For the fall season of 2023 we are glad to announce that we now stock denim brand Fullcount. The Japanese brand is counted as one of the legendary Osaka five and paved the way for the detail oriented denim brands we know today.
With both Fullcount and Studio D'artisan hailing from the Osaka five and Resolute's Hayashi San as one of the founders of Denime we think it's worth pointing out what exactly the Osaka Five are. 
In the post-WWII era, Japan admired American culture, leading to a unique exchange reflected in music, movies, and fashion. Icons like James Dean influenced a departure from Japan's traditional values toward a more rebellious and playful American lifestyle.
Denim became a symbol of this cultural shift, offering an outlet for individuals seeking an escape from monotonous office jobs.
Suprisingly the denim movement didn't start in Tokyo but rather in the laid back town of Osaka. Giving rise to the renowned Osaka Five denim brands. Some say it was because Osaka was already replete with vintage stores fuelling the cultish Japanese love of Americana style; others that it was the historic epicentre of Japan's textile industry, midway between Ibara, known for its weaving of denim fabrics, Kojima, for its cutting and sewing, and even Wakayama, the home of the loopwheeled sweatshirt.
It all started with Studio D'artisan back in 1979, which set the basis of the denim industry that was to come. Founded by Shigeharu Tagaki, the brand was the first to offer a premium pair of jeans made on old shuttle looms with a leather patch that parodied Levi's patch design by substituting horses with pigs. This particular model, despite initially selling poorly, played a crucial role in reintroducing the concept of premium, raw denim and was the base for the other Osaka brands that followed in the steps of Studio D'artisan.
Denime which was cofounded by Resolute's Hayashi San followed in 1988 and focused on providing a straight cut, fast fading version of American denim. That same year, 1988 saw the launch of another influential brand.
Evisu by Yamane San which offered a baggy and looser fitting pair of jeans which became insanely popular when the 90's came around. Yamane and his then collegue, Mikiharu Tsujita who would later start the Fullcount brand both worked in vintage clothing and quit their jobs to pursue a career of making apparel that was more up to standards to their personal taste.
Tsujita was deeply inspired by the American workwear of the 40s and 50s and was the first of the Japanese denim brands to take a deep dive into where his denim was actually coming from. His brand was the first to use Zimbabwe extra-long staple cotton, which would wear in much like the vintage jeans of his favorite era. In order to be properly processed, Zimbabwe cotton must be picked by hand, which makes it a far more valuable commodity than machine-picked short-staple cotton. Long-staple cotton is both softer and stronger than its short staple cousin, which was very important to Full Count. Looking, as they were, at well-worn vintage pairs of Levi’s 501s, Tsujita knew that comfort would be king when it came to getting great, washed-out, vintage fades.
At Full Count, they believe that just because denim is hard-wearing and durable, doesn’t mean it has to be rigid and uncomfortable. Fullcount's main focus is jeans for everyday wear, not workwear. Jeans that fit so good, you would want to go to sleep in them as Tsujita once put it.
We don't have to point at how important jeans are to our store and we believe that having the perfect pair of jeans is a key point to the mens wardrobe. Fullcount jeans are exactly those perfect vintage looking washed jeans people spend a lifetime searching for. This is the pair of jeans you wear on the weekends with a cashmere shawl collar cardigan getting breakfast on a cold morning, on vacation shaking the beach sand out of the rolled up cuffs with a sunset scorching behind your back.
With our first delivery we received their classic 13.75Oz one wash jeans, which is a perfect weight for everyday wear with a lot of texture to it. We stock it in both a straight and loose straight fit. Now with our second delivery we received their famed washed models, made from the same handpicked Zimbabwe cotton as the one wash jeans but heavily washed to get a soft hand and an authentic washed and worn in look. 
Last but definitely not least are their classic flat seamed longsleeve tee's made from the same Zimbabwe cotton and a staple in their range since the brands inception more than 20 years ago. The shirts are heavy weight but feel amazingly soft.
Flat seam sewing, something you see a lot on vintage tees and sweaters but it has become pretty rare in sewing today. Flat seam sewing reduces the looseness and makes it so that the seam doesn't touch your skin. The machines require professionals who can handle the complicated process of adjusting and working the sewing machines. 
These are simple shirts just done exceptionally well. That's what Fullcount offers, simple items but made with an immaculate eye for detail, luxury for those who understand it.
See the Fullcount collection here
