Beyond The Blues

Luke Joyce
Nov 20, 2025
5 min read

Classic denim is normally blue on the outside and grey-ish white on the inside - due to the standard twill weave and the combination of indigo dyed warp threads and undyed weft threads. However, I really love when brands diverge from that formula. Whether its experimental dying techniques on warp and/or weft threads, or just unconventional weaves, those details always grab my attention.

Here is a list of some of the most unusual denim fabrics I've come across, along with the examples of them that I could find online. In most cases, its the fade potential I'm paying attention to, while in others its the weave construction or small quirks in the fabric. Some of them I really want to have in my collection, while others I think are objectively terrible, but still very cool in concept.

3sixteen "Shadow Kibata" Denim

I plan to talk more detail on denim weaves and construction in a future post, but for now the key things to know are that warp refers to vertical threads that dominate the outside of denim fabric (the blue), while weft is the horizontal thread set seen on the inside (the white).

3sixteen introduced their popular "Kibata" denim in 2015. It is a low tension weave with a more abrasive texture to the touch, and it yields beautiful fades. One of their variations, "Shadow Kibata", pairs the typical indigo dyed warp with black sulfur dyed weft. This produces a fabric with a deep navy exterior and black interior, seen at the cuff. Overtime as the denim breaks in, the indigo layers in the warp wear off first, followed by the black in the weft, leaving striking, layered fades in the usual high stress areas, as seen in these photos from Blue Owl:

Weight: 14.5 oz

Overall thoughts: Slam dunk fades. The initial dark navy phase isn't as interesting to me, but worth it for the end result.

Price: $265

Buy rating: 90%

Samurai Uguisi Denim

Samurai's Uguisi Denim is another standout that is built on a slightly heavier fabric that gives it a more substantial feel. The lighter green dyed warp pair with undyed weft gives the fabric a very comforting, earthy character, like a worn in army green. Bonus points for the awesome green and tan leather patch to finish this pair off. This is the type of denim that looks at home in the countryside, while still looking very sharp. You can also trust that anything delivered by Samurai is exceptional.

Weight: 17 oz

Overall thoughts: These are slowly rising on my green pants wishlist. Might be a 4th or 5th pair.

Price: $380

Buy rating: 70%

Pure Blue Japan Teacore Dyed Denim

Borrowing the idea behind "tea-core" leather, PBJ developed a denim fabric with a tea-core warp and black dyed weft. In this case, the warp threads have a brown core achieved from a longer dying process, topped with a black overdye as the top layer. The weft in this case is black sulfur dyed. The result is a denim fabric that appears to be all black at the start, but with wear, the black over-dye in the higher stress areas starts to wear off, revealing the brown core underneath. Overtime, the jeans take on a rustic, somewhat grungy character. This is a pair that might be best fitting listening to Alice In Chains' 2nd studio album.

The pair shown below is from a Reddit user's submission to the "Indigo Invitational" - a year long challenge to wear one pair of jeans 365 days in a row, then post the fade results.

Weight: 14 oz

Overall thoughts: The colors are awesome, but I did see someone refer to these as "Poop Jeans".

Price: $410

Buy rating: 60%

Kapital Century Denim

Kapital's ethos seems to be an avant-garde take on vintage American and Japanese workwear. I read somewhere that the aesthetic is also Apocalypse survivors. Not sure what that means, but I can respect a fashion-forward brand that also makes very high-quality, durable goods. One of their standout developments is their "Century Denim," which has a very distinct look up close. They incorporate sashiko stitching into the weave process, creating a grid-like structure and texture across the fabric surface. They offer this in an array of eye-catching colors, both in jeans and jackets.

Weight: 12 oz

My thoughts: Such an interesting fabric. I love looking at them, but not sure about wearing them. Factor in the price, and I probably won't have my hands on a pair anytime soon.

Price: $500+

Buy rating: 40%

Graph Zero Drop Needle Herringbone Denim

The only place I've come across this brand was at Oka General Store in Denver. The owner said that Graph Zero was a smaller brand compared to the rest, and he was one of, if not the only stockist for them in America, which was pretty awesome. I noticed this pair of jeans first because of the eye-catching vertical pattern on the fabric. Besides the pattern, the fabric looks to be made up of the usual neutral/grey threads for the weft, but with a warp that alternates between indigo and grey threads. The warp is created with a herringbone style weave.

I'll have to do more of a deep dive on what herringbone actually means in the world of weaves, but I do know that it is characterized by a distinctive V-shaped weave, which resembles the bones of a fish. This pair of jeans might be tough to rock, since it looks like something Al Capone would wear if he ever got into denim, but it's still another pair that I love to appreciate and revisit.

Weight: 16 oz

My thoughts: If Al Capone was into raw denim. Not as versatile as other options.

Cost: ~$200

Buy rating: 40%

I added these last three out of respect for the game. These aren't jeans I would ever actually wear, but I still appreciate the brands for producing them for the ultra denim nerds out there. Naked & Famous has quite a few drops that follow the same concept - bright, atypical colored thread cores under a darker indigo surface layer. The resulting fades are loud and in your face. While I wouldn't consider any of these classy, I respect the brands for pushing boundaries.

Pure Blue Japan XX "Purple Face" Denim