The term denim seems familiar to us. As if it had entered the collective vocabulary. It is easily used, too often as a synonym for jeans, and refers us to a particular image, ranging from American westerns to slim jeans from the 90s. Today, denim is widely used in the fashion industry, and is derived as much from jeans as from work jackets , but also in a less traditional way, from dresses, shoes, or even bags. At Hast, we love denim, when it is of quality, and have always used it for strong pieces like overshirts or jackets. A quick overview of its history, and its uses.
A short history of a legendary fabric
It is not easy to precisely date the first uses of denim fabric. However, it is generally agreed that its origins are in the Italian city of Genoa somewhere in the 19th century, and then later linked to a fabric used in the French city of Nîmes – hence the term “denim”. However, it was our American colleagues who really democratized and developed denim. More precisely, the Californian Levi Strauss, who marketed this fabric in San Francisco in the 1870s for American farmers and workers. One of his buyers, Jacob Davis, had the revolutionary idea of reinforcing the slightly weak seams of pants with copper rivets – and jeans were born. Long popularized by cinema; the imaginary of the gold rush and cowboy films, jeans quickly became a symbol of pop culture, an attribute of bad boys, a myth of all-American virility.
As our societies evolve socially, jeans are inserted into different spheres and subcultures; moving from the Wild West to street wear, becoming a characteristic piece of the democratization of clothing.
From Marlon Brando in The Wild Escape embodying the myth of Hollywood freedom, to American rap stars favoring the "baggy" style, via the hippies of Woodstock with their torn outfits, jeans have followed, like many other iconic pieces such as the leather jacket, the history of our societies and its political and sociological events (gold rush, Vietnam War, oil shocks).
Nowadays, denim in the form of jeans is one of the most worn items in the world. According to a report on the subject made on Arte by Thierry Aguila, there are more than 7 pairs of jeans per person in the world. A symbol of modernity and comfort, then of sensuality in the 90s (when clothing became increasingly close to the body), this piece of clothing has a very particular symbolic force. Today, denim weave is of more or less good quality and is used not only for jeans or jackets , but for the entire contemporary wardrobe.
Technical characteristics and contemporary issues
Denim is a cotton fabric, historically dyed indigo, with a so-called twill weave. Twill is one of the main weaves in weaving and has a diagonal effect that is easily recognizable to the naked eye.
It is a dyed textile, which fades as it is used, gradually regaining the white color of the original cotton. This faded effect, as well as the diagonal surface of the twill weave, gives denim pieces a particular singularity, that of a slightly coarse garment, but ultimately unique and even cool. This fabric has been used since the 19th century, mainly for its robustness. Originally, the qualities of denim made them very strong, thick fabrics, used by the working and agricultural classes and gold prospectors. The development of fast fashion during the second half of the 20th century unfortunately favored the development of low-quality denim canvas, whose cotton threads were finer (one thread instead of three interwoven, for high-quality fabrics), and therefore less strong (but also less expensive to produce).
The United States, the world's largest denim producer, is moving to mass production, using faster but less efficient machines and getting rid of its looms.
Japan, long fascinated - since the end of the Second World War - by the American lifestyle, decided to preserve the denim know-how, by buying the looms and developing soft dyeing techniques. Japanese denims are now part of their great textile know-how, with fabric thicknesses that are rare today.
Denim therefore remains one of the most popular fabrics, due to its symbolic strength, its infinitely derived cuts and its timeless casual style. Long washed using chemicals, denim is now worn – and increasingly so, fingers crossed – using new, truly less polluting techniques such as ozone washing. Denim, with its strong history, will hopefully continue to rethink its industry to also evolve towards low environmental impact production, whether through its use in upcycling or through improved recycling techniques.
