While intended to pay homage to the vintage denim of the 1960s and 1970s, these aren’t faded jeans.
![denimio oni x tanuki denimio oni x tanuki](https://46fjj12eeht73lsxezcqpvlt-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/oni-x-tanuki-20oz-unsanforized-selvedge-denim-embroidery-stitching.jpg)
![denimio oni x tanuki denimio oni x tanuki](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/1e/d2/15/1ed2150708600e57e73e3c638e738b2c.jpg)
It obviously stands out for its unique, brilliant shade of indigo. It’s designed to be very breathable (it is) and it’s also made with their lightest color. This denim is 13 ounces, which is one of the lightest offerings from Tanuki. Combination of Californian short staple and Peruvian long staple cotton.Unsanforized, one-wash, slub selvedge denim.Today I’m checking out their famous Kaze line, specifically the KHT 13oz “Kaze” Fade Blue High Tapered, which is a great example of their innovative, streetwear-focused approach to selvedge denim. If you want to know who comprises that super-team, you’re out of luck - they write on their garments that their “names don’t matter,” they just want their creativity and passion to shine through in their sharply designed garments. They’re also known for clean construction lines, modern fits, and extreme mystique. A team who, among other low tech, high tech accomplishments, have figured out a refined rope dying process that uses less indigo to achieve a deep color. Multiple outlets that have reported on the company describe it as formed by a “super-team” of Japanese craftsmen who have worked cumulative decades in the denim industry. Their slogan is Transform Your Being, and it makes sense given people tend to buy selvedge denim for the transformation: to see it change and evolve and, yes, fade, but also take on the stories it’s lived. Tanukis are shapeshifters, and transformation is the central theme of Tanuki, the brand.
![denimio oni x tanuki denimio oni x tanuki](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0796/5485/products/18_10_10_Tanuki_OniDenim_6_grande.jpg)
Or a Mario game that wasn’t released in the 80s.) (You may recall Mario turning into one in Super Mario Bros 3. Some will say Tanuki translates as ‘raccoon,’ but it actually means ‘raccoon dog,’ a real animal that looks like its name and has a rich history in Japanese folklore as a supernatural being capable of feats of transformation. Launched in 2016 in Okayama, where most of Japan’s legendary denim is crafted, Tanuki has catapulted to popularity on the denim scene, achieving serious notoriety in a seriously short span of time.