CORRECTION: Drive-By Photoshoot With Kyoto Denim and FULLCOUNT

 

Usually around press preview season I like to chronicle on Twitter what I call "Drive-by Photoshoots". Mostly this consists of me going to brand showrooms and instead of requesting samples to shoot in a studio, quickly taking photos of everything in the space that interests me. You all know these as the photos I use in the "In the Showrooms" category.

Last Friday, I had my most interesting shoot yet in Chelsea. I met up with Toshi, a designer who flew from Osaka, Japan to show his new denim line called FULLCOUNT. The hotel he was staying in didn't have an ideal lobby so we decided to have an impromptu shoot right on the street. I have to say, up to this point it is one of the most fun shoots I've done to date.

Although I'd never met Toshi before, I recognized him on the street right away because of his attire...a dark indigo, raw denim kimono! It's not my habit to take photos of the people showing me the line but it would have been a travesty of epic proportions for me to not get a shot of Toshi's ensemble (Follow DenimHunt on Twitter for more pics).

Toshi only had two samples and a lookbook on hand, but I was able to get a good sense of what the brand offered. Womens' jeans were very girly with floral details being a common theme. Made for women in Japan, I think in the States the womens' line would appeal more to the juniors market. Men's jeans however, were more grown up. A straight leg, selvedge jean was so raw it felt like cardboard (note the folds in the photo). These days if a men's brand doesn't have at least one raw item it's like they're not a real brand. The same style was also shown aged two years.

CORRECTION: Toshi is not a designer, but a representative from an online shop based in Japan called Standarth.com. The women's jean is actually from a line called Kyoto Denim; separate from the men's jeans which were both FULLCOUNT. Kyoto Denim is on the luxury end of the premium scale with jeans ranging from $322 to over $1,000. FULLCOUNT is a little more attainable with jeans ranging from $239 to $540.