The world’s best denim brands, according to Wallpaper*

Our comprehensive edit of the world’s best denim brands spans everything from heritage brands to luxury names and independent innovators. No matter what style you are looking for – skinny to selvedge, boot-cut to classic blue – this guide was created to help you find the perfect pair of jeans (or indeed, a denim jacket or Western shirt).

Collated with input from the Wallpaper* style editors, the various labels – which reside around the world, from the denim heartlands of the USA, Japan and Italy, to Sweden, France and the United Kingdom – have been selected for their design credentials and craft know-how.

And, alongside the perennial classics – among them Levi’s, Carhartt and Wrangler – we have also chosen those who are pushing denim forward, whether through clever collaborations, innovations in sustainability, or a return to local production. There’s something for every taste.

The world’s best denim brands, according to Wallpaper*

Levi’s

No brand is more synonymous with denim than Levi’s. Taking its name from its founder, Levi Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant to San Francisco who in 1853 hit on the idea of combining copper rivet reinforcements with durable denim to create an ideal uniform for his fellow gold miners to wear, in the nearly two centuries since it has become one of the most ubiquitous clothing brands in the world.

From those first ‘blue jeans,’ dozens of Levi’s original fits were born: the 517 bootcut style associated with motorcyclists and cowboys, the 505, worn by punk musicians like The Ramones, the baggy fit ‘Silver Tab’ that was a favourite of 90s skateboarders, and the twisted-seam Engineered jeans which rose to prominence in the 1990s (and have since had something of a resurgence). In recent years, the brand has continued to innovate with a slew of (oftentimes unexpected) collaborations, including a recent capsule collection with London brand Kiko Kostadinov, a collaboration with Undercover that saw the Japanese brand upcycle classic Levi’s styles and an ongoing partnership with Junya Watanabe, who features later on our list.

Available from levi.com.

Wrangler

Wrangler launched in 1947 to create the perfect denim jeans, jackets and shirts for cowboys. These days you're just as likely to see Wranglers worn on the city streets as you are to see them at the cattle range, but the brand’s signature cowboy elements remain the same: flat rivets that don’t scratch a saddle, watch pockets, felled seams for a more comfortable horse ride and seven belt loops rather than the typical five.

In recent years, the brand has expanded its traditional offering to include additions like denim waistcoats and blazers for women, as well as Bermuda shorts and utility jackets for men, cut with the same long-wearing denim and eye for utility as the American brand’s original designs. The recent ‘Blue Bell’ collection also features reimagined pieces from the brand’s seven-decade archive, including the Blue Bell Two Pocket Shirt, a classic Western style that features two chest flap pockets, button cuffs and the iconic W-shaped top-stitching in yellow thread.

Available from wrangler.com.

Carhartt WIP

Carhartt WIP’s double-knee jeans are a firm favourite of the Wallpaper* style team, who have the studded-front style in every available colour. Founded in 1994 by Edwin Faeh, the ‘Work In Progress’ division – which regularly ​​collaborates with brands like A.P.C., Junya Watanabe, Nike and more – is inspired by Carhartt’s original workwear designs, which date back to 1889 when the brand was founded in Detroit, Michigan.

Styles like the double-knee jeans are made from heavyweight ‘Smith’ denim and feature utility detailing like double-layering for reinforcement, bartack stitching, rivet details, tool pockets, and a hammer loop. But it's not just the trousers that are noteworthy. The brand also creates denim shirts, dungarees, shorts and jackets, including a denim version of their popular – and much-copied – ‘Detroit’ canvas workwear jacket.

Available from carhartt-wip.com

Frame

In a way, the world has Wallpaper* to thank for the creation of Frame denim. Its founders, Jens Grede and Erik Torstensson first met while working at our offices before they went on to serve as editors-in-chiefs of Man About Town and eventually, in 2012, to launch Frame.

With headquarters in L.A. and London's Shoreditch, Frame creates denim that combines the laid-back cool of its West Coast home with the eccentric fashion sensibility of the British capital. The brand is probably best known for its skinny styles that hark back to the early aughts (cuts like the leg-lengthening ‘Alix’ or the high-waisted ‘Le Sleek’) but there are plenty of other styles to choose from including thigh-hugging flares and the voluminous balloon-shaped ‘Bubble’, all in Frame’s brilliant denim, which spans rigid, super-stretch and soft.

Available from frame-store.com

A.P.C.

Founded in Paris in 1987, A.P.C. is known for distilling the essence of French style – effortless, elegant and a touch eccentric – into clothes that everyone can wear. The same goes for their denim offering (their most well-known export) which is made out of rigid Japanese selvedge denim that is designed to mould to your body with wear. The offering is a tight edit that includes a few pairs of unisex jeans, some styles specific to men and women, overshirts, skirts and denim workwear jackets that are a favourite of Wallpaper*, with roomy side pockets and a boxy fit.

The brand has collaborated with everyone from JW Anderson and the late Jane Birkin to ex-Chloé and Louis Vuitton designer Natacha Ramsay-Levi, who partnered with the brand last year to create ‘really good denim and super-great T-shirts’. Speaking to Wallpaper* about the collection, Ramsay-Levi pointed out A.P.C.’s unique approach to the fabric. ‘There's a culture of denim at A.P.C. that doesn't exist elsewhere,’ she said. ‘It's not a fashion item, it goes back to the identity of what denim is.’

Available from apcstore.com

Acne Studios

Jonny Johansson founded Acne Studios with 100 pairs of jeans cut from raw denim with his now signature red stitching. Now, though, the Swedish label is known for its more offbeat styles – notably, baggy fits with trompe l'oeil effects, innovative washes, extreme distressing, and other bold finishes. Wallpaper* favourites include the brand’s ‘1991’ jeans, a loose unisex fit with an adjustable waistband that can be worn below the hips or on the waist, and the ‘2022’ style which comes with a high waist, wide leg and extra long length.

Available from acnestudios.com.

Ralph Lauren

Throughout his long career, Ralph Lauren has almost always been photographed wearing a pair of jeans. That’s probably because the designer, often credited as the godfather of modern American fashion, owes a lot to the fabric (it’s formed the backbone of countless collections) and it owes a lot to him (he helped elevate it from workwear material to luxury status). The brand’s range is, unsurprisingly, vast with its RRL line in particular featuring designs made out of the material and spanning everything from denim waistcoats to striped coveralls inspired by the uniforms of 19th-century engineers. Particularly noteworthy is the brand’s fixed denim with quilt-like patchwork and embroidery, transforming the rugged, lived-in details of vintage workwear with elements of the handmade.

Available from ralphlauren.co.uk

Re/Done

Launched in Downtown Los Angeles in 2014, Re/Done founders Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur wanted to recreate vintage Levi’s denim silhouettes for those who had trawled consignment stores for the pre-2000s fits denim obsessives hunt for. Since the brand’s styles are ‘pre-loved,’ they have the worn-in feel and natural fade patterns of vintage jeans without any of the effort of having to break a new pair in. Most recently, the brand collaborated with stylist and Interview magazine editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg (a true denim obsessive) on a collection of 80s-inspired denim pieces including a unisex pair of jeans inspired by Levi’s 505s, a trucker jacket, and a selection of upcycled Levi’s 505s.

Available from shopredone.com

The Row

The Row has become one of fashion’s favourite brands for designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s ability to perfect the foundations of a wardrobe, like a classic overcoat, white T-shirt and, of course, a pair of jeans. Made in Italy and Japan, their denim is impeccably tailored and buttery soft. Favourite styles include the ‘Ross’ straight-leg for men and the ‘Eglitta' for women, an ultra-slouchy style that, especially when paired with one of the brand’s signature drop shoulder sweaters, captures the elegant insouciance The Row has perfected. The same goes for their loose-fitting denim jackets, which only look better with wear.

Available from therow.com

Still Here New York

Still Here New York’s jeans are designed to be destroyed or, in the brand’s words, ‘ripped, faded, patched, and handed down, capturing moments and holding sentimental value as they wear’. Their styles range from ‘The Childhood’ a high-rise, straight-leg style designed to echo the anti-fit silhouette of your childhood jeans (the ‘Chaps’ edition of this style, with a chocolate suede inner panel, on each leg is particularly noteworthy) and the ‘Subway’, a carpenter-style pant with front-panelling that is available in the brand’s camo-print denim. If you’re looking for a pair of jeans as comfortable as your sweatpants, their newest style, ‘Cool’, is made from their speciality, ultra-soft ‘cloud’ denim and features a drawstring toggle instead of a waistband.

Available from stillhere.nyc.

Arket

If you are looking for well-made denim at a more accessible price point, Nordic high street brand Arket should always be a go-to. Seeing jeans as a garment ripe for ‘continuous reinvention and recreation’, expect timeless 5-pocket styles with contemporary tweaks: case in point, the brand’s ‘Cloud’ cut, a roomy, wide-leg style with a just-low-slung waist that recalls the golden age of 1990s denim (for a snugger fit, the ‘Snow’ has a mid-rise waist with an elongating straight-leg and slim fit). The men’s line is equally varied, ranging from the straight-leg ‘Park’ to the baggy ‘Mist’. Beyond jeans, the brand’s denim shirts, skirts and jackets are surprisingly strong – all are made from 100 per cent organic cotton and pair perfectly together for a double, or even triple, denim moment (which we always approve of).

Available from arket.com.

Junya Watanabe

Throughout his career, cult Japanese designer Junya Watanabe has applied his signature aesthetic, with its voluminous shapes, cutting-edge pattern-cutting and complex patching, to denim. The result is a truly innovative approach to the fabric. His S/S 2025 Junya Watanabe MAN collection was even created entirely out of denim with everything from trousers to tuxedo jackets constructed out of 50 types of denim sourced from Okayama, the centre of Japan’s denim production, and then painstakingly deconstructed and patched by Watanabe’s in-house team. The designer also regularly collaborates with Levi’s, creating collectable reinterpretations of the American brand’s denim.

Available from shop.doverstreetmarket.com

Jacob Cohën

There is a good reason Jacob Cohën’s denim is considered some of the finest in the world. The Italian brand combines the expert tailoring techniques of its home country with the highest quality Japanese denim that is processed without any chemical intervention and undergoes 45 processing stages. The result is luxuriously soft and durable denim that when paired with the brand’s signature flourishes – jewel buttons, crystal embellishments and patches – make for a singular pair of jeans.

The brand has been undergoing an exciting reboot since Jennifer Tommasi Bardelle, daughter-in-law of Jacob Cohën’s founder Tato Bardelle, took over the brand in 2012. With an eye towards expanding the womenswear offering and making the brand even more sustainable, Bardelle has introduced several innovations including a pair of completely compostable jeans.

Available from jacobcohen.com

Loro Piana

Italian brand Loro Piana transforms denim into high luxury. In fact, the brand’s innovative Denim Silk material might make it the most luxurious denim producer in the world. Made from 59 per cent cotton and 41 per cent silk (an astonishing amount considering the material’s delicacy), Denim Silk was developed through an arduous prototyping process between artisans in Italy and Japan. The method they finally hit on is labour intensive – it takes an entire day to produce just 50 metres of the fabric, the equivalent of around 25 pairs of jeans – but creates an airy, soft denim fabric and explains the price tag (which is over £1,000 for a pair of jeans).

Equally as impressive is their ‘CashDenim,’ a delicate blend of cashmere and cotton yarns, woven by Japanese craftspeople using vintage looms. The result is an incomparably comfortable denim that is almost as flexible and soft as the brand’s signature cashmere.

Available from loropiana.com.

Jeanerica

Jeanerica was founded in 2018 by friends Lena Patriksson Keller and Jonas Clason who worked Acne Studios’ denim and PR departments respectively before deciding to pool their knowledge into their own denim line. The result is a considered collection of American-style jeans designed from a European perspective.

Favourite styles include ‘Idaho’, a classic 90s low waist style with a straight fit from thigh to bottom leg to create a slight bootcut silhouette, and ‘Milan’ a 70s flair style with a high-rise waist and jetted pockets to accentuate the wide leg. Also noteworthy is the brand’s ‘Atelier’ series, which sees them collaborate with other creatives to reimagine denim through a new lens. The most recent series is a collaboration with the Copenhagen-based label La Bagatelle, which features denim Peter-Pan collar jackets and waistcoats.

Available from jeanerica.com

Superstitch

The Parisian brand Superstich is born out of founder Arthur Leclerq’s obsessive desire to create the perfect pair of blue jeans. That obsession has led him to salvage weaving machines from defunct factories, to carefully study the history of American denim manufacturing from the 1920s to the 1970s, and to work with master weavers in Japan who can operate electric powered shuttle looms that require around the clock care.

The idea is to create jeans that respect the fabric’s workwear heritage. These are jeans that have the same durability against sun, grime and wear as their vintage forebears. They have the same malleability too, eventually reshaping around the wearer’s body to become the perfect pair of jeans for them alone.

Available from superstitchmfg.com

ELV Denim

East London’s ELV Denim crafts womens and men’s styles from 100 per cent upcycled materials. Founded by fashion stylist Anna Foster in 2018, the brand is best known for its signature contrast colour denim which combines two different shades of preloved jeans mid-seam to create a patchwork style. If you’re not sure which pair to go for, we recommend the brand’s best-selling ‘Freya’ cut, a low waisted style with a super slouchy fit across the hips and legs.

Available from elvdenim.com

Kapital

For denim aficionados, few names inspire more reverence than Kapital. The Japanese brand was founded in 1985 by Toshikiyo Hirata, who fell in love with American workwear while traveling around the country as a karate instructor. Hirata’s son, Kiro, joined the business in the early 2000s, expanding its output from meticulous recreations of American classics to original styles with hippy motifs (smiley faces, peace signs, heavy patchwork), Japanese influences (shibori dyeing, embroidered cherry blossoms) and even their own dye techniques like ‘Century Denim’ which sees the fabric dyed with unripe persimmon juice to give it a unique orange-brown hue.

Still, the change of style has never had an impact on the brand’s quality. Operating out of Kojima, Japan's 'denim capital,' Kapital uses the laborious ‘boro’ hand stitch method for all its patchwork and subjects all of its dyes to a rigorous testing process that often requires around a hundred tests to land on the right formula.

Available from kapital.jp.

DL 1961

DL 1961 is a family-owned brand that wants to ignite a sustainable revolution in denim production. Every aspect of the brand’s denim, from fibre to finished garment, is manufactured in their New York factory, which runs on solar panels and heat regeneration. While a typical pair of jeans takes 1500 gallons of water to produce, DL 1961’s take less than 10.

The brand’s latest innovation is DL Aura, which blends cotton with Tencel Lyocell, a fibre derived from the wood pulp of beech trees, to create an ultra-soft denim that has a lived-in feel from day one.

Available from dl1961.com.