Self Edge’s “Lost Island” Lookbook Is A Breath of Fresh Air

Self Edge Proves the Raw Denim Uniform Can Be More Than Americana, Checked Shirts and Big Beards

If you know denim, Self Edge needs no introduction.

As one of the pioneering western retailers of high-quality and Japanese selvedge denim, the chain of stores has paved the way for the resurgence of quality denim seen in the last decade.

Along the way, owner Kia Babzani has teamed up with Andrew Chen and Johan Lam of 3sixteen to open stores in Los Angeles and New York (in addition to Kiya’s own San Francisco and Portland stores), Self Edge has collaborated with the biggest names in the denim game, the chain exclusively gives us Roy and they’ve even managed to piss off Levi’s enough to get sued (over the red tab, come on Levi’s).

If You Want To Know What’s Going On With Raw Denim, Look At Self Edge

The guys from Self Edge obviously know a thing or two about denim and style, which they demonstrate periodically in lookbooks that make us look at our wardrobes and sigh in disappointment. The latest lookbook entitled Lost Island is no exception.

Shot on that man-made spit of land joining San Francisco and Oakland via the Bay Bridge, the lookbook’s backdrop is the “No Trespassing” part of the island. Certainly a nod to the rebel in every denim owner but also a nod to denim lore. Both recent and historic.

The Lost Island was once Treasure Island, the home of the World Fair in the 1930s. Levi’s was a proud exhibitor and chose to create a mechanical rodeo diorama. Over eight decades later, this diorama was used as the inspiration for the S/S 14 Treasure Island LVC collection.

A New Era of Selvedge Style

The Self Edge lookbook is decidedly West Coast cool and worlds away from the world of LVC’s heritage Americana.

You have uncluttered looks. Raw denim paired with simple tees and colourful short sleeve shirts, and the outfits are punctuated with Self Edge’s wonderfully curated range accessories and jewelry.

The unstyled feel of the shoot is its strength. You could easily imagine bumping into these personas at the local artisanal coffee roasters and exchanging that knowing elevator glance.

As the lumbersexual reaches for his razor, not his axe, Self Edge’s Lost Island lookbook inspires us into a new era of selvedge style.