We like the shadows cast by people. The dappled patterns of light through the trees.

Not crisp black shadows, but gray ones. Shadows that reflect the contours of the light and gradations of darkness.

After working with Indigo for twenty years, we decided to call our 34th Indigo hue “Kageiro Nando” – “Shadow Nando.”

It’s a deep, shadowy Indigo, reminiscent of both natural Ai indigo and black.

It started with an idea: “Let’s make a gray denim .”

At first, we experimented with gray rope dying. What wouldhappen if we dyed the yarn gray with the same techniques we use to dye it Indigo?

But none of our experiments worked out. No combination of dyes or dyeing time gave us what we were looking for. 

We wanted a gray with the kind of vivid bright-and-dark contrast you see on vintage denim. 

With that as our starting point, we thought our way back to – yes – Indigo.

We took our cue from our own history: “Sumi Nando,” a dark

Indigo devised by 45R in 2003. This hue gave the yarn a depth of

color, like black and Indigo overlaid on each other. Over the years,

the Indigo fades and the color settles to gray.

Left: Kageiro Nando jeans, Right: Sumi Nando jeans

Now inspired by Sumi Nando, we embarked on further experiments with rope dyeing . . .

One day, the yarn we drew from the dye vat had a color that satisfied everyone – a mysterious hue sharing in the deep blue of Indigo

and the refined gentleness of gray. It was lighter and more flexible than Sumi Nando, and revealed a lively gradation between vivid blue

and gray after a few washes. 

Of course, this Indigo hue was deeper and more beautiful than any we

had ever seen, but when we used that yarn to make jeans, we

found that they went well with clothing of any color. We had created a denim of supreme versatility – something that could be worn

with any coordinates.

From the left, loomsate, Nou, Syo and Jyu color in Kageiro Nando indigo

This, we decided, would delight any customer.

We can hardly wait to show you what it looks like in our stores.

Our 34th shade of Indigo is now complete.

Using vintage denim as a model, we created this 5-pocket denim by trial and error.

The denim was woven roughly with 6.5 count yarn, and the fabric was uneven.

Feel the comfort of the fabric when you receive it, you will be surprised at how uneven it is!