Huckberry Turns to Japan for Its Finest In-House Collection Yet

For much of its existence, Flint and Tinder has flown under the radar as one of Huckberry’s many in-house brands. But over the past couple of years, the online retailer has made a conspicuous effort to build the label into a full-service menswear brand.

Flint and Tinder’s evolution takes another substantial step forward with the new Made in Japan capsule collection. It features three items cut and sewn in Japan from Japanese-milled fabrics, and the overall quality is noticeably superior to anything the brand has previously put out.

Huckberry

The Made in Japan collection consists of a natural indigo-dyed loopwheel cotton crewneck sweatshirt, Japanese selvedge denim jeans with a vintage wide-straight fit and a Cold War-inspired military shirt made from pure cotton sateen.

Flint and Tinder deserves recognition for producing items like the Blanket-Lined Waxed Trucker and the 10-Year Hoodie in America, but Japanese craftsmanship is on another level when it comes to the vintage production methods used for this collection.

For example, the sweatshirt fabric is knit on a vintage loopwheel machine and hand-dyed using traditional Japanese techniques. The raglan shoulder seams exhibit a sewing technique rarely found on even the most expensive sweatshirts.

Huckberry

Flint and Tinder’s Made in Japan collection is available now from Huckberry. All three pieces are limited editions and, if I had to guess, will not last long.

I had the pleasure of field-testing the collection before it went live, and I have to say the results lived up to the hype. All three items possess nuanced details throughout that demonstrate top-shelf craftsmanship, and the Japanese Loopwheel Crewneck Sweatshirt in particular stood out as one of my favorite items the brand has ever released.

Japanese denim

Huckberry

Flint and Tinder Japanese Selvedge Reserve Jeans

• $398 at Huckberry

The term “Japanese denim” carries a reputation for unmatched quality, like Swiss watches and Scotch whisky. The truth is that the country produces denim across a wide range of quality, but it starts at a pretty high floor.

Flint and Tinder’s Japanese Selvedge Reserve isn’t made from the best Japanese denim I’ve ever laid hands on, but it’s definitely a premium product. The aging process took great care to mimic the whisker fades that denim nerds, such as myself, covet so dearly.

It also gave the pure cotton, 14-ounce denim a soft feel that takes years to achieve when starting from raw.

Huckberry

What really impressed me about the Japanese Selvedge Reserve jeans was the assembly. Chain stitching is used throughout, bar tachs are placed liberally at crucial points and every detail is executed with perfect precision.

Yes, $400 is a lot to pay for a pair of Flint and Tinder jeans, but that’s the going rate for mid-tier Japanese denim.

Hand-dyed natural indigo

Huckberry

Flint and Tinder Japanese Loopwheel Crewneck Sweatshirt

• $218 at Huckberry

As stated above, the Japanese Loopwheel Crewneck Sweatshirt grabbed my attention from the second I unpacked the collection. Crewneck sweatshirts are so ubiquitous and come so cheap that it is hard to appreciate the value in paying $218 for one, but here’s why this one is worth it.

To begin with, the pure cotton fabric is knit on a vintage loopwheel machine that uses gravity to create tension rather than mechanical pulling. The process takes much longer and is therefore more costly, but the resulting fabric holds its shape exponentially better over time than the conventional alternative.

Next, the fabric is hand-dyed in natural Japanese indigo, a technique that has been passed down for generations and creates a color density and hue unmatched anywhere else in the world. I’m obsessed with natural indigo clothing because of the texture that develops as it ages.

Huckberry

Which brings me to the sewing techniques used for this sweatshirt. The ribbed cuffs and waistband are attached in the standard manner, but with an exceptionally tight seam that uses more thread for a stronger hold.

The standout detail is the technique used to attach the raglan sleeves. Suffice to say that it doubles the standard method, enhancing the strength and creating a thick ridge that will become pronounced as the indigo rubs off.

Refined vintage military

Huckberry

Flint and Tinder Japanese Military Overshirt

• $298 at Huckberry

Last but not least, the Japanese Military Overshirt is based on mid-century U.S. military surplus shirts that have been a fashion staple since the 1960s. But the Pentagon never commissioned a shirt quite like this one.

It is built from a Japanese-milled pure cotton sateen, which creates a smooth sheen on one side. The tight weave is relatively weather-resistant for untreated cotton and doesn’t tear or wrinkle easily.

Huckberry

It is equipped with dual pleated bellows chest pockets that provide ample cargo space and are secured with a squared-off flap. The pockets, cuffs and front are secured with metal donut rivet buttons decorated with a traditional laurel motif.

As with vintage military shirts, the fit is somewhat boxy and works best as a light jacket or overshirt. I typically wear a large, but if I were to buy this one, I would size down to a medium.

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