A year ago, we were literally over the moon when the first Denham The Jeanmaker store opened in Antwerp (read it here). Situated in one of Antwerp’s premium shopping streets, the store is everything you want a shopping place to be: it’s bright and beautiful, full of details that are part of the brand’s identity and offers a great selection for both men and women.

Recently, we met up again with Jason Denham, who started Denham in 2008, but this time in Amsterdam, at the gorgeous Denham HQ. Already when entering the building, we spotted a beautiful 19th century indigo kimono and it only got more interesting when we arrived at the Denham studio, a beautifully cluttered room (the dog did it!) above the men’s shop. The room holds Jason’s personal collection of denim and antique scissors. When browsing through the pairs of jeans, looking at the old advertising posters and pictures on the wall and listening to Jason explaining how Denham came about, you can tell this isn’t just an ordinary brand. Behind the product, there are big, meaningful stories and a lot of know-how. And a lot of this knowledge is gathered from the pieces in the Denham archive.

Jason explains: ‘Before we started creating the first Denham jeans, we studied the pieces in our archive very closely. We still do, at the start of each season. We use them as study objects, the aim of the collection is never to resell. We try to create a jean with a unique style and a solid foundation.’

You can tell each pair of Denham jeans is made with respect for history and a passion for invention. Hence the company’s motto ‘Worship Tradition. Destroy convention’.
This giant pair of scissors alledgedly was taken from Andy Warhol’s The Factory.
The old pattern book was a source of inspiration when naming the first Denham models.
This pair of jeans dates from 2008, the year when the company was founded. They have been heavily worn and now present a beautiful finish.
We had some time left to visit the different Denham stores, located in Amsterdam’s Nine Streets neighbourhood. This area with niche fashion stores, galleries and cafés suits the premium brand perfectly. Since most of the Amsterdam houses are fairly narrow, Denham decided to open not 1 but 4 stores here, all with a specific focus. The flagship store can be found in Hobbemastraat. The Men’s Denim Bar for example has a customizing booth (Service Co.), the women’s store has some beautiful decoration and great fitting rooms. For the Amsterdam early birds, there is the Denham coffee bar, which opens at 8am.
Toys for boys. At the Men’s Denim Bar, you can get your denim customized at the in-store booth Service Co.‘Does my bum looks good in this?’
Ladies who shop at Denham can use this 360° mirror to check themselves from all angles.   This picture of Jason’s grandfather’s shop, which logo shows a striking resemblace to the Denham font, can be spotted in the women’s store.

All pictures by Sandder.