45R (also written 45rpm, parent company 45rpm studio co., ltd.) is a Japanese clothing brand founded in 1977 by Hiroshi Masuyama and Inoue Yasumi. Based in Tokyo with a flagship store (Badou-R) in Omotesando, 45R is one of the most philosophically distinctive brands in the world of Japanese menswear and craftsmanship: its founding philosophy — “monozukuri (clothesmaking) as a journey in search of new possibilities for Ai indigo” — positions the brand not as a fashion label but as a lifelong investigation into natural indigo, selvedge denim, handspun yarns, and traditional Japanese dyeing techniques applied to contemporary casual clothing.
Key Facts
- Founded: 1977
- Founders: Hiroshi Masuyama and Inoue Yasumi
- Creative Director: Inoue Yasumi
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan (flagship Badou-R store, Omotesando)
- Industry: Japanese Artisanal Clothing, Indigo Dyeing, Heritage Denim
History and Innovation
45R was among the first Japanese brands to introduce high-end, artisanally made denim to international markets — particularly in the United States in the 1980s, when jeans were becoming synonymous with cheap mass-market clothing. The brand’s intellectual interest in indigo — both natural Ai (from Tokushima prefecture) and synthetic — is genuinely profound: they worked with a Tokushima workshop that both dyes and weaves under one roof, the yarn dipped and aired 20–30 times in living indigo vats before around 2,200 warp threads are aligned by hand and woven on a 1950s shuttle loom producing only 30 metres a day.
By 2000, when the brand opened its New York store, it was introducing Made-in-Japan denim dyed with natural Ai — a commitment so deep that the brand has developed 34 distinct indigo hues, each named (the 34th: “Kageiro Nando” — “Shadow Nando,” a deep shadowy indigo reminiscent of both natural Ai and black). Staff, shop assistants, and factory workers wear new indigo pieces in rotation to track fading in real time; the worn pieces are sold for charity. Permanent Style’s Simon Crompton visited the 45R headquarters in 2023 and described the brand as “a design brand, but one rooted in traditional clothing and techniques, which is quite rare.”
Aesthetic and Products
45R produces jeans, T-shirts, shirts, knitwear, outerwear, shoes, and accessories — all anchored by indigo in its many gradations. The design language is described as “relaxed” and “feel-good,” mixing Japanese naval clothing references, workwear, and mountaineering materials with the soft, pre-loved character that natural indigo gives every piece. The brand’s T-shirts, bandanas, and jeans form what it calls its “trinity.” Stocked at its own stores in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hayama, and New York; no advertising or conventional marketing.
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