Denim threads: breaking down TWC's jeans

By Aleks Cvetkovic

The world is full of jeans, isn’t it? Jeans, jeans, jeans, jeans. Everywhere you look… Jeans.

Why should The Worker’s Club’s jeans pique your interest more than any others, then? As a journalist who writes about clothes for a living, that’s the first question I’m duty-bound to ask of any denim brand that I come across. But, I have to say, despite reams of competition from big global brands to bizarre little indie outfits in Okayama, TWC has charmed me.

The first reason why is the most important: TWC is passionate, pure and simple. Adam is mad about denim, and has spent yonks of time collecting jeans from all four corners of the globe – especially Japan. The last time we chatted, he wouldn’t confess to the number of pairs he’s accrued in his personal archive, but you can bet its a good few dozen.

This passion for cult denim translates seamlessly into TWC’s own jeans. Adam and Charlotte spent years just playing around with TWC’s first house fit, the 001, before they committed to selling it. Plus, TWC is (to my knowledge at least) the only British denim brand that uses Japanese selvedge denim in all its designs and makes its jeans in Japan too, rather than importing the fabric and making inexpensively in Europe.

This observation leads me nicely to the next piece of the puzzle: fit. This is something of a personal crusade for me, because (and let’s not beat about the bush) I have chunky thighs and a particularly round rump. In consequence, I’ve railed against skinny fit and spray-on jeans countless times over the years, because finding jeans to fit me has always been tricky.

At The Workers Club, though, there is a miraculous design called the ‘Relaxed Fit’, which feels much more like a mid-century jean. It’s relatively straight and roomy, but not so roomy that it’s shapeless. To someone like me, it’s heaven-sent. I’m particularly smitten with this season’s new Relaxed Fit jeans in natural raw denim, which are absolutely perfect for spring. Previously, TWC has only offered this Relaxed Fit in its signature vintage wash, so to see the brand branching out into other materials is really exciting. And yes, there is also a flattering slim fit for those of you who, unlike me, don’t knock over buildings when you try to twerk…

Then, we come to what is possibly Adam’s secretest secret weapon. If you’re a fan of the brand you may know that Adam worked as a clothing designer with Dunhill and Mr Porter previously, and so has spent a good deal of time over the years developing personal relationships with Japanese denim gurus. This not only gives TWC jeans the edge when it comes to the making process, but in the washing process too.

All TWC’s signature washes are done by hand (which blows my mind) by a man whom Adam will refer to only as an old friend and “denim wizard”, but there’s no denying that this lightness of touch and access to Japanese expertise gives TWC’s jeans a distinctive look and feel.

This brings me back to something that’s important. The Worker’s Club is not a brand that obsesses over replicating denim designs and fabric qualities from the past, as many American and Japanese denim brands are wont to do. Instead, TWC makes connoisseur’s denim for today – its jeans feel relevant, contemporary and one can sense that they’re made with feeling.

That’s a rare thing in one of the most over-saturated markets in men’s fashion, and I think it’s well worth supporting.