Kojima's Big John began as workwear maker Maruo Hifuku in 1940 before moving into jeans production. Domestically sewn jeans followed in 1965, with Japanese-woven denim entering the firm's history in 1972. Texas's Dickies makes the 874 work pant, within a workwear business that dates to 1922. Le Mont Saint Michel offers traditional French work jackets alongside ready-to-wear clothing and accessories, following its foundation in 1913.
Okayama-prefecture denim pioneer, founded in 1940 by Kotaro Ozaki in Kojima as workwear maker Maruo Hifuku; produced Japan's first domestically sewn jeans in 1965 and the country's first Japanese-woven denim fabric in 1972, seeding the Kojima denim industry.
Best for Raw Denim, Japanese Selvedge
Big John began in 1940 as Maruo Hifuku, a small Kojima-district sewing operation founded by Kotaro Ozaki that initially made workwear and school uniforms. In 1965, Ozaki produced Japan's first domestically sewn jeans, cut from imported American denim; in 1972 the company went further, developing the country's first Japanese-woven denim fabric. In 1973 Big John released 'World,' described as the first jeans made entirely in Japan. These milestones are widely credited with establishing Kojima, in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, as Japan's denim-manufacturing center. Big John remains headquartered in Kojima today.
The American origin — 1905-2017, the last US selvedge denim mill, Draper X3 shuttle looms, and the North Carolina factory that supplied Levi's for a century.
Best for 1905-2017, last US selvedge mill, Draper looms, closed 2017.
French workwear brand founded 1913, offering traditional work jackets, ready-to-wear, and accessories with heritage craftsmanship.
Best for Workwear, traditional
Le Mont Saint Michel is a French fashion brand with roots extending back to 1913, when it established its signature work jacket—described as "Le vêtement de travail 'inusable'" (the indestructible work garment). The brand specializes in workwear and ready-to-wear clothing, positioned around the philosophy "Un vêtement pour chaque usage" (a garment for every purpose). The product range includes work jackets in various fabrics such as moleskine, denim, and wool, ready-to-wear for men and women (knitwear, outerwear, shirts, pants, dresses), and accessories including bags, home goods, and stationery. Le Mont Saint Michel offers curated collections focused on timeless pieces and denim heritage. The company operates an e-commerce platform and maintains physical boutiques throughout France, offering free relay point shipping within France and select European countries, reflecting its commitment to accessibility and customer service.
Founded in 1913 in Pontorson, near the abbey it's named for, by the Ariès family, Le Mont St Michel made cotton moleskin work jackets for Breton and Norman farmers and artisans; textile heir Alexandre Milan revived the heritage brand in 1998, keeping the original workwear silhouette.
Best for Workwear, Chore Coats
Le Mont St Michel was launched in 1913 in Pontorson, a small Normandy town a few miles from the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey after which the brand is named, by the Ariès family as a workwear workshop. Its signature product, the 1913 work jacket, was designed for the practical needs of Breton and Norman farmers and artisans, and its durability came from cotton moleskin — at the time a relatively new fabric prized for combining toughness with enough give for physical labor. The jacket built a following among local agricultural and artisan workers through the 1920s and 1930s. Like many heritage workwear labels, the brand's profile faded over the mid-twentieth century before being revived: in 1998, textile industry figure Alexandre Milan took over stewardship of Le Mont St Michel, updating cuts and fits for a contemporary market while preserving the jacket's functional design and moleskin construction. The brand today positions the 1913 jacket, still offered in various washes and colors including a made-to-order configurator, as its core heritage product, alongside broader ready-to-wear collections, and has been covered by menswear press including Mr Porter and Man of Many for its role in popularizing French workwear internationally.
German denim maker founded in 1932 in Künzelsau by Luise Hermann as a workwear factory; in 1948 her son-in-law Albert Sefranek traded schnapps for six US-made jeans, took them apart to copy the pattern, and made Mustang one of Europe's first jeans producers.
Best for Germany's first jeans (1948), from the Künzelsau denim house
Mustang's history starts in 1932 in Künzelsau, in what is now Baden-Württemberg, where Luise Hermann founded a small clothing factory with six seamstresses producing workwear. The jump into denim came in 1948: Albert Sefranek, who had married into the Hermann family, traded six bottles of local schnapps for six pairs of original American jeans, then took the seams apart to use as pattern templates for the factory's own production — a workaround for building denim expertise in postwar Germany without direct access to American manufacturing know-how. That improvised reverse-engineering made the company one of the first denim producers in Europe. Mustang also developed what it describes as the first jeans made for women in Europe, marketed at the time as 'girls camping pants,' a notable move given how far outside conventional women's fashion denim then sat. The Mustang brand name itself, evoking American car and cowboy imagery, was adopted in 1958, a decade after the company's first jeans left the Künzelsau factory.
German workwear label founded in 1919 by Adolf Ahlers in Jever; expanded into denim as Pioneer Authentic Jeans in 1970, now made and distributed by the Ahlers Group in Herford, Germany.
Best for Men’s jeans and trousers
Pioneer traces back to a cloth-trading company Adolf Ahlers founded in Jever, Germany, in 1919, which relocated to Oldenburg in 1925 and then to Herford in 1932, opening its first production facility in 1936. The company began making workwear under the Pionier name starting in 1942, formalized as Pionier Workwear from 1971. In 1970 Ahlers extended the label into denim with Pioneer Authentic Jeans, drawing on the workwear line's rugged construction and cut. A higher-priced Pionier Jeans & Casuals line followed in 1977. All three lines are still produced and distributed today by the Ahlers Group, a Herford-based clothing company that also holds the Pierre Cardin and Otto Kern licenses in Germany.
The 875, 1907, Iron Ranger — not Japanese, but the boot that every Japanese denim wearer pairs with their jeans. The unofficial official boot of the raw denim community worldwide.
Best for 875, 1907, Iron Ranger, unofficial official boot, pairs with denim.
Chicago workwear maker founded in 1924 by Austrian immigrant brothers Max and Joe Eckerling, who first sewed bib overalls out of their home on Roosevelt Road; still family-owned into a third generation.
Best for Coveralls & chore coats
Universal Overall was founded in Chicago in 1924 by brothers Max and Joe Eckerling, who had immigrated from Austria in 1921 and took whatever work they could find before starting the company. They began by making and selling bib overalls out of their own home on Roosevelt Road, initially selling to local retailers. During the 1930s the business expanded into other work garments, including coveralls sold to industrial laundries. The company has stayed family-owned and -operated across three generations since its founding, and its products have historically been used on factory floors, farms, construction sites and job sites across the US.
French workwear maker founded 1927 in Paris by Edouard Beerens, who received an apron-and-overall factory as a wedding gift; moved to Lambersart near Lille in 1930. Still family-run and 100% manufactured in France, four generations later.
Best for Bleu de travail workwear from the original French maker since 1927
Vetra was founded in 1927 by Edouard Beerens, whose mother gave him a small factory producing aprons and work overalls as a wedding present. The workshop opened at 3 rue de Bretonvilliers, on the Île Saint-Louis in central Paris, and the brand name — VETRA — was formed from 'VETements de TRAvail,' French for 'work clothing.' Beerens designed the original logo, rendered in red with a schematic factory building, a mark the company has kept in its visual identity since. As the workwear line grew, the Paris premises became too small, and in 1930 production relocated to Lambersart, a suburb of Lille in northern France's historic textile belt — the region's dense concentration of weaving and garment-making infrastructure made it a natural fit for a growing manufacturer. Vetra has remained under Beerens family ownership and management since its founding, now run by the third and fourth generations, and continues to manufacture 100% of its garments — chore jackets, moleskin trousers, and the classic 'bleu de travail' workwear associated with French tradesmen — in its own French factory rather than outsourcing production, a point the company treats as central to its identity nearly a century on.
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗