Climbing the Wall: Ruttloff Puts Down New Roots in Berlin 

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Leaving his Native Dresden, Johann Ruttloff is Now at the Heart of Germany’s Selvedge Scene

Since 2010, Johann Ruttloff has been building an unparalleled reputation among Europe’s denimsmiths. From his birthplace in Dresden, he established a deep footprint in the industry. 

Though you might not see Ruttloff’s pairs hanging in store windows, those who know and love well-made selvedge know Johann’s name. If you know, you know—and you should definitely know.

He built his reputation on the back of how his pairs fit (like nothing else) and how they are constructed. His ability to mould denim to fit the contours of the body and to make these pairs as tough as nails comes down to his precise knowledge of both tailoring and engineering. 

A self-taught tailor and sewing machine expert, Johann has amassed a serious collection of vintage sewing machines—the oldest ones dating back to the beginning of the twentieth century. It might be the most impressive collection of operational vintage sewing machines in Europe.

If you’re drawn to the engineering side of vintage denim, a visit to Ruttloff’s studio will be an unmissable opportunity to see some of these steel dinosaurs in action.

The machines, most of them purchased on eBay in the early ‘00s, came from all over the world to find a new home in Ruttloff’s Dresden studio. With each machine he added to his collection, the difficulty of relocating grew larger and larger. Still, Johann was restless. He wanted to explore new horizons. 

Berlin was calling. Each time he visited the city, he felt fully at home among the city’s denim enthusiasts and assorted misfits—more comfortable in his surroundings than he had ever felt in his native Dresden. Johann answered the call.

Berlin Bound: Johann Makes the Big Move

In 2023, Johann began lovingly packing his sewing machines and preparing them for a move. He secured a studio space on the outskirts of the city and loaded his machines onto a Berlin-bound truck.

All but one of the machines survived the journey; a mover accidentally smashed an antique hemstitch machine, making it yet another old friend that Johann had to leave behind. 

The move was a step into the unknown for Johann. It was the first big move of his life, and, when he arrived in Berlin, he didn’t even have an apartment.

He found the hunt for a new living space more difficult than he expected, so he slept on a couch in the corner of his new studio until a guardian angel (one of his customers) appeared and offered him a beautiful top-floor apartment in the city centre.

The city has welcomed him. Berlin has long been a magnet for those who think, live, and do business a little (or a lot) differently.

The creative vibe can be felt on every street, and the people, says Ruttloff, “are gentle, direct, and very honest”. The winters are longer and colder than Dresden’s, but the city makes up for this with a humming scene that brims with rugged verve and creativity.

Settling into his new surroundings was like sliding into a new pair of raw denim jeans. Berlin was a little stiff at first, but he grew more and more comfortable in the city with each passing day. That difficult break-in period is behind him now, and he’s starting to leave his mark on the city and its vibrant denim scene.

Room to Flow: Ruttloff’s Newer and Bigger Studio

I have three Ruttloff pieces in my closet (a pair of jeans, some selvedge chinos, and a lined denim jacket). Since my first pair, I’d wanted to visit Johann’s studio in Dresden for a custom fitting.

The trip never seemed to materialise, though. When he invited me to visit him in his new digs in Berlin, I jumped at the opportunity.

My wife and I landed in Berlin a few weeks later, and, with our bags in tow, we made our way to Johann’s studio. The space has not been designed with retail in mind.

It’s in the middle of an industrial park. Walk-ins are virtually non-existent. It’s a place of work. The only visitors to the space are there for a very specific reason.

The shop is divided into three rows of machines, with work stations at each of them.

At first glance, it would be perfectly reasonable to expect a staff of a dozen or more sewing professionals, each of them operating one of the machines. Johann does it all, though.

It’s a one-man operation, and, as he works, he leapfrogs from one machine to the next.

I watched him assemble my pair with his own hands. All told, it took him the better part of a day, and he used 18 machines during the process.

Having watched him work, I can see why Johann hasn’t expanded his operation, even as his list of customers keeps growing. Two or three tailors using the same space would inevitably step on each other’s toes.

On the other side of the machines sits a cutting table that runs nearly the entire width of the studio. It’s nearly twice the length of the cutting table Johann used in his Dresden studio, allowing Johann the luxury of working on multiple pieces at one time.

The shelf below the cutting surface is where Johann stores his non-core fabrics. Chambrays, sashikos, and hickories—the possibilities are endless.

Behind the cutting table hang paper patterns—the result of more than a dozen years of meticulous denim design. These represent the hardest yards for young denim brands.

There are plenty of labels that cram the kind of details that denimheads love into their pairs, but if the fits aren’t perfect, the brands don’t ever live to see middle age.

Ruttloff has become such an in-demand denim designer thanks to Johann’s ability to combine eye-popping details with flattering ready-to-wear fits. 

When you come to the end of the cutting table, you reach the selvedge wall. Thanks to his close relationships with world-class mills like Japan’s Nihon Mempu, Ruttloff does a tidy business selling imported selvedge to European brands.

The wall will be growing in the coming months. Johann has a shipping container on its way from Japan with hundreds of new rolls. 

This will make what is already the most difficult (and enjoyable) parts of the custom process nearly impossible.

If you’re planning a visit to the studio for a custom fitting, block off the afternoon. You don’t want to rush it. After all, this is destined to become the favourite pair in your collection.

A Custom Fitting Produces the Perfect Pair 

After showing me through his studio, Ruttloff set me loose among the rolls of selvedge. I was after a simple and classic indigo selvedge, but this didn’t narrow things down much.

Ruttloff has dozens of denims that fit this bill, but after a while, I was able to narrow it down to two heavy middleweights, one of them unsanforzied, the other sanforized.

I ended up picking the S-037, a 16.6 oz. sanforized selvedge milled by Nihon Mempu—for my money, the best denim mill in the world. The sanforization was the difference-maker.

I didn’t want to have any surprises when I washed the pair for the first time. The heavy, dark, and predictable denim was everything I needed and then some.

Almost all of the pairs in my collection are cut low across the hips. I wanted something with a higher rise.

Off-the-rack pairs with higher rises tend to be cut for larger gentlemen, leaving me (slim hips and all) more room than I need in the top block. The higher rise is, indeed, the best fit for portlier frames, but, when they fit right, they also look incredible for those of us with long legs.

The right high-rise fit has, until now, been elusive. With the aid of the measuring tape and his expert eyes and hands, Johann absolutely nailed it. If you’ve never experienced custom denim, it’s tough to put a precise point on what it is you’re missing.

The first time you slide into a pair that’s been cut and moulded to your precise measurements, you’ll understand what all the fuss is about.

This perfectly fitting pair opens up a whole new world of options for me. Unlike the other pairs in my collection, these Ruttloffs can be dressed up or down. Low-rise jeans, which dominate in my collection, only work with untucked looks.

Every time I need to spiff things up, I’ll reach for this higher-rise pair. They look great with flannels, chambrays, and tees, but they shine like diamonds with button-ups and vests.

The Details

I could go on for ages about the details in this pair, but, for brevity’s sake, I’ll just stick to two of the features that make it immediately clear that these jeans are anything but average. 

First: the lined cuffs. Johann had recently found an antique German linen produced early in the twentieth century.

The combination of beige and red caught my eye immediately, and we used it liberally on this pair, lining the cuffs and the yoke with it and placing a trapezoid of the fabric behind the leather patch.

Second is the sashiko fabric that we used in the right pocket hanger and the left side of the yoke. 

The fabric blends beautifully with the selvedge, but it will fade in dramatically different ways. To most eyes, the detail will be lost in a deep sea of indigo, but it will become more prominent as the jeans age.

And there’s the rub. Ruttloff’s pairs are such a work of art that you might be reluctant to use and abuse them. Disabuse yourself of this notion as quickly as possible.

As gorgeous as Ruffloff’s jeans are, they are made to fade. Everything from the denim to the reinforced pocket bags has been carefully chosen to go the distance and fade beautifully along the way.

I’ll be putting some serious miles on this pair because I know from experience that Rulloff’s jeans are only partially finished when they arrive in your hands. He leaves the rest to us, hoping that we’ll finish the work that he began. 

I’m not going to let him down. I’ll turn this pair into a faded masterpiece of the denim tailoring and fading arts that we can both be proud of. 

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