Evisu, the original Japanese premium denim brand, founded by the visionary Hidehiko Yamane, is a relatively nascent designer brand compared to the traditional French, German, British and Italian designer names and fashion houses. That said, Evisu has undoubtedly shown maturity beyond its years and now leads rather than follows.

Evisu’s impressive success appears to run juxtaposition with the extraordinary growth in the Internet and online transactions. Original and genuine Evisu products were available to buy online as early as 1999 which led to an almost surreal intertwining of brand name and cyberspace. Evisu was one of the earliest, if not the earliest, brand to be direct associated with online accessibility which certainly gave the brand an edge and led to an explosion in sales. The echoes of self-adulation resonated from Japan to Europe, America and back to the land of the rising sun — all was rosy in the oriental garden.

No fairy story would be complete without a shady adversary lurking in the shadows — and it’s no different for Evisu, although their nemesis is not your typical dragon. The Evisu adversary is much more elusive but like the dragons of fairy stories it has many heads, in fact millions of heads and if it’s slain it comes back once more in a more determine and malignant fashion. So what is this online dragon? You’ve probably guessed already – counterfeits! Evisu jeans are surely the most copied garment online. The Internet is awash with endless counterfeit Evisu jeans. In fact, it is reported that Evisu employ people to scan the Internet seeking counterfeits in an attempt to protect their image and brand name. It’s said, they have several individuals specifically assigned to eBay — their job is to report suspected counterfeits and have them removed and where possible seek legal redress. Evisu surely have mixed feelings about the Internet. Cyberspace played a big part in propelling Evisu into the heady-heights of the fashion elites. However, it transpires there’s a price to pay for this success and the question on the lips of every brand must be: is it a price worth paying?