Mister Freedom® CALIFORNIAN Lot64 “Hanada” indigo denim edition
mfsc SS2025 Sportsman Catalog x Hi-Desert Collection
Made in USA
Traditional indigo-dyed denim fabric comes in all kinds of shades, weaving hues of warp and weft yarns in a twill pattern. The most common weft yarns (the back of the fabric) usually range from unbleached white to light grey. The warp yarns that make for the face (visible) side of the denim fabric can display a wide range of indigo blue shades, from light to dark. Not a quality issue, but a matter of pure aesthetics and personal preference. Kinda.
At the yarn-dyeing stage (see rope dyeing), controlling the consistency of the target shade of indigo blue is one of the many challenges for craftsmen dyers. The choice of synthetic vs natural indigotin, number of dips into the vats, timing of oxidation, health of the vats, PH balance etc… all play a crucial role on the color outcome.
The lighter the desired hue of indigo-dyed warp yarns, the more challenging it is to keep a batch consistent. Because a smaller amount of dips sharply limits room for error, lighter shades of indigo shuttle loom selvedge denim fabrics are harder to come by.
We have always embraced light-color indigo denims through the years — introducing a select numbers of MF® staples in Malibu denim starting in 2015, and all the way to our 2020 ice-blu Maverick jacket — so when a new candidate comes under our radar, you know a new model of Californian is incoming!
For a quick dive into indigo-dyeing references pertaining to traditional fabrics and denim twills milled in Japan, see here.
On one side of the indigo color spectrum stands our range of MF® denim classics cut from Awa-Ai denim. That painstakingly-developed fabric has a very dark face, an indigo hue known as Kachi-iro” or “Katsu-iro (勝色) — literally meaning “color of victory” in Japanese — a specific indigo shade traditionally associated with good fortune, and samurai warriors’ superiority in the battlefield. Legend has it that samurai wore dark indigo garments under their armor in combat, to help prevent wound infections.
Back to la-la land, for this special edition of the SS2025 Californian Lot64, we scored a premium selvedge denim fabric in the “Hanada-iro” (縹色) range of indigo blue, very close to the looks of our original 2015 Malibu denim fabric. Milled in Japan in limited batches, this “Hanada” denim clocks in at a traditional 13 Oz., flashing a stand-out indigo color with a white with blue stripe selvedge ID.
Don’t expect drastic contrast whiskers with normal wash/wear routine overtime, but you will definitely get the “what jeans are those?!” from random strangers.
For reasons known to corporate ambulance chasers in the sphere of conglomerate fast fashion peddlers operating under the disguise of traditional American name brands, we relocated our branded leather patch to the waistband this season, while our paper pocket flasher still hints at the MF® Californian’s original 2010 branding legacy. In short, these ain’t no Wronglers®…
For an extra touch of high-maintenance and slow fashion chef kiss, we decided to sun-tan the leather patch on this batch of Californians, cause we’re bored like that.
One thing that hasn’t — and will not — change, is the fact that our Californian blue jeans are cut/sewn in California, USA.
The Mister Freedom® Lot64 Californian jeans “Hanada” edition are designed and made in California, USA, cut from premium selvedge denim milled in Japan.
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