddities like reversible pants, Edwin has an impressively far-reaching scope.
It acquired the Japanese license for Lee in the late '80s and picked up the Wrangler license around the aughts. Now, you can thank Edwin for making Wrangler and Lee better than they ever were before, steering both towards something thoughtful, something with even more substance than heritage.
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