SEARCH PARTY

The new documentary “Denim Hunter” takes viewers on a quest for vintage jeans.

In the opening scenes of the documentary “Denim Hunter,” Viktor Fredbäck trudges across the scorched landscape of California’s Death Valley. He pauses to take a drink from his canteen, the water pouring onto his parched lips, before he collapses to the ground, covering his face with a worn hat.

That beginning may feel dramatic for a film about searching for vintage jeans, but the lengths Fredbäck and his fellow “denim hunters” go to in a quest to procure their apparel holy grail fit the sweeping scene.

The idea for “Denim Hunter” came when

Swedish filmmaker Emilio Di Stefano read a story about Fredbäck’s trip to the U.S. to search for discarded jeans in abandoned mines. “I just thought that sounded weird,” Di Stefano said. “So I contacted Viktor on Facebook after I read it in the paper, and the next morning we met in Stockholm.”

Di Stefano had been mulling the idea of shooting an adventure documentary with a niche angle, and after meeting Fredbäck and hearing his story, he thought the search for rare denim fit the bill. A few months later, he and Fredbäck set off for the U.S. on a research trip.

BIRTH OF AN OBSESSION

Fredbäck hasn’t always been interested in vintage denim. But nearly two decades ago, he lived with a roommate whose brother worked in the industry in Sweden. Fredbäck became interested in his friend’s work and soon acquired a taste for vintage jeans. At the time, he couldn’t afford much—vintage denim can run up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for exceptionally rare pieces—but he slowly began to amass a small collection, mostly of scraps and a small denim doll from the 1920s.

Fredbäck began trolling eBay for hidden denim gems. One day, he stumbled on a pair from the 1800s that piqued his interest enough to reach out to the seller for more information.

“I asked the guy who sold it, ‘What is this? Could you tell me about it?’” Fredbäck said. “And we went back and forth until he told me, ‘I’m digging for jeans in the desert.’ I asked him to tell me more, and he invited me to come along on one of his trips. That’s what got me started in this world.”

Many of the jeans unearthed were left by miners in the American West during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The hardwearing riveted pants were a uniform of sorts for the workers. “The miner didn’t own the pants, so when they closed down a mine, the miners left whatever wasn’t theirs,” he said.

More than 400 pairs later, Fredbäck has built a collection that ranges from A.B. Alfeldt Champion overalls from the 1870s to flare jeans from the 1970s, with a style representing every decade other than the 1880s. Finding this missing link in his collection became an obsession for Fredbäck.

STRIKING GOLD

After that first trip, Fredbäck partnered with two other veteran denim hunters—Michael Allen Harris and Russ Miller—who make appearances early in the documentary. Fredbäck accompanies them to search an abandoned mine, where they comb the mineshaft looking

Filmaker Emilio Di Stefano (left) follows Viktor Fredbäck (right) on his quest for jeans.

for clues that might lead them to discarded denim, noting nooks and crevices where rotting timbers hold up the walls and ceiling where miners could have shoved discarded pants or jackets.

While pointing out one precariously splintered support post after another, the level of danger in this pursuit becomes abundantly clear. “They want to go into mines nobody has been into, and that’s the dangerous part,” Fredbäck said. “You sometimes have to dig to get into them or climb down a vertical shaft.”

Often, the mines are in desert landscapes, which presents a different set of dangers and challenges. “It’s windy, and it’s really hot,” Fredbäck said. “And it’s not like you can just park your car and walk in. You park and then do a couple of hours of hiking.”

Sometimes the effort pays off. Inside the mine with Harris and Miller, Fredbäck dug around in a pile of rubble and struck pay dirt—an ancient pair of mostly intact jeans with the original tag bearing the words “Good Luck.” After a few joyous moments of celebration, Fredbäck’s elation deflates when Harris informs him that he will keep the pants because Fredbäck is merely tagging along on his expedition.

That disappointment— not to mention a fiancée, a baby and an impending wedding back in Sweden—don’t deter Fredbäck from his goal. The documentary follows him as he continues searching for the pair of jeans that will complete his collection, along the way linking up with other denim hunters such as Brit Eaton, who sold a pair of 1873 Levi’s at auction last year for $100,000.

While finding that elusive pair would be sweet, Fredbäck said that wouldn’t end his search. Almost more than the denim itself, the thrill of the hunt drives Fredbäck to such lengths and will keep him on the trail of the next big score for years to come.

“I don’t want to collect anything that could be finished, like stamps or coins,” he said. “The idea of being finished with something is kind of depressing. What would be the purpose of doing it? For me, this could be never-ending.”

“Denim Hunter” is streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Vimeo. ■