Iron Heart in the Press or on other Sites
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Nice piece, even from the tosser
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That was a great read. Thank you for sharing @neph93!
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Good read!
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My written answers to their questions amounted to about four thousand words, including a couple of fully fledged essays.
You just can't help yourself, can you?
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Great article, well done guys
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Fantastic article!
Though, I think you folks who climb glaciers and ski in denim are crazy.
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_Ok, here's the post that "tl/dr" was invented for. When Thomas from Denimhunters emailed me his interview questions I sat down and started writing… and didn't stop for a couple of hours. It just sort of turned into something else.
Be warned, it's 50% pretentious pseudo-academic crap intellectualising denim brands. On the other hand, this is where I live so it is also honestly how I think about these things. If JPS can philosophise about lampposts I can philosophise about the thousands of dollars of clothes in my closet_
1) How did you get into Iron Heart? (Suggestion: talk about your first product, thoughts/doubts you had about it, your initial experience with the brand etc.)
I first got into proper denim in 2011 as a result of my interest in sustainable clothing. Although I started with brands like Hiut and Livid Jeans, Iron Heart were always on my radar because of sites like RawR (now Heddels) and Denimhunters. Living in a relatively small town in northern Norway the internet was my only resource for finding out more about the products, brands, retailers, denims etc. So, these two sites and retailers like Rivet & Hide were invaluable to me and Iron Heart was always there and always connected with the phrase “heavyweight”.
My first pair of Japanese selvedge denim jeans were made from a 14oz sanforised Kuroki denim and I remember being blown away by the rigidity of the material. The way it creased and folded and took weeks to make comfortable was so interesting to me. Rather than thin, light denim, laced with a little elastic, these things demanded your attention and the relationship between the item of clothing and the wearer was continually reinforced. I loved that. As a result, when looking at the IH website and seeing denims at 21-25oz, it peaked my curiosity. I know a lot of folks starting with light to midweight denim see IH stuff think, “Hell no, that IH stuff will be too heavy/thick/warm/stiff”, but I wasn’t intimidated, it was more like I saw all the things I enjoyed about my first experiences with proper denim and just figured they’d be amplified.
Over the next couple of years, I cracked on with my Hiut’s, a couple of pairs of Livid’s and had a brief flirt with some 14oz selvedge Nudies. The major reason I didn’t go over to IH sooner though was the cost. At the time I’d reached an understanding of the difference between Japanese brands and the newer development of American and European brands using either Japanese denim or Cone Mills fabrics. The Japanese relationship to denim and the attitude towards craftmanship meant that, not only was Japanese denim considered the best in the world, but it was also being cut and put together in a superior fashion.
I also accepted the price difference as being a result of industrial production in a post-industrial country, using superior materials, combined with export costs and so forth. I anticipated the quality of the artisanship would be superior, from the weave to the cutting and engineering. I just couldn’t justify paying 400USD for a pair of jeans as I felt the 250-300USD I was already paying was enough. Yet I still browsed the web looking at Oni and Samurai on Big In Green’s website and IH on the IHUK website, trying to make sense of sizing tables, shrinkage and the variations in the fits. This was also my first introduction to the Iron Heart forum of which I’m now a moderator.
This activity intensified when my wife and I decided on a trip to NYC in May 2014. All of a sudden, I had my justification. A luxury holiday purchase in the Big Apple, where I could actually try different fits, put my hands on the product and hopefully feel and see where the extra dollars were going. At that point I was moving between the three Japanese brands mentioned above and definitely looking at their heavier offerings. SENY had IH and BiG had Sammy’s and Oni. They’re about twenty minute walk from each other on the Lower East Side and I’d booked half a day out of our five days in NYC to check out the merchandise and make a choice.
If I’m honest I was edging towards IH already then. There was something about IHUK website, the way the brand portrayed itself, the history behind Haraki-san setting up the brand and his vision for it that appealed. It wasn’t as mired in the vintage, retro, heritage scene as other Japanese brands. There was an underlying simplicity and conservatism to the designs of both the jeans and shirts, and even some of the more outré garments like vests, work pants and so forth. I also appreciated that most of their denims were sanforised which took a pretty scary part of buying expensive jeans out of the equation.As things went in May 2014, I didn’t get to BiG. Upon reaching SENY I was a bit disappointed to find that the 666 fit and BB's I tried on didn't "wow" me straight away. At that point the salesman took out the 301's and I fell in love. The thigh fit and the taper was amazing, and the hem sat perfectly on top of my brand new, rather exclusive trainers purchased from a specialist store further along Canal St. only an hour earlier. So that was it.
What I know now is that the fit that was great then and there. would be loose and baggy a few weeks later, but at the time I was smitten. Those jeans, despite loosening up as only the IH 21oz can, and being hemmed too long, became constant companions for the next two years and I love them for that. They were also my introduction to the wider world of Iron Heart, and I love them for that too. I´m only slightly ashamed to admit that I've become something of a (45-year-old) fan boy over the last four and a half years. I now know lots more about IH, their denims and fits, what works and how to buy.
My 301's were soon replaced by a snugger pair of 555's as my first-choice jean, but that actually marked the start of my journey with them properly. Good jeans only reach their true potential when you stop giving a shit and just start wearing them. The 301's became my "round the house" jeans (lounging, cooking, DIY, fixing, playing with the kids, hiking etc), and one summer I built a veranda and a glorified shed in them. Over the last two years they were in rotation I wore them 250 times, washed about them five times, (once on 60C as they were extremely dirty which fekked the patch). They have a decent sized hole in the back of the thigh from an exposed screw tip and the hem is shredded at the back of both legs. The crotch gave out completely after that glorious summer of carpentry and was re-built by my local seamstress, who is always amazed when I bring her things from Iron Heart. She coos over the quality and design, and frets that she won't manage to do a good job on such heavy fabric.
They are like the proverbial pyjama bottoms now, soft, loose, airy and comfy. I look forward to taking them to my parents’ house in Spain every summer where I'll put them on every morning and loaf around in them and a pair of flip-flops until it gets too warm and time for the swimming pool.
2) What makes Iron Heart different from other brands?
The two major things that make IH truly unique are Haraki-san’s vision for his product and the way the international retail operation works.
With regards to the product, I think that if a brand can’t differentiate itself sufficiently through what it produces in the niche market of premium denim menswear then they are doomed to fail. At the end of the day jeans are a simple thing. Make them from denim, make them with rivets and five pockets. Shirts are straightforward too. Diesel, Levi’s, Nudies, IH, TFH are all making the same thing. Still how it is done, whom it is done by and the attitude to how it is done, is going to have to make a difference otherwise your brand will get lost amongst the dross.
I really enjoy how the Japanese denim brands have evolved their identity. In most cases there is an auteurship at play whereby the brands creator indelibly puts his or her mark on the DNA of the brand. There also tends to be a focus, or an ideology at work that is so specific as to permeate everything the brand does, and this also goes a long way to creating a unique identity. In the case of Samurai, it is that the denim is woven to recreate fades reminiscent of a certain golden age of Americana, combined with an attention to authenticity that is quite wonderful. Those guys worry about whether or not their arcuate threads are going to pop in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. That’s wonderful to me. With IH you have the biker thing. With The Flat Head you have the 1950’s, rockabilly thing.
I love the post-modern aspect of the Japanese attitude to making these clothes and TFH represents that splendidly. Kobayashi-san is in love with the period where Americans re-appropriated their century old workwear (a unique historical and cultural expression in itself) and made it an intrinsic part of the first ever expression of popular and youth culture in the world (another unique moment in the history of clothing). So TFH is producing borderline iconic garments today, inspired by truly iconic garments from one specific era, that were themselves re-appropriated from iconic garments from another culturally important era. Only TFH are doing it in an acutely Japanese way, seventy years later, on the other side of the Pacific and aimed at a very specific, small niche consumer base.
The DNA of Iron Heart as it has been imparted by its creator Haraki-san, is equally as fascinating, but more occult and banal at the same time. There is the biker influence which is a fundamental part of it. The important thing to note is that Japanese biker culture is quite different to American or British biker culture so that is something unique to western eyes already. I think this also goes unnoticed by a lot of the brands consumers in the west. There are patterns and designs for trousers, vests and tops that simply don’t seem to have a western root. Personally, I love that influence. It seems divorced from popular culture as we see it in out part of the world, so wearing clothing like that means wearing something truly different.
Then there is the inspiration from mid to late 20th century American military history best seen in IH jackets like the N-1 and M65 iterations. You have the workwear staple trucker jackets derived from Levi’s and Wrangler. Workwear and western inspired shirting using designs inspired by a more utilitarian expression than TFH. When you pull an IH shirt out of the bag you can believe it is something someone would have worked in comfortably in the 1950’s. The vests have a timeless utilitarian design and the original IH jeans blueprint that became the 634 cut, is inspired by a specific 501 cut closely associated with American bikers. As with TFH you have layers of cultural meaning. The semiotics used to express the meaning are less glaring and their what they signify is more subtle and refined.
The way these cultural references are expressed is more diffuse in its origin and more contemporary in its execution. There is little about Haraki-san’s designs that scream vintage, retro or speak of a romantic attachment to the past. The clothes, despite their roots in the past seem contemporaneous, very much of today, of the now, while certainly not being fashionable in any way. You can find a plaid shirt at your local department store, but it will be very much 2019, possibly inspired by ideas of the past but still screaming cheap modernity, while a plaid shirt from IH is neither “on-trend”, nor vintage. And certainly not cheap.
This means that the clothes Haraki-san designs are both functional and expressive. They are both conservative and dynamic. They take the workwear and military aspects, combine them with exceptional fabric building skills and construction techniques, then cut them in ways that are simultaneously robust and refined. No frills, or flamboyance, the clothes are in a way humble, but hard as nails and sharp as a knife also.
The second aspect of Iron Heart that makes them truly unique as a brand is the international architecture of the business and the people who run it. With Iron Heart International as a partner company distributing Iron Heart Japan to a global audience, selling through their own website as well as supplying retail outfits all over the world, Iron Heart have become a two-headed Godzilla of a jeans brand.
Giles, Alex and Paula Padmore don’t just make Haraki-san’s clothes more easily available outside of Japan, they play an enormous part in the identity and development of the brand and also in the development of the clothing. The creation of the 555, 666, 777 and 888 cuts, the development of patterns and colourways for the extremely popular UHF’s, collaborations with Viberg, Wesco, Simmons Bilt and Good Art Hollywood are all things The Padmores have brought to the party that have shaped IH as a global brand.
A major point that means IHUK is more than just a part of a clothing brand is their level of customer service. Giles Padmore once said to me that this particular section of the clothing industry works a lot like selling premium motor cars. Audi, BMW, Mercedes all make great product, so you need something to make you special and help you stand out. Something like having a customer experience that truly sets you apart. Iron Heart take care of their customers like no other business I have ever encountered. Not just within clothing retail, but any service industry you care to mention. They are communicative, always ready to answer any questions (and let’s be honest denimheads normally have an awful lot of questions). They follow up sales and enquiries continually and regularly go above and beyond what you’d expect of any retail company. They’ve gone in to the shop on a weekend to find an answer to a question I sent them late on a Friday, they have measured garments individually, not because I asked them to, but because they know I’m particular and they are courteous to a fault. On one occasion an item I had bought displayed some irregularities after a few wears, I didn’t know the crew very well at that point but sent a photo of the irregularity with a query. Giles got in touch with Haraki-san himself who then sent me a detailed answer as to why it had happened through Giles. Haraki-san was very concerned that I may not be 100% satisfied and I was offered a number of more than satisfactory alternatives going forward. I was knocked down. The two head honchos of this almost legendary denim brand had put their heads together, given me personal attention and a professional explanation, and were making very generous terms in case I was dissatisfied.
Then there is the Iron Heart Forum where fans, customers and interested parties can share experiences and info, get the lowdown on up and coming product and trade. As an extension of the superlative customer service mentioned above, the whole crew at IHUK are online and use the forum actively meaning customers have an amazing level of access to the people at the heart of the brand. This extends into the real world creating a community of people who meet up from time to time, either in Gosport or when the crew travel the world. Haraki-san’s humility is matched by the IHUK crew who are very down to earth and accommodating. This is something the guys at IHUK cultivate and are only too happy to do. It is truly unique.
Iron Heart as a brand has become a powerful symbiote. It combines Japanese craftmanship and integrity and a unique vision of what the past can offer the present in terms of clothing and fabric design, with an international retail operation that defies the alienation and dehumanisation that digital e-commerce typically engenders, by giving you an online retail experience that is more rewarding and intimate than you would receive from brick and mortar establishments. That is a killer combination and inspires an enormous degree of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
Continues in the next post…
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Continued…
3) What do you particularly like about their products?
Where to start? The quality, the design, the fabrics? The unique Japanese flavour that plays around at the edges and underneath the more obvious American inspirational sources? All of these things are important to me, but it’s all been written about before.
For me the attraction to the brands products is fundamentally based on both practical and emotional values. I have a connection to the products both because of the simplicity and usefulness they represent in terms items of everyday items of clothing and also because of the way the products speak to me.
I love that I can wear the same IH garment to my day job as a high school teacher, walking in the mountains, chopping wood at the cabin or going for a night out on the town. There is a combination of practicality, ruggedness, class and style that makes all these things possible. I have a pair of IH-666-XHS that I trashed one summer doing a major landscape gardening job that involved a lot of construction, wall building and wallowing about in mud. I wear them to work about twice a week now. They are my favourite Saturday night jeans as well.
I grew up as a metalhead in the 80’s and was part of a 90’s punk/crusty subculture. Market biker stalls and Army surplus stores were my Hennes & Mauritz. I wore leather jackets, off-brand jeans and pewter and leather jewellery. I had combat trousers, field jackets and combat boots from a variety of western militaries, all bought for a bargain and worn in a fashion that was most un-military. With IH there is a large element of personal nostalgia for me in rocking a pair of H-san’s cargo pants with a big pair of 8” IH/Viberg collab work boots, or an IH M65 with IH SBG denim and engineer boots. It’s an extremely well-made version of what I wore when I was a young man. That personal, nostalgic association extends to the vests, tops and jewellery IH either makes or sells via the IHUK website, from their curated partner brands. Because of IH I get to wear the clothes and jewellery I wanted to wear when I was 18 but couldn’t afford.
So, to summarise, they protect me from the elements, they’re hard wearing, they’re utilitarian, they look great, and they feed the needs of my midlife crisis…
4) What is it about the weight of clothes? Why is it so appealing when it’s heavy?
The obvious things are the durability and toughness of the fabrics. That has a functional appeal. Living in the north of Norway the insulation and warmth they provide is very useful.
From a denimhead point of view there is no doubt that the way the heavy denims and duck fabrics develop is more interesting. The folding, creasing, and draping is that much more pronounced and the resultant evolution of the fabric from wear and tear is fascinating stuff. The 25ox XHS is an excellent example of this. It’s a very dark indigo when new and stiff like cardboard initially. The creases become thick and rigid when they form and as the indigo gets stripped the fades tend to be very high contrast. This reveals the intricate build of the fabric via the vertical fading that occurs. It creates an effect and a depth of fading that you just won’t get with a lighter denim. Add to that the way the denim almost magically softens and you’ve got a seriously fascinating bit of fabric.
Initially the weight was very interesting to me. I enjoyed having something substantial to wear, something I knew was there. However, after a while you just don’t it notice anymore. It doesn’t feel like you’re weighed down or inconvenienced when you’re wearing IH, it just feels like a natural but meaningful extension of yourself.
After a while it becomes more about solidity and robustness than heaviness. I don’t own any of IH’s 14oz denim, the lightest I’ve had is the 17oz. While I don’t doubt its quality, I suspect it would feel odd to wear such light jeans now. I’d feel like I’d lost a leg or something.
That being said, one recent experience suggests that the heaviness has its own seductive quality. I love IH vests and especially the IHV-02 work vests. They are made of 12oz wabash amongst other things. Last year IH remade them in 21oz wabash. I bought both iterations and I haven’t worn the 12oz ones since. Having a sharply cut vest in such heavy fabric just feels great. The vest is that much more real in a way.
5) How many IH items do you own? What’s your favourite and why?
Fucking loads. So many it isn’t even funny anymore.Quite a lot. I keep meaning to catalogue them, but it is an intimidating task. Soon after I bought my first couple of items, I made the decision that I was going to build an entire wardrobe out of IH gear. It just seemed like the sensible thing to do. After nearly five years as a customer/fanboy I have now about three wardrobes full.A rough count suggests I have about 12 pairs of jeans, 5 pairs of non-denim pants, around 15 shirts, about 15 vests (some waistcoats, some outerwear), approximately 10 jackets/coats, about 20 t-shirts, three hoodies, five sweatshirts, about nine thermal sweaters (these are the most versatile, most worn pieces I own), three pairs of collab boots/shoes, three pieces of IH jewellery, two belts, one wallet and about 10 pairs of socks. Oh, and an apron. I love that thing.
A favourite item is impossible to choose, trust me I’ve tried. If I was to choose a favourite denim it would probably be the XHS but the UHR is in the running. My favourite non-denim fabric is probably IH wabash, but again the 17oz brown duck is close on its tail.
When it comes to individual pieces then this winter’s coat is the IHW-13-GR, a 26oz Melton wool M65 that just sums up the combination of utility, style and precision design that IH represents for me. It’s amazing and a current favourite right now. I also have a vest in black and grey, striped, 11oz jersey fabric, cut in a peculiarly Japanese style that wasn’t released in the west that I adore.
The one true prestige piece I own though is the IHV-26, a vest, cut like the IHV-02 work vests, but done in a beautiful indigo-dyed bit of front quarter horsehide. It’s finished with exquisite gold stitching and copper buttons. It is not for everyone, that’s for sure. It is a horrifically expensive bit of kit that should probably only be worn by bona fide rock gods, but I care not. Only a very few were made, and they weren’t sold outside of Japan. I acquired it from a fellow moderator on the forum, Anthony Love. His Japanese wife managed to nab it for him, but it didn’t work out and I took it over. It’s just unreal and I’m eternally grateful to him for the giving me the chance to own and wear it. I remember wearing it at an IH party in Gosport. Haraki-san, Tom-san and Sarina-san were there and saw me wearing it. They immediately had an animated discussion in Japanese while pointing at me, and then H just gave me a thumbs up from across the room. For an IH geek like myself it pretty much made my day.
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@neph93 What a really great/enjoyable read. When I got my very first pair of IH,I couldn’t believe that I had found jeans that ,so intently, reminded me of the Lees,Levis,and Wranglers I had growing. The nostalgia effect was jaw dropping. I also had an insanely great customer service experience,where I totally screwed up,to which the response was if your not going to be happy,we’re not going to be happy. I’m sure there are quite a few,customer service,stories like mine and yours out there.
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Nicely done Reuben.
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@neph93 Nice work, thanks for sharing that.
I'll break it down...
