Jeans from North Korea

Today, Sweden’s Noko Jeans is launching a line of designer denim manufactured in North Korea. The company claims that these are the first 1,100 pairs of jeans to ever be produced in North Korea. One of the founding partners, Rauden Kallstigen, explains the motivation behind their project to produce denim in the “Hermit Kingdom”: “‘It ...

575924_091204_noko12.jpg
575924_091204_noko12.jpg

Today, Sweden’s Noko Jeans is launching a line of designer denim manufactured in North Korea. The company claims that these are the first 1,100 pairs of jeans to ever be produced in North Korea.

One of the founding partners, Rauden Kallstigen, explains the motivation behind their project to produce denim in the “Hermit Kingdom”:

“‘It was a way for us to contact the country … Our interest for North Korea goes way back because it’s just a black spot on the map.”

Despite reservations of supporting the present regime of Kim Jong Il, the Swedes decided to pursue their fashion venture, which has been in the works since 2007. After downing an entire glass of Swedish vodka during a visit to North Korea, these three entreprenuers, with no international fashion or trade experience, and the North Koreans agreed: “There would be jeans.”

Noko Jeans are only available in black. The designers claim this is because “blue jeans” are stigmitized in North Korea due to their historic association with American culture. Regardless, jeans have been banned in North Korea for years, according to a recent Associated Press article, making it unlikely for North Koreans to enjoy the newest fashion craze.

Flickr/Cecilie

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.