Double Black Kibata.
Photos: Dan Chen
After a year of development, we are proud to introduce the newest fabric in our lineup. Customers have been asking for a double black variant of our kibata denim for years now, and we are happy to finally oblige with a fabric that might be the best one we've ever produced.
This denim is custom woven for us by Yoshiwa Mills in Okayama, Japan. Over the past several years, we've been exploring manufacturing options with other storied mills in Japan who specialize in different dye and weave techniques to be able to offer a wider spectrum of options. Last year's Burkina Faso and Natural Indigo offerings represented projects with smaller mills outside of our core fabric by Kuroki, and this new 220xk denim with Yoshiwa continues on that pathway.
The 220xk fabric clocks in at 13.25oz, which on paper is slightly lighter weight than our 100xk and 120xk fabric - holding them side by side, though, you might actually guess that the 220xk is heavier just due to its hand. The denim, true to its Kibata namesake, is fully loomstate. By this, we mean that we have asked the mill to forego all typical processing that you usually find on denim: sanforization, singeing, skewing, and mercerizing. What results is a beautifully textured fabric that retains its character. The denim is woven slowly at low tension to impart a rougher, inconsistent hand; as the fabric fades over time, from black to grey to white eventually, this texture will give a speckling effect where raised portions will abrade more quickly. Further details include an emerald green selvedge ID, YKK gunmetal rivets, and a black roughout patch.
For our inaugural run of 220xk, we've chosen to run the fabric in our two best selling cuts: CS and CT. As is the case with our other Kibata jeans, these are garment rinsed to eliminate the shrinkage that you'd usually find with unsanforized denim. Expect the jeans to stretch 1-1.5" in the waist as you break them in, and minimal to no shrinkage when washed in cold water with a hang dry. In these photos, Jacques is wearing the CS cut in his usual size, 32. We suggest taking the same size that you do in other variants.
CS-220xk and CT-220xk jeans are available exclusively on 3sixteen.com and via our NY flagship (our LA store is temporarily closed as we move to a new location this fall). Look for them to release online and in store at noon ET this Thursday, June 6th.
