DESCENDANT

We recently visited WHOVAL in Kojima, Okayama Prefecture. WHOVAL mainly dyes and washes denim and cut-and-sewn items for DESCENDANT, and they have been making responsible for many of our iconic pieces since the brand began. I feel the same way about automobile and yacht-makers, but craftsmen working in the workshop are really cool, aren’t they? Our clothes at DESCENDANT are supported by these artisans in Kojima.

“I was born in Kojima, here in Kurashiki City, and grew up in an environment where denim was part of everyday life. After gaining experience in the workshop, I started WHOVAL in 2007 as a washing and finishing factory. We began by working on washing processes because the character of denim is ultimately defined by the wash. Today, we handle everything from dyeing to cutting and sewing, but originally, the denim industry in Kojima was built around a division-of-labor system. Tasks such as dyeing yarn, weaving fabric and sewing are divided among workshops and individuals, and there are even many people who sew on machines at home. If you think of Kojima as a single factory, a pair of jeans can be made from fabric to completion, all within a 10-minute drive.

Nowadays, Kojima is known as a denim town, but originally it was a hub for making school uniforms and workwear. People here began making denim by imitating the jeans that they saw many Americans wearing, and this was the foundation of Kojima becoming a major center for domestically produced denim. As the craftspeople of this region followed in the footsteps of American denim tradition, it’s often said that Kojima preserves much of the old ways that are hard to find elsewhere now, even within the U.S. itself.

WHOVAL currently has around 60 staff members working in its factories and related facilities, all of whom are denim lovers. It’s amazing to see so many young people working together with us as well and this time, they each wore the new DESCENDANT sweatshirts in their own way. Manufacturing is really about steadily repeating the same tasks day after day, but it’s motivating to know that someone out there is wearing what we’ve made.
When we work with DESCENDANT, the process starts with fabric selection, and they often choose unique fabrics to work with. The finish is clean and understated, but there is a kind of appealing roughness gained through our handiwork that is representative of our industry here in Kojima. I think in this way, we help to contribute to DESCENDANT’s distinctive, original style.”

WHOVAL Representative Director, Hidetsugu Ishibashi

Tetsu Nishiyama