China’s Advance Denim is ramping up its innovations with craftsmanship at the forefront.
Since its inception in 1987, Advance Denim has built its reputation by making inventive denim that uses a mixture of “groundbreaking” technology and timeless indigo dye techniques, employed by some of the most experienced craftspeople in the world.
In fact, the denim mill’s focus on sustainable innovation has led to multiple groundbreaking innovations, including the development of BigBox Dyeing, which saves over 95 percent of the water needed to dye indigo.
Continuing its efforts, Advance Sico—a branch of Advance Denim based in Nha Trang Vietnam created to better serve its customers and diversify its manufacturing base—is leveraging the experience of Advance Denim to bring the future of vintage denim to the world with the help of advanced machinery.
True vintage shades
Authenticity starts with the machinery.
In accordance, Advance Sico is proud to use the Morrison dye range—which has been the heart of indigo dyeing for over 60 years—to build its shades. In addition to producing some of the “most classic” vintage indigo shades, Morrison dye ranges are also known for their durability, flexibility and repeatability.
When making the finest shades, it is important to have the right machinery and the right people to run the range. That’s why Advance Sico uses Japanese dye experts that have been working on Morrison dye ranges for over 20 years, building some of the most historic shades produced.
“Dyeing indigo and creating the perfect shade is the perfect mixture of art and science, which is why you need experienced artists/engineers setting up the dye range to run the machinery correctly,” said Mark Ix, director of North American marketing at Advance Denim.
With the experience and craftsmanship the experts provided, Advance Sico was able to create the Royal V8, the deepest darkest pure indigo that is complex yet flexible.
Another shade created with the experience and craftsmanship from the experts is Lake Blue J6, the newest and (possibly) the most complex shade in the Advance Denim’s range.
Lake Blue J6 is a mixture of dark pure indigo that shows a hint of emerald green when you wear it, and is reminiscent of a deep dark blue lake with star grass or algae just below the surface.
“While it can be exciting to craft indigo shades, it is important that we add some sustainability to the process without affecting the quality,” said Mark Ix. “That’s why we use BioBlue—a process that eliminates added sodium hydrosulfite to create a cleaner safer indigo that has fewer effluent issues without affecting the quality of the deep dark indigo shades—in all our indigo dye ranges.”
Indigo has a long and storied history in Vietnam, and has been cultivated since the Trần dynasty—a Vietnamese dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Đại Việt from 1225 to 1400—and Advance Sico is excited to be part of the new growth of the denim business in Vietnam as the intersection of sustainable innovation and vintage craftsmanship.
Learn more about Advance Denim Limited here.