We all in the fashion industry have been amazed by the creativity in the jeans market in Japan.  In addition to denim dying and weaving, it seems Japanese fabric companies have the best techniques worldwide for fading, washing, and other ways to give jeans a worn look off the shelf. Many luxury jeans brands (+$300) have this component of jeans production done in Japan.

As mentioned, it started about 10 years ago when Japan had a revival in authentic, vintage (used) jeans, and later a host of Japanese companies began to reproduce replica vintage lines with more authentic looking techniques than in other countries.  (Related: Slimming jeans)

With people paying several hundred dollars for authentic 70s Levi’s, for example, the point was this was the first time worldwide jeans were being seen as a fashion item to this extent.  (This was around the same time second hand 70s Adidas and 80s Nikes were selling for several hundred dollars too.)