The Indigo Invitational has become the world’s most revered fading competition, powered by a community of hardcore denim heads who live to get the best fades out of the finest raw denim jeans. 2023 marked the end of the third Indigo Invitational and it’s safe to say the standard of denim evolution on show is nothing short of breathtaking.
In this edition of Fade Friday, we’re taking a moment to shine the spotlight on the finalists of ‘Year 3’ of the Indigo Invitational, a shortlist that basically gives you ten Fade Fridays in one. We don’t really have the word count to do each entry justice, but there are some pairs that really stand out to us, here.
First up is fourth place Chanaphat and his Ruedi SJF x Candiani jeans. Honestly, I’m not sure how these aren’t in the top 2, as the creases they’ve developed are beyond intense and about as crazy as contemporary denim fades get. Chanaphat is a farmer in Thailand, and his Instagram account is getting all sorts of plaudits in the denim community due to his ability to push the limits of denim fading through his agricultural work. His other fade-projects are well worth checking out.
For fans of more traditional fades like myself, third place Trung is coming in hot with his Warehouse & Co. Duck Digger jeans. These bad boys have shed a lot of indigo but still developed some nice whiskers, combs, and even some damage to the left knee, all of which give the jeans an authentic, lived-in feel.
We’d like to sign off this edition of Fade Friday with thanks to all of our fade submissions in 2023, and all of you lovely people that read them. We’ve been doing Fade Friday for over a decade, now, and competitions like the Indigo Invitational show just how much the raw denim scene has grown and developed in that time. We can’t wait to see more of your fades in 2024.
To sign up for Indigo Invitation Year 4, head over to Indigo Invitational. To share your fades with us at Heddels, please use our Fade Submission Form.
