Big John Rare Series – Quality Proven by Time

Japanese brand Big John produces a variety of collections, each of which has its own identity and a certain idea laid down by the manufacturer.
Almost all connoisseurs of denim products from Big John note their RARE series, which embodies much of what the brand has been able to achieve over the years.
The very first Rare jeans were released back in 1983. You could say that these were the very first jeans where the manufacturer tried to maximize the expression of Japanese artisanal quality that was combined with vintage American denim style.
Therefore, if you hold in your hands any product from the Rare series you should understand that behind the external brevity here lies a colossal work and experience of many years.

Let us introduce you to all the products that are now available in the Rare series from Big John. These are outwardly austere and classic products that feature carefully designed denim and have details that are unique to this Big John series.
We could say that the Rare series is quite different, both from the classic conservative Japanese repro style, which takes inspiration from vintage Levi’s jeans of the 40’s and 50’s, and from the more modern trends of Japanese denim, where the manufacturer focuses on extra heavy denim, extra pronounced fabric texture or unusual colors of weft threads. Outwardly it is an absolute classic, but it is a classic brought to perfection!

R008-000W R008 15.5oz Rare jeans Regular straight

These are jeans in the classic straight regular fit. If you are looking for the “perfect classic jeans”, perhaps now you see it. The R008 is a direct descendant of the very first Rare jeans from 1983.

R009000 15.5oz Rare Jeans Slim

A more modern narrow tapered style is used here. A razor-sharp style, whether with work boots or a pair of nice shoes and a jacket.

R609 RARE DENIM JACKET

Denim jacket with a snug fit that will be your “faithful friend” for years to come.

Fabric

Rare Series Denim deserves special words. Kyoji Sakamoto, the creator of Sakamoto Denim, once said “To live indigo, be devoted to indigo”. Through much experimentation, Mr. Sakamoto was able to create that ultimate balanced “perfect indigo” that we see in the Big John Rare series. This denim has a medium universal density of 15.5OZ and a beautiful “pure indigo” color that can be admired endlessly. The raw materials used here are American cotton varieties.

By the way, you can observe the special Sakamoto Ransei seal on the underside. It means “great master” and is a tribute to craftsmanship and dedication.

The texture of this denim has a slight natural heterogeneity. The denim is woven at Shinya Mills on a 50’s machine with low tension.
It should be noted that the Rare series is positioned by Big John as particularly durable. With its characteristic color and texture, the denim is specially designed to be strong and durable.
Keep in mind that here you are dealing with classic Raw Non Wash. Jeans made of this denim will shrink by about 2 cm in the waist, 1-2 cm in the width of the pant leg and 5-7 cm in the length of the inner seam of the jeans.

On the wrong side we can see the bleached thread. The fabric itself has a nice texture to it. Yellow selvedge ID is used here.

Details

For all their outward brevity, Big John’s Rare Series jeans are some of the most unusually detailed jeans available. And their details are noticeably different from many classic Japanese denim brands.

The patch is made from a narrow strip of thin, soft leather. The leather is indigo colored and accentuates the overall aesthetic of this series well.

Notice how detailed Big John has laid out all the specifics and features of this product.

The back pockets have a classic shape. However, the hidden copper rivets are not used here. At the top corners of the pockets there are tack seams.

The lower part of the back pockets has a special reinforcement lining. This is very convenient and practical if you carry small metal objects in the pockets.

Many Japanese jeans lovers prefer jeans stitched with classic cotton threads. This allows for a vintage aesthetic, cotton threads can fade beautifully over time. However, cotton threads are not as durable as polycotton threads. The Rare series from Big John has solved this dilemma. Here, it uses a ginger colored cotton thread that can fade beautifully over time and a dark polycotton thread that gives strength to the entire construction of the jeans.

Big John has also moved away from the classic chain stitch in this series. A more robust closed stitch with a large number of small stitches is used. This is in keeping with the idea of the Rare series, which combines aesthetics with durability and practicality.

The rivets are flat style, which is typical of most Big John models. The Rare series uses a steel rivet with a copper core. It looks very original and aesthetically pleasing.

The button style features the recognizable Big John branding.

By the way, all buttons and rivets have special leather linings on the underside. This shows that the smallest details have been very carefully worked out.

Brief impressions and conclusions

Jeans that embody the “Quality First” philosophy with unwavering devotion are definitely Rare Jeans. These are the kind of carefully crafted jeans that ignited Japan’s vintage denim boom in the early 1980s and continue to be long-selling classics. As a source of Japanese culture that popularized the concept of “grow-your-own jeans,” they have influenced not only Japan, but the world.