Noko Jeans

Noko Jeans was founded by Swedish entrepreneurs Jakob Ohlsson, Jacob Aström and Tor Rauden Källstigen. The idea for company came after they got drunk.

On July 20, 2007, they were scrolling through North Korea's website and noticed a new feature titled "Business". After clicking on button, they found a list of goods that North Korea claimed to be able to export. They sent a email to the contact address and claimed that they were import-export managers of a fictitious company. A few hours later they got a response which thanked them for their interest.[2]

In November 2007, North Korean Embassy in Stockholm made a call to them. The they brought Ohlsson's father along with them to their first meeting to create an aura of credibility. North Korean tried to convince them to buy a zinc factory and make jackets instead. In December 2007, they provided two pairs of jeans, one of them was a used pair, to North Korean delegation for inspection at a textile factory.[3]

On July 27, 2008, the trio arrived in Pyongyang through a train from Beijing. The karaoke bar where they spent their first evening served as the inspiration for the names, Kara and Oke, which they gave to their two models .

The next 10 days were spent visiting textile factories. They were rejected by North Korea’s biggest textile producing company. They striked a deal with North Korea’s largest mining company, Trade4, which was also involved in textile on the last day in North Korea. They signed a contract to produce 1,100 pairs of black jeans.[4][5]

The process of agreeing a deal to produce just 1,100 pairs of jeans was baffling. At one point they were asked to import a zinc smelting oven and another asked for a pirated copy of Adobe Acrobat as he couldn't read the files they were sending him.[6]

A year later, in 2009, they returned to North Korea to make sure that the production was going as expected. Jeans were missing the buttons were stuck somewhere between from Pakistan to Pyongyang.

On November 11, 2009, after two years, jeans at last arrived in Stockholm. On December 4, the jeans were meant to be sold at The Noko Jeans shop, which the label describes as its "museum", were to be sold at Aplace, a retail space within the PUB department store. The department store refused to cooperate, claiming that it didn't want to become involved in politics. In 2010, the North Korean manufacturer also canceled their agreements with company.[7][8][9][10][11]

The company remained in business till 2011. In 2013, company claimed to have only 100 pairs of jeans left. From December 18, 2009 to February 6, 2010, Noko Jeans had a museum in Södermalm, Stockholm.[12]

The two unisex models were designed in collaboration with fashion designer Julia Hederus. Both models are designed based on the Noko Jeans story. Both of the models were made in black denim.[13]

Kara Slim Fit is a tighter model with a regular waste.

Oke Loose Fit is more baggy, with a drop-crotch. Oke Loose Fit has a regular waste.

The founders claimed that they had packed spools of sewing thread and large amounts of cash their bags when they went to North Korea. They brought the cash for the production with them because it was too complicated to do it through ordinary bank channels. They also said they had to supply everything all the materials needed as North Korea doesn't produce anything.[14]

A total of 1,100 pairs of jeans were made by a mining company in Pyongyang during 2009. Each pair of jeans cost 1,500 kronor (£131) or ($220) which is more than two year’s wages for the average North Korean.[15][16][17]

• New York Times — “North Korea-Made Designer Jeans Launched in Sweden”
• The Huffington Post — "Denim Diplomacy"
• Official Website (Now defunct) - archived version here
• Official Photo Gallery (Flickr)
• This is Our Factory
• HELLO IT'S Noko Jeans!