Japanese fashion brands are steadily positioned at the forefront of contemporary streetwear, gaining overseas recognition and avid devotees for their history, quality, and craftsmanship in textiles. The once niche industry of Japanese denim has dispersed particularly far from its birthplace in Kojima, a port town located in Japan’s coastside prefecture of Okayama known as the mecca for denim garment production. Since then, these denim grails have found their homes in wardrobes around the world alongside other, naturally-dyed selvedge fabrics made from practices which developed and matured over time while remaining true to core Japanese methods and materials.
Kojima’s famed Jeans Street is the site of Pallet Life Story, a brand that takes inspiration from ‘50s and ‘60s military and workwear and produces modern staples with traditional roots and stylized with Jackson Pollock-esque patches. With the manufacturing tradition of Kojima as their heritage, Pallet Life Story’s products can be defined by their craft and production process. This includes fabric weaving, dyeing, sewing, and finishing at their own factories where they also produce denim for an impressive number of other well-known Japanese brands. Director Yoshinori Hasuoka and designer Takeshi Inoue are at Pallet Life Story's helm, regularly presenting the brand at international trade shows in Europe and the United States.
Highsnobiety visited Pallet Life Story’s shop and factory in the heart of Okayama and got a behind-the-scenes look into the brand’s process as well as a closer look at their popular products.