The idea of a collaboration with Momotaro was born during our last trip to Japan in November 2019, but due to Covid, the project had to be postponed several times.
It was during a stopover in Kojima and Kurashiki — originally planned to visit the Momotaro and Japan Blue workshops — that we were able to take the time to discuss the project with Keita Hinamoto, Momotaro’s representative for the European market.
We wanted to design a unisex selvedge jean that we could offer in both of our shops: the women’s store in Granville and the men’s store in Rennes.
Keita immediately embraced the idea, as it was something the brand had never done before.
The small town of Kurashiki, just next to Kojima
Kojima Jeans Street
Japan Blue and Momotaro shops in Kojima
Momotaro workshops in Kojima
The initial idea:
From a general point of view, we wanted a relaxed fit that would be easy to wear all year round.
A high waist denim pant with a narrow leg opening to create an oval silhouette.
The choice of an elastic waistband quickly became obvious for several reasons:
- It allows the jeans to adapt to all body shapes and be worn high or mid-rise depending on the outfit.
- It drastically reduces the number of sizes to produce. For a unisex jean, going from size 26 (women) to 46 (men), we would’ve needed 10 different patterns. With an elastic waistband, we can work with just three sizes: XS, S, and M.
- This size reduction helped us offer this exceptional fabric at under €200.
- The elastic waistband creates natural creases that will fade uniquely—darker in the creases, lighter on raised areas with wear and washing.
Selecting the perfect denim:
Before launching its own brands (Momotaro, Japan Blue, Setto, and Soulive), the JB group was first and foremost a fabric manufacturer.
This branch, called Collect, has gained global renown, particularly for denim, supplying over 600 Japanese brands and more than 200 international ones.
We spent several hours at the Collect showroom in Kojima to find the perfect fabric—neither too thick nor too light, rigid enough to maintain the leg’s oval shape, and a dark indigo with subtle texture.
We quickly settled on a 16.5oz slub denim, woven at very low tension using a mix of U.S. and Australian cotton. It has a rough feel and very dark indigo shade.
The slub texture gives it just the right amount of character and produces “Tate-Ochi” vertical fading patterns. This fabric has never been used by Momotaro before and is exclusive to our collaboration.
The final result:
After several samples and many adjustments, we finalized the model below: dynamic, versatile, high-waisted, slightly dropped crotch, roomy thighs, and tapered leg (17–19cm depending on height).
It’s deliberately cropped, giving it an oval shape that suits all genders and body types. It's also One Wash, meaning it won’t shrink.
The elastic waistband allows for easy oversizing. For example, in the photos below, Julien wears S on the left and M on the right. He is 1m75 tall, weighs 73kg, and usually wears a size 31.
Delphine wears XS. She is 1m55 tall, 51kg, and usually wears size 25.
Aurélie wears S. She is 1m65 tall, 54kg, and usually wears size 27.
Quentin wears M oversized. He is 1m74 tall, 62kg, and usually wears size 29.
For the details: two patch pockets at the back with a new shape, optional embroidered indigo stripes on the right pocket — subtler than the traditional screen-printed white stripes.
The closure button features vintage-style peach motifs.
The front pockets are styled like chinos. The visible part is made from the same denim, while the inside lining features Momotaro’s classic peach jacquard.
This isn’t our first collaboration — we’ve worked with Naked & Famous and more recently Japan Blue — but this time, we started completely from scratch. We couldn’t find exactly the product we had in mind, so we made it ourselves.
It’s also Momotaro’s first collaboration with a French boutique. We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do :)
One last, heartfelt detail: every label is hand-signed — one in Japanese by Keita and one in French by us.
