Day 237 | Uniqlo denim

I'm a keen reader of a magazine called Monocle. In a nutshell, it's a briefing on global affairs, business, culture and design. In the previous issue, they interviewed Tadashi Yanai. He's not only the president of the Japanese company Fast Retailing, who is the parent company of Uniqlo, but he's also the richest man in Japan.

The interview is about the company Uniqlo, and what they've been up to recently. I really like the way he thinks about the products they sell, and the way they come to life and why. On one of the questions that Monocle puts to him on whether or not Japan is still the heart and soul of the company, he responds, "Yes, without a heart and soul, a brand cannot be understood". That's why I like Dr.Denim. The wording on the buttons of my jeans say, "A good pair of jeans is like a member of the family". A real love for the product.

Here's a piece from the interview about denim.
Monocle: The denim that you've launched at the ne Uniqlo concession in Selfridges in London is making a virtue of jeans "made in Japan". Is that a new direction for Uniqlo or are you still making jeans in China?
Tadashi Yanai: We do both. Our denim fabrics are made in Japan by Kaihara, probably the best mill in the world, and some sewing is done in China. These new products that we are selling in the UK and Japan are made entirely in Japan. We did it because the jeans processing technique in Japan is still the best in the world.

M: Does this mean you'll be expanding jeans production in Japan?
TY: Unfortunately, the structure of industy has changed in Japan. There isn't the capacity to do all the sewing we need.