Edwin was founded in Japan in 1947 by KK Tsunemi . Actually, we can call him the first retailer to specialize in vintage jeans because he sold used and unsold American jeans on the Japanese market.

By the late 1940s, Japanese people were becoming increasingly interested in "Americana", and the demand for used Levi's jeans increased. Tsunemi began importing used and worn jeans from the United States. These pants were carefully washed and repaired by hand before being sold to the Japanese market. Eventually, he also gained access to deadstock Levi's - obsolete jeans that might fit better in Japan, in terms of size.

Since there was no denim production in Japan, and the demand for Levi's jeans increased, his son Shuji Tsunemi had the idea to take over the business and start his own jeans production. When they started production in 1961, they took the name EDWIN. The name was created by using the letters D, E, N, I and M. But to give it a twist, they turned Men into a W.

Edwin worked hard to improve the quality of his jeans, and soon after their inception, they surpassed the quality of the original Levi's. In 1963, Edwin launched what was then the world's heaviest denim, 16oz, with its iconic "rainbow selvedge." This three-color rainbow selvedge is still a hallmark of the brand today.

EDWIN is probably best known for inventing "stone washed jeans" in the 80s. They found that by washing the jeans with pumice, they became both brighter and softer without degrading the quality too much. Stone washed jeans have become the symbol of pop culture in the late 80s, and those of us who are old enough remember that we sometimes found pebbles in our pockets when we bought a new pair of jeans.

A fun fact for us Norwegians is that there are rumors that it was not Edwin who invented commercial stone waxing, but the founder behind the Norwegian brand Bik Bok, which became known for its Ball sweaters, among other things.

Today, EDWIN is two different companies: Edwin Japan and Edwin Europe. They produce different things, with Edwin Europe focusing more on modern street wear.

We sell clothing from Edwin Europe. Their clothing is modern street wear with inspiration drawn from Japanese history and pop culture with a twist.