Allevol (Product review)
It should be known that Mr Taka Okabe was ‘probably’ the first ‘one-man’ Japanese jeans brand in the UK, and perhaps Europe. Obviously, the big Japanese makers were already present in London in the early 1990s with American Classics selling Toyo Enterprise stuff and stores like Interstate in Covent Garden selling the fabled Denime about 10 years later. No, Taka was not first in this way, but the first to apply the micro-brand philosophy to Japanese denim sourced from the looms of Okayama. Later others followed but Allevol seemed to be a pioneer and imported the first batch of classic cut denim pants in ???? What Okabe-san identified was a demand for obscure and rare denims that really had been woven and sewn in Kojima or its surrounds. This coincided with the nascent denim-head culture that was growing in the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Low Countries and the afore mentioned American Classics was the first react and carry Allevol jans. Since then, much has changed and Allevol has reversed its strategy, sourcing from small and unique factories in England and Scotland to supply Japan. Here we see an English made RAF cold weather parka from the 1960s. Normally designated for the Japanese market, you can get this and a range of other Allevol goods from Clutch Café.
clutch-cafe.com
