COTTLE is a clothing label from Kojima, in Kurashiki, Okayama, the birthplace of Japanese jeans. It was founded in 2015 by designer Toshiaki Watanabe, a Kurashiki native who trained at Bunka Fashion College and spent years at a jeans manufacturer before starting his own label. The brand designs and sews in a restored 130-year-old textile house that is both its workshop and gallery, and it works with craftspeople mostly within a short drive, so every piece can be checked by hand. COTTLE calls its clothing “a uniform for living”: everyday basics given a distinctly Japanese depth through material and craft. The label draws on the Kurashiki region’s folk craft tradition, using natural dyes like indigo, bengara (red iron oxide) and kakishibu (persimmon tannin), original fabrics developed with local mills, and hand-finished details down to the labels and tags. The result is quiet, carefully made clothing meant to be worn every day and to grow more personal with time.