Recreating Vintage Through Uncompromising Materials and Sewing: WAREHOUSE & CO.'s 30-Year Commitment to "Complete Reproduction"

Japanese American casual brand "WAREHOUSE & CO." faithfully reproduces the texture of vintage clothing down to a single thread. Its origins lie in a single pair of chinos. Prioritizing "complete reproduction" over efficiency, the brand has pursued uncompromising craftsmanship in every detail.

We spoke with public relations representative Masaki Fujiki about the brand's origins and the craftsmanship behind its "complete reproduction."

Aiming to Be a "Vintage Warehouse": WAREHOUSE Founded in 1995

In the late 1980s, the Japanese fashion scene was captivated by a vintage boom. In Osaka, a group of denim brands—later dubbed the "Osaka Five" overseas—rose to prominence. Among them, brothers Kenichi Shiotani and Koji Shiotani, the founders of WAREHOUSE & CO. (hereafter WAREHOUSE), gained experience across manufacturing, sales, retail, and production management while working at a Japanese denim manufacturer.

Meanwhile, since junior high school, the brothers had been dissecting vintage garments, researching everything down to the structure of buttons and rivets. Driven by an inquisitive spirit to go beyond existing replicas and achieve a deeper, more faithful reproduction, they decided to strike out on their own, founding WAREHOUSE in 1995.

The brand name originated from their experience visiting the U.S. shortly after going independent. A local dealer told them, "What you're looking for is in the WAREHOUSE," leading them to an overwhelming collection of vintage pieces.

"We named it WAREHOUSE in the sense of acquiring vintage items and reproducing them from that warehouse. We wanted to convey through our products the excitement we felt when entering an American warehouse."

Rather than simply imitating appearances, they delve deep into materials, sewing techniques, and the historical background of how the clothes were made. This commitment became the foundation of the brand's craftsmanship.

Starting Not with Denim, but with "Type 41" Chinos

Surprisingly, the first item WAREHOUSE released to the market was not jeans, but chinos. Denim required many custom components, such as leather labels and rivets, and this decision was made considering the company's scale at its founding.

"Denim requires many custom-made parts, like the leather label—which acts as the face of the product—and rivets. Considering the development time and costs, I heard they started with chinos, about which they had just as much expertise as denim."

The model they crafted was the so-called "Type 41." By thoroughly researching everything from fabric texture to sewing specs, they created a product that pursued the highest quality of that era.

Uncompromising in this approach from the start, they moved forward into denim development, giving birth to the "Lot 1001XX," which remains the brand's iconic model today.

Recreating Inch-Standard Sewing: An Encounter with the "God of Sewing Machines"

In the mid-1990s, while many brands focused on recreating the fabric of vintage denim, the Shiotani brothers turned their attention to the sewing process. Disassembling vintage jeans revealed stitching techniques and structures distinct from modern efficiency. They believed that without recreating these underlying mechanics, the garment could never achieve its authentic look and feel.

The greatest hurdle was the inch-based standard unique to American garments of that era. Japanese sewing machines relied on the metric system under JIS standards, making it impossible to replicate vintage seam widths, stitch pitches, or the distinct fade patterns ("atari") that emerge over time. Facing this challenge, they chose to modify the sewing machines themselves.

Still in their early twenties, the two founders visited a veteran craftsman who had mentored them since before Warehouse's inception. They consulted him repeatedly, bringing along actual vintage garments to demonstrate their vision.

This craftsman, later revered as the "God of Sewing Machines," recognized the young men's passion and the logic behind their vision, agreeing to tackle the unprecedented challenge of modifying vintage American sewing machines.

"Being Japanese, he didn't know much about America at the time, but just by examining the machines, he could understand why Union Special (*a long-established American sewing machine manufacturer) developed each model the way they did. That's why he grasped the logic behind what we were trying to achieve."

Starting with repairing Union Special machines, they custom-built and modified parts over time, eventually establishing an environment capable of sewing to the exact same specifications as vintage jeans.

What mattered wasn't just how the finished product looked on day one. By anticipating the puckering and fading that develop after years of wear, they recreated the original manufacturing processes to achieve the exact same aged results.

This philosophy lies at the very heart of Warehouse's concept of "complete reproduction."

Recreating Sweatshirts and Flannel Shirts with Loopwheel Knitting Machines and Shuttle Looms

This relentless pursuit of authenticity extends far beyond denim. For nearly 30 years, Warehouse has produced the "SET IN FREEDOM" sweatshirt, recreating a rare detail from the late 1930s that combines set-in sleeves with freedom sleeves.

"We assume it was probably difficult to construct from a structural standpoint. Vintage sweatshirts with this design were phased out after just a few years. Yet, we've continued making them for 30 years. I haven't seen any other brand do that."

To reproduce the distinctive vertical grain characteristic of vintage fabrics, they use fine yarn exclusively for the middle layer among the face, middle, and back yarns, crafting the fabric on classic loopwheel knitting machines.

Only a handful of factories in Japan are capable of fleece-lining the interior while keeping the seamless tubular fabric intact, meaning it can take nearly a year to complete a single product.

The same uncompromising attention to detail applies to their "FLANNEL SHIRTS." The fabric is woven on old-fashioned shuttle looms—a process considered inefficient by modern standards—with brushing applied solely to the inside that touches the skin. Button materials and shapes are also tailored to match the specific era of each pattern.

The relentless obsession with detail established through their jeans permeates every single product they create.

Prioritizing Quality Over Mass Production: Nearly 30 Years of Inefficient Craftsmanship

Roughly 30 years since its founding, while global demand for Japanese denim continues to rise, WAREHOUSE cannot easily increase its production volume. This is because, since its inception, the brand has maintained production by reserving specialized looms at specific factories, making it impossible to suddenly boost output even when demand surges. In recent years, even directly operated stores rarely carry a full run of sizes for every item. This was a deliberate choice prioritizing the uncompromising quality they must protect.

Furthermore, they currently face an aging workforce among the artisans supporting denim production and operating loopwheel knitting machines. "We have reached a stage where we must pass these techniques on to the next generation," Fujiki shared. Even so, they refuse to opt for easy efficiency. Even if it takes time and leads to shortages, it is precisely this labor-intensive process that creates the value of their products.

Currently, in addition to wholesale, they operate six directly managed stores nationwide. Rather than recklessly expanding their scale, they are currently focusing on enhancing their communications and storytelling. Why does production take so long? By conveying the reasons behind it as true "value," they aim to connect that story to the joy customers feel when holding the product in their hands.

Starting with a single pair of chino trousers, they have spent roughly 30 years confronting endangered techniques. This craftsmanship—moving in direct opposition to efficiency—is what has sustained WAREHOUSE & CO. That pursuit will continue to be etched into the details of every single garment.