Established in 2015, Cottle is a relatively young brand… though you wouldn’t be able to tell that from their collections. These are pieces that meld the sophistication of couture, the casual cool of Japanese denim and the intense academia of ancestral dyes… all seasoned with a healthy dash of Americana. The creative genius of this union lies partly in the high-caliber creative background of its designers, Toshiaki and Yukari Watanabe. The rest of it is influenced by its environment: Kojima, Japan—the birthplace of Japanese denim and a modern mecca for indigo dye.
True to the history of Kojima, all manner of dyes make up the Cottle toolbox—it’s not unusual to find the deep cobalt of traditional indigo alongside Sumi Ink (pine soot), Hinoki (cypress bark) and Kakishibu (persimmon tannins). Toshiaki and Yukari are wholly dedicated to the processes and challenges of working with natural materials from seed to style, going as far as developing their own sewing thread from cotton and hemp.
The Cottle studio is headquartered in a renovated 130-year-old former textile factory in the same historic district where Japan’s first jeans were produced. You wouldn’t know it from a map, but just down the road are beaches so pristine they rival Australia’s Gold Coast. This nexus between cultural heft and modern leisure permeates the collection. Afterall, their brand ethos is to create an unfussy uniform for living. Though artful, their pieces are comfortable and endlessly wearable. And their denim, though new, has been worn-in so distinctly that you might think it’s a well-loved vintage weathered and salt-washed by decades of ocean air.
