Indigoshrimp is excited to feature another review by denim enthusiast beautiful_FrEaK.

This time he examines the GBG001!

Words & photos by beautiful_FrEaK. Editing & formatting by indigoshrimp.

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First of all, I would like to express that this review is not sponsored in any way. I bought this pair of contest like everybody else and simply wanted to share my impressions.

So where do we start?

The background for this contest pair.

This is pair of jeans is a special and limited release distributed by the Swedish shop Göteborg Manufaktur but the main mastermind behind this pair is fellow denim enthusiast Alex (aka @indigovein on Instagram).

Back in 2017, when he visited Tokyo, he met with Shingo Oosawa from Denimbridge and this laid the foundation stone of this project. After a few months, this project became more and more specific and finally the planning phase begun. In the meantime, Shingo, after already running his blog and his line of Denimbridge jeans, teamed up with the legendary Kuniyoshi-san from the Okinawa based sewing shop Double Volante to create his new brand Denim-Base.

So the people behind this pair are the guys from Göteborg Manufaktur, Alex and Shingo & Kuniyoshi-san and that’s why the full name of the jeans is as follows: Indigo Veins x Göteborg Manufaktur x Denim Base collab jeans GBG001.

I have to admit the main reason for me to join this competition was to get a pair of jeans sewn by Kuniyoshi-san. He worked for many years in the denim industry for a lot of the bigger brands we know before opening his own workshop in 2008. Ever since he was featured by mizanation on Sufu in 2010 or so, I wanted to own one of his jeans. His knowledge and sewing skills are legendary. He is like the “original” Roy Slaper or Konaka-san.

But now let’s take a look at the jeans and we start with the heart of every pair of jeans…

The denim

The denim used for these jeans is called DB18 and it is exclusive to Shingo. He uses it for his brand Denim Base but also for his new Denimbridge jeans. The denim is woven by the small Yamaashi mill in Okayama on old Toyoda shuttle looms. The weight of the denim is 14oz and the cotton used is a blend of US cottons. It has a faded pink selvedge line. The inspiration for this denim is vintage Cone denim and I would say this goal was reached.

In fact it looks pretty similar to the denim used on LVC’s 1947 model but this DB18 denim is more rigid. There is no slub-fest or unusual neps. According to Shingo this denim is loom state but it has nearly no hairiness, like it would have been singed. Maybe something was lost in translation? In its loom state form the denim has a greyish tone with some areas looking a bit purple, depending on the light. It is rather flat with a prominent twill visibility. After washing, the denim gets noticeably darker and now has a proper red cast, resulting in an evenly purple hue of the indigo; also the texture got a little bit rougher. The fabric seems to be starched quite heavily and this leads to a crinkly look. I am glad I knew this before so could I made sure to soak the jeans twice before washing them gently in the machine in order to avoid unwanted marbling.

For more info about the “history” of the denim, I will quote Shingo’s description of the denim from his homepage:

This material was made specifically for Denim Bridge on an old TOYODA shuttle loom at a mill in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. It is an unsanforized (loom state) material. Vertical fading, often seen on vintage jeans, is desirable to many denim enthusiasts. To achieve this effect, many mills in Japan will lower the tension of the warp (lengthwise) thread during the weaving process. While resulting in vertical fading characteristics, this often results a looser, non-uniform twill.

For this denim, the desire was to keep a tighter, consistent twill while still getting vertical fades. The DB18 denim is woven evenly with a clean twill, but the warp thread will become more exposed after washing, resulting in a texture more prone to vertical fading. The tighter weave also allows creases to better form in the material, resulting in higher contrast fades the longer the jeans are worn.

Selvedge ID:

The selvedge of the DB Denim also pays homage to the vintage jeans of yesteryear. The ID thread is a barely visible, faded pink color that mimics the faded ID thread seen in well broken-in pairs of jeans. Another special thing about this denim is the selvedge ID thread is not the same on both ends of the fabric. Seen in very rare cases of vintage jeans, the accent ID thread runs though the center of the white selvedge threads on one end of the material, while the ID thread runs right next to the indigo threads on the other. This was recreated with our original denim.

The fit

According to Alex, the fit is also inspired by the 60s and the 02 cut from the infamous Ooe Yofukuten acted as a model. We have a mid-rise model with a generous top block and a rather strong taper for an overall sleek and modern silhouette. The general cut is a classic take on the popular 5 pockets jeans with the usual coin pocket (Levi’s style). The back pockets are sewn a bit higher.

The front rise is quite high in comparison with the back rise. For my size 35, we end up with 12” front rise and 15” back rise after washing. This is pretty similar to my Lee 101Z 1952. The pattern was created by Sai-san who previously worked for Edwin Lee, so maybe here is a link? We have more influence of Lee jeans but we will come to this later.

For a bigger Westerner like myself, these jeans fit incredible. They are very comfortable but still look fitted. For your reference and to see how the jeans look on paper, here are the measurements raw/one-wash for my size 35.

Waist: 35.2” / 33”

Front rise: 12.5” / 12”

Back rise: 16” / 15”

Hip @lowest button: 21.8” / 20.8”

Thigh: 13.6” / 12.9”

Knee: 9.5” / 8.9”

Leg opening: 8” / 7.75”

Inseam: 35.5” / 33.4” (I ordered thee with a shorter inseam)

Looking at the measurements, there is surely shrinkage left in the fabric.



The construction

As to be expected, the construction of these jeans is top notch. Kuniyoshi-san obviously knows what he is doing. There is no missed or broken stitch and also the free hand sewing on the back pockets is perfect. Furthermore, there are no loose threads on my pair except for the normal threads around the button holes but who complains about that? On the top of the back pockets, the crotch and on the sides (hip area), Kuniyoshi-san did a double stitching by sewing back and forth across the same spot. This is not only neat looking but hopefully also adding durability.

All the constructional stitching is carried out in orange colored 100% cotton threads of different size and also different SPI.

Only on the inside of the jeans you see that for some parts a yellow bobbin thread had been used. The decision to use 100% cotton threads stems from the idea to simplify future repairs. According to Alex it’s easier to repair broken stitches than to repair ripped fabric.



The all orange stitching on the outside, while sewn perfectly, looks a little bit boring to me and I would have preferred a nice and subtle mix or orange and lemon thread.

The back pockets have no hidden rivets (60s details, you remember?) and are attached by a black bartack which is well hidden. Given the Lee inspired back pocket shape, a nice and visible cross bartack would have also fitted quite well.

The belt loops are, of course, raised.

We have pointy copper rivets, a 5 button fly with an iron top button and 4 smaller donut buttons which are curved outside to create a pointy edge which should accelerate some nice button fly fades

The details

The GBG001 are rather a classic pair of no frills blue jeans so we don’t have too many flashy details here, which is good in my book.

The most obvious detail, which is usually only visible to the owner, are the olive green herringbone pockets bags. A reminisce to wartime jeans and the shortage of materials. The pocket bags are signed by Kuniyoshi-san with his shop’s name “Double Volante”.

The back pockets shape is also known as spade pockets and is inspired by Lee jeans. The coin pocket features the same shape but this will only be noticed by the owner, just like the pocket bags.

Of course, we have hidden selvedge at the coin pocket with a little peek-a-boo.

The 60s details we have here are the lack of hidden rivets and the paper patch.

The patch was designed by a friend of Alex and show the harbor cranes of Gothenburg, pulling apart a pair of jeans. A classical Levi’s homage.

The top button is the new Denim Base button. It’s made of iron and will probably start to rust in the future.

The fly buttons are donut buttons and have a black-ish tint.

Another detail is the mismatched selvedge line on the denim, also very very unflashy.

At the back of the waistband the official Denim Base tag is sewn on the inside.

My conclusion

These are great jeans! Simple as that. I’m obviously biased as I really adore Kuniyoshi-san’s work but I have to say these are among my best sewn jeans.

The denim might be boring for you if you are into thick and heavily textured denim like PBJ or Oni, but if you like to appreciate the finer nuances of denim, you could take pleasure in this denim. Furthermore, I think a flatter looking denim is often less predictable in how it will fade and the wearer can have more influence on how the jeans turn out. This is pretty good for a jeans contest in my opinion.

Given the inspiration of Lee jeans, a branded hair-on-hide patch would have been fun but then it probably wouldn’t have been possible to do the great artwork we now see on the paper patch.

I already said it earlier, more color variation on the sewing threads would have been nice, but it shouldn’t be a deal breaker for you if you are on the fence. Also, it’s easy to complain about such stuff, yet not so easy to create a pair of jeans by yourself.

So if you are looking for a denim contest and if you are into more classical jeans, this is your chance! Göteborg Manufaktur should have some remaining stock and it’s not too late to join us on this 18 months lasting denim craze, wearing a denim with unknown fading outcomes (only some early fade tests can be seen here).

Isn’t that exactly what a denim contest is all about?!