JELADO: Where Japanese Craftsmanship Meets Vintage Workwear
A few weeks ago, we traveled to Japan, a fascinating country in countless ways and the promised land of denim. While in the country, we seized the opportunity to explore some of the country’s denim stores. We met inspiring brand founders and talked denim with passionate denimheads who we have been admiring from afar for years. Japan’s denim culture, built on years of refinement and craftsmanship, is unique to the islands. It just can’t be found anywhere else. Our journey not only fueled our love for Japanese denim, it also reignited our admiration for the people and culture of Japan.
One absolute highlight of our journey was our visit to JELADO’s new flagship store in Tokyo. Located in the heart of Ebisu, a neighbourhood alive with energy and a hotspot for minimalistic Japanese brands, their new flagship store perfectly displays and captures the spirit of JELADO. Just as Ebisu fuses traditional Japanese culture with style and innovation, JELADO’s new flagship store blends new and old, combining their deep appreciation for denim’s heritage with their knack for contemporary designs.
The Story Behind JELADO
JELADO is celebrated by denim enthusiasts around the world for their vintage-inspired garments, craftsmanship, timeless designs, and comfortable, everyday wearability. The brand, founded by Yohei Goto in 2005, is the tangible realization of Goto’s deep admiration for vintage Americana and the artisanal craft behind it.
Before launching JELADO, Yohei Goto worked as a vintage clothing dealer in Tokyo. He became obsessed with historical clothing, especially workwear pieces produced between the 1930s and the 1970s. Fascinated by construction, fabrics, and hidden details, he began to look deeper, studying and deconstructing old pieces to understand how and why they were made. Why did these pieces last so long? Why did they wear so beautifully? Each garment tells a story, and Goto learned to read pieces carefully, amassing a collection that he could read like a library. What he learned became the foundation of JELADO, influencing every piece the brand has produced.
Two decades later, Yohei’s obsession with vintage pieces is as strong as ever. JELADO pays tribute to the past, but always with respect to the present. They reinterpret classics with a careful balance of authenticity, modernity, and wearability, going far beyond simple reproduction.
Heritage. Craftmanship. Wearability.
Yohei Goto’s deep passion for vintage clothing has defined and shaped the fundament of JELADO and continues to drive its philosophy. The brand is built on a clear vision and story that, from the beginning, set a clear direction. This is more than words: it is clearly visible in the garments, and also in the ways that the brand communicates with and treats its customers. Everything is supported by three pillars: heritage, craftsmanship, and wearability.
Heritage in Every Detail
If you’re familiar with JELADO, you probably associate the brand with chore coats, rugged denim jackets, and denim pants. Like so many of our favourite Japanese brands, JELADO offers a wide range of vintage workwear classics, but with a twist. What truly sets the brand apart is how they reinterpret the classics, seeing heritage pieces through a modern lens. While every piece reflects a deep and clear historical understanding, pieces aren’t brought into the present without interpretation. JELADO adjust proportions, tweak designs and materials, and make small construction adjustments to make every piece at home in contemporary wardrobes. They keep the soul of vintage clothing alive and pay homage to classic and durable American workwear, but they adapt everything to fit today’s expectations of comfort and style.
Honoring Japanese Craftsmanship
JELADO mainly use Japanese-made materials, staying true to their identity and their focus on quality and craftsmanship. They follow authentic Japanese methods, collaborating with renowned Japanese fabric mills and manufacturers to produce their garments. All of their denims have, of course, been woven on shuttle looms, and they often experiment with traditional Japanese dyeing and weaving techniques. Take a closer look at JELADO’s garments and you’ll notice the incredible attention to detail in stitching, hardware, and finishing. Each garment reflects a Japanese perfectionism—quality that has been practiced and perfected over decades.
Made to Wear
While being historically grounded, JELADO’s garments suit contemporary life. The brand updates vintage designs with modern fits and comfortable proportions, ensuring that each piece is practical, long-lasting, stylish, and highly wearable. At the same time, they pay close attention to fabric composition, analyzing aspects like cotton fiber length, thread thickness, number of twists to find that perfect balance between comfort and durability. The result is pieces that feel both old and new, pieces that you want to wear day in and day out. Each piece rewards this kind of approach. They go the distance, but they show those unmistakable and beautiful signs of age, fading and distressing beautifully with wear.
Tokyo Welcomes JELADO’s New Flagship
On May 23, 2025, JELADO officially opened their new flagship store in Tokyo, just a stone’s throw away from their previous location. The larger, better-located, and more modern space reflects the brand’s evolution and growth over the last two decades. The store makes the brand’s philosophy and history visible and tangible. The design is clean and modern, but, throughout the store, you can see vintage objects and worn-in garments. Here, in their new flagship store, JELADO have perfectly expressed their identity, and I felt right at home the moment I walked in the door.
The first thing that catches our eye was a display featuring an amazingly faded pair of JELADO jeans—always a clear sign that you’ve arrived at a true denim haven. The store features an impressive selection of jeans and denim jackets in a variety of fits and fabrics, which are all displayed in the heart of the store. Beyond denim (lots of denim), the store showcases the brand’s broad range with sections for JELADO shirts and flannels, leather jackets, and footwear.
The store is run by a team of passionate, stylish, and experienced staff who know Japanese denim and JELADO inside out. They model the clothes and the style brilliantly, but, more than this, they help guide customers towards the pieces that are right for them. Knowledgeable and patient, they helped us better understand the pieces we looked at and they recommended, displaying the kind of passion and expertise that made the brand and its pieces feel utterly essential.
Explore JELADO in Ebisu or Online!
Stopping by JELADO’s Ebisu flagship store in Tokyo was a highlight of our journey through Japan. It’s more than just a great store. It helped us understand why JELADO enjoys the kind of reputation they do in Japan and around the world. They’re more than just another Japanese denim brand. Walking through the store and talking with the staff, we could see that they celebrate craftsmanship, history, and timeless design, translating each of these into something contemporary and highly wearable.
If you are in Tokyo, make sure to visit JELADO’s new flagship store in Ebisu! The passionate store staff will welcome you and help you better understand the brand’s philosophy. They’ll help you find something that is perfect for you (something that will fuse the brand’s story with your own). If you can’t make it to Tokyo, the next best thing is a look at JELADO’s webstore. To stay up to date with their new releases, follow them on Instagram!
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