Why it belongs in ORBIS
New York denim label founded in 2003 by Andrew Chen and Johan Lam; introduced its first jeans, the SL-100x, in 2008 using custom 14.5oz selvedge fabric woven by Kuroki Mills in Okayama, Japan. Flagship store in Nolita.
3sixteen was founded in New York in 2003 by Andrew Chen and Johan Lam, who started out screen-printing graphic T-shirts and pitching mock-ups to the city's streetwear shops before shifting toward a minimal, utilitarian direction. Their denim line began in earnest in 2008 with the SL-100x, cut from a 14.5oz selvedge fabric the pair developed with Kuroki Mills in Okayama, Japan — a partnership that has continued through later releases. The brand's name references the Bible verse John 3:16, and Chen and Lam have described their guiding idea as making garments meant to age and wear in rather than be replaced. Two decades in, 3sixteen still operates as an independent, founder-run label, running its flagship out of Nolita and continuing to work directly with Japanese mills for its raw denim rather than relying on domestic or import fabric jobbers.