ON THE HUNT – PART 2 – LAS VEGAS

Liberty Fair’s and Capsule Trade Show, Las Vegas. 8-14-16

My bags were packed: Three shirts, three pairs of shoes, one jacket, and like a true denim head, 6 pairs of jeans for 4 days in Vegas. The denim: Oni 517XX contest edition, Momotaro x Denimio II DE-003, Tanuki NS1, Naked and Famous Greencast Broken Twill, Naked and Famous super lightweight selvedge, PBJ KS-013, and Rogue Territory Dark SK’s. My girlfriend Megan laughed at the extra full bag of denim. She is the best. Here is just a few of the pieces I brought.IMG_2328IMG_2335

We arrived at the Cosmopolitan. I was going over the list in my head of the denim brands I wanted to visit. Naked and Famous, Freenote Cloth, 3Sixteen, Railcar Fine Goods, Kato Brand. I was temporarily sidetracked by the fact that we were upgraded to a Penthouse, wraparound suite!!IMG_2434

Here is a panoramic view from our balcony. Untitled-1

The next morning I woke up early, ready to hit the trade show and soak up all of next seasons denim releases!IMG_2381

We arrived at the show and the hunt was on!IMG_2474

First stop was Kato Brand, to say what’s up to Yu and Nick.IMG_2495

The new denim of discussion was their 4-way stretch selvedge. It is insanely stretechy and probably very comfortable while delivering raw denim quality fades.IMG_2584IMG_2585 IMG_2586

Next Stop: Railcar Fine Goods. I was happy to get a chance to meet Steven and Taylor who I had been following on Instagram for some time now. They introduced me to their newest and heaviest denim to date. The 23oz!IMG_2463IMG_2540IMG_2548 IMG_2544-2

Next was 3Sixteen. They did’t have any new denim this season but I still can’t get enough of their collaboration with Self Edge, the 21B-SP. An 18oz, Unsanforized Japanese Selvedge Denim with a 5×5 weave. So slubby!IMG_2479IMG_2599IMG_2600IMG_2602IMG_2604

Next stop, Freenote Cloth. I had seen their denim online but this was my first up close encounter. I was very impressed. The details and quality was top shelf. A spent quite a while talking with David and Matt and it was very clear that these guys were on point and passionate about their denim. As with most top level denim brands they had the fabrics and the craftsmanship well honed, but what struck me is their focus and dedication to developing their fits. Not only the silhouette but how the fabric hugged in the top block. Their new cut, a mid rise/tapered leg should be arriving soon. They also got points for having one of the coolest denim brand booths at the trade show. IMG_2459

Glass top coffee table with the Freenote Cloth hardware displayed underneath. IMG_2574 IMG_2564IMG_2573

Here is the Freenote Cloth 13.5 oz Yoshiwa Mills, Broken Twill Denim.IMG_2566IMG_2572 IMG_2570

You can see the fading potential on these Trabuco Straight LoomState 13.25oz Japanese Denim after only a couple months wear. IMG_2557 IMG_2555IMG_2559

Had a great time talking denim with Matt, the designer behind Freenote Cloth.IMG_2492

@whaleysworld taking some pics of the Freenote goods on display. At one point @whaleysworld @heddels and @denimhound were engaged in a serious session of looking at each others pants.IMG_2562

& Sons had some really nice indigo shirts on display.IMG_2480

I can’t tell you how many women’s shirts I own but it’s a good amount. If this Rollas shirt only had sleeves, I’d be all over it. IMG_2475

Getting familiar with some of the fabrics at Mood Indigo.IMG_2471IMG_2468

I saved one of the most anticipated stops for last, Naked and Famous.IMG_2499IMG_2505 IMG_2503

I was stoked to finally meet Brandon and Kari Svarc, Bahzad Trinos and Risa Saito. In just 20 minutes of hanging out with these guys, I learned tons of denim facts like: the true weight of the original “heavyweight” work denim. I also learned useful things like the best city to get udon in Japan and the best hotel to stay at when visiting Jeans Street.IMG_2440IMG_2447IMG_2446IMG_2445

Now here are some my favorites from the upcoming season.

The Chinese New Year – Year of The Cock. This years CNY features a denim with a little more slub and bit more noticeable crosshatching. Still maintaining the very cool red and gold color scheme across the back patch, pocket bags and selvedge ID.IMG_2500IMG_2509IMG_2508IMG_2507

Rhino/Monster Selvedge – They called it Monster Selvedge but the patch said Rhino Selvedge. This was my favorite new model from Naked & Famous. A slubby and rigid 16.5oz selvedge with Cordovan patch. It will be available in the Super Skinny Guy, Weird Guy, and Easy Guy fits.

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Also, if you are into stretch denim, check out the fabric on these Indigo x Natural Indigo Slub Stretch.IMG_2526

Of course I had to spend a little time with the infamous Naked & Famous 32oz.IMG_2452IMG_2536

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I’m also loving the shirts that N&F has been coming out with.IMG_2531

At the end of a long day of denim hunting, The Denim Hound takes a rest stop at the Freenote Cloth booth.IMG_2462

After the show, going out to some afterpartys. IMG_2144 IMG_2120

All in all, it was a great trip. I saw more new denim, than hours of sleep. ~ The Denim Hound 8-17-16