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History
2 articles · Specialist writing on history
- History
How Kojima Became Japan's Denim Capital — From School Uniforms to Selvedge Jeans
The Kojima district of Okayama didn't become Japan's denim production hub by accident. Decades of school uniform manufacturing had built a precision sewing infrastructure that translated, almost exactly, to jeans production — when the cultural moment finally arrived in the late 1960s.
- History
May 20, 1873: The Rivet Patent — How Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss Invented Jeans
Patent No. 139,121, granted May 20, 1873, is the legal document the denim industry calls the "birthday of jeans." But the first name on that patent isn't Levi Strauss — it's Jacob Davis, a Reno tailor who couldn't afford the $68 filing fee. Here's what the patent actually covered, and what the 17-year monopoly built.