How RRL Denim Jeans Are Made

Double RL Denim

How RRL Denim Jeans Are Made: From Cotton Field to Finished Pair

Eight pairs of RRL denim jeans, folded along the inseam.

When Ralph Lauren founded Double RL in 1993, he drew inspiration from the enduring heritage of the American West and the train-hopping, steer-wrangling, gold-panning men who shaped it. Rooted in authenticity, Double RL stands for craftsmanship over fashion, creating quality denim to last – what Ralph Lauren calls “real stuff.”

Nothing captures that spirit more than a pair of blue jeans, originally designed for the hard-wearing demands of miners and cowboys. Today, that legacy lives on through Double RL’s commitment to premium denim and American-made jeans, including raw denim jeans, sought after for their durability and ability to develop character over time.

Among them, the East-West denim stands apart. Crafted using a global process that prioritises quality at every stage, it represents the pinnacle of selvedge jeans and how jeans are made using traditional techniques. Here’s how a single pair comes together.

Men’s Denim Women’s Denim

Layers of woven denim prepare for indigo dyeing.

Japanese Weaving:

Shuttle Looms and Indigo Dyeing

From Tennessee, the cotton travels to Okayama, Japan, widely regarded as the home of Japanese denim and a global centre for traditional denim craftsmanship. Here, a centuries-old approach to indigo dyeing and the denim weaving process is preserved through the continued use of vintage shuttle looms.

Scroll to explore

Unlike modern high-speed looms, shuttle looms weave denim slowly and with low tension, producing stronger fabric with a richer texture and the signature edge of selvedge denim. While most manufacturers moved to faster, lower-cost methods in the mid-20th century, these traditional techniques remain essential to creating high quality jeans.

Indigo yarn dyeing process

Indigo-dyed yarns before they are woven into a denim quality

To produce East-West denim, RRL partners with a specialist Okayama mill dedicated to this craft. The long-staple cotton is ring-spun and rope-dyed in indigo, then woven into fabric on wooden shuttle looms, resulting in a dense, character-rich denim with a distinctive red-line selvedge.

The fabric is then Sanforized to minimise shrinkage, while preserving the natural loomstate qualities that give the denim its authentic look and feel.

Shuttle loom weaving indigo dyed yarns into a selvedged denim quality

Shuttle loom weaving indigo-dyed yarns into a selvedge denim quality

A craftsman works on a machine that sanforizes the denim

A craftsman works on the machine that sanforizes the denim

High Slim

Slim

Slim Boot

Straight

Vintage wash five pocket RRL jeans worn with black boots

Vintage Five-pocket

American-Finished Jeans:

Crafted in the U.S.A.

From Japan, the finished denim is shipped to California or Texas, where each pair is cut and sewn into handcrafted denim jeans using time-honoured techniques dating back to the 1940s.

Methods such as chain stitching, hidden rivets, and hand-set pockets are used to ensure both durability and authentic details rarely found in modern mass production. American-made thread and hardware reinforce every seam, while a “busted” outseam reveals the signature edge of selvedge denim as a mark of quality.

Each pair is then finished by hand. Skilled artisans use methods like sanding and washing to create natural wear patterns and the lived-in character of distressed jeans. With up to 50 individual finishing steps, no two pairs are exactly like, each designed to evolve with the wearer over time and reflecting the craftsmanship of vintage wash jeans.