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These Might Be the Black Jeans to End All Black Denim

Cult denim brand 3sixteen spent over a year developing the fabric of its latest jeans. It calls it “the best one we’ve ever produced.”

black jeans3sixteen

By Jack Seemer

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Good things come to those who wait. And for fans of 3sixteen, that wait is finally over. Responding to customer demand spanning literal years, the cult denim label just dropped an extra black variant of its unsanforized “kibata” denim. The result? Jeans made with “a fabric that might be the best one we’ve ever produced,” the brand says.

3sixteen Double Black Kibata

The name of denim, Double Black Kibata, refers to both the color of the fabric and the way it comes together on the loom.

More precisely, double black means that both the warp (the yarn that runs lengthwise) and the weft (crosswise) are dyed black before they’re woven together. In traditional denim, the warp is usually dyed blue, which creates a twill pattern with a lighter-colored weft.

black jeans
Both the warp and weft, the yarns that run lengthwise and crosswise, respectively, are dyed black before they’re woven together.
3sixteen

Kibata, meanwhile, refers to the fact that the denim is woven at a low tension to create to create texture. It also forgoes all the typical processing that defines most denim on the market, including sanforization, singeing, skewing and mercerizing.

“We elected to go without those processes to give the fabric a lot more life.”

“We elected to go without those processes to give the fabric a lot more life,” 3sixteen said in an announcement video on TikTok.

As for the color, expect it to “wear down really beautifully from a gray to eventually a white color,” according to the brand. The irregularities in the texture and weight will create a “speckling effect” that will become more pronounced over time.

Pricing and availability

3sixteen claims that the fabric was in development for a year and comes by way of Yoshiwa Mills in Okayama, Japan. At 13.25 ounces, the denim itself is slightly lighter in weight than 3sixteen’s 100xk and 120xk fabric.

black jeans
Subtle details include an emerald-green selvedge ID.
3sixteen

The denim features on two cuts — the Classic Straight and slightly slimmer Classic Tapered. Other details include an emerald-green selvedge ID, YKK gunmetal rivets and a black roughout patch. Both variants retail for $265.

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