September 16, 2024 • 25 mins
From the historical roots of indigo dye to the eco-friendly innovations of 3D printed denim, this episode shines a spotlight on denim’s evolution and its cultural significance. Discover how brands like Wrangler, Primark, and Digidenim are leading the charge in sustainable fashion, and join me on my personal adventure to find the perfect pair of jeans.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi everyone and welcome to Magnifique, your fave
fashion deep dive podcast.
I'm your host, gabrielle, andtoday we fall down the rabbit
hole of denim and the history ofdenim.
How it came to be really justyada yada.
But first let's get into thepleasantries.
(00:21):
How are we?
How was our weekend?
Did you do anything fun?
I'm going to pause for likethree seconds.
You tell me exactly what youdid, in every detail.
Ever Go.
That sounds so amazing.
Thank you for sharing Me.
Personally, I am bringingtoday's episode to you from my
(00:43):
basement floor, snuggled up in ablankie, just how we do.
Tiktok has been feeding methings I find incredibly elegant
and you know, as I just toldyou, I'm sitting down on the
basement floor.
But besides that, every singletime I see a video I'm like, oh,
(01:04):
that's me, oh, I do that, oh, Ithink I might be elegant.
And you know, thank you.
Finally, I've been cosplayingelegant since eighth grade.
Go ahead and roll the tapes.
I do have outfit of the daysfrom eighth grade and I am just
(01:26):
serving.
I'm serving, serving what, Idon't know, but I think we might
be entering my era and I'msuper excited.
My only qualm is that I thinkelegant and kind of the
archetype of elegant might bestolen.
(01:46):
It might be stolen, it mightbecome not that it ever wasn't
mainstream, but I think theTikTok girls are going to steal
it from me and just kind ofwater it down into whatever it's
not.
And I don't think everybodyneeds to be elegant.
I think everybody needs to dowhat feels right for them.
Me personally, I feel mostempowered when I'm cosplaying
(02:09):
elegance and I wouldn't evencall it elegance, to be
completely honest, everythingthat they're listing in these
videos just adult women things.
They just want to be an adultand that's fine.
I'm not yucking anybody's yum.
This is my yum.
It's just how I candidly feel.
(02:37):
But but in the same breath I'vebeen getting a little bit down
on myself for not having mycloset look exactly as I want it
, and I know that the TikTokgirls are going to beat me to
have a fully elegant closet.
So that's kind of getting me inthe dumps.
But so many buts today.
Call me MC Hammer.
Yeah, I'm a little bit downthat my closet doesn't look
(02:58):
exactly how I want it to.
However, comma, I did have totake a step back and I'm like
girl, you're literally 25.
Take a breath.
We're chilling.
We're only a quarter waythrough life.
Actually, I read a book theother day that said nevermind,
nevermind.
But to be honest, the wholeCOVID thing really ruined my
(03:19):
perception of time.
We don't talk enough about howthe pandemic stole two years
from us at least.
So in reality I am 23,.
And what the heck is a23-year-old doing with a home
and a mortgage and a fullyelegant closet?
She has no business doing that.
So I think I'm on the righttrack.
Thank you for indulging me inthat.
But also, speaking of turningback time, I have been if we
(03:45):
could only turn back time forone more day.
I've been in my One Directionera again lately and I'm in two
boats.
It's kind of freaking me out,but also I'm kind of living for
it.
I don't know if it's a goodthing or maybe a cry for help
how about you tell me but Isimply cannot stop.
(04:06):
And I forgot how many absolutebangers the Up All Night album
have.
I am just bumpin'.
It's truly liberating.
I feel free.
Thank you for asking.
My favorite album from OneDirection is Take Me Home, just
due to the memories.
It was the first album that Iexperienced in the fandom and
(04:27):
you know that special feeling.
You have a special place inyour heart, and I watched all
the teasers, I watched the musicvideos, I followed all the
discourse.
I had fan accounts.
I was in the trenches.
Here we are.
I've been in the trenches since, um, like February of 2012.
So it's been a while, been 12years, and you know I keep
(04:52):
cycling through my phases, andthat's okay.
I am needing a One Directiondance party immediately, if not
sooner.
I think it would fix all myailments.
And I had a dream the othernight that I had a birthday
party that was One Directionthemed and I'll be honest, that
was probably the best birthdayparty I've ever had, even if it
wasn't a dream.
So, yeah, that's how I'mfeeling.
(05:13):
Um, a little bit ofhousekeeping, housekeeping I
don't know what the fuck I'm ontoday.
Um, make sure you follow thelink in the show notes to my sub
stack.
I'm putting out really cutesylittle articles about fall
fashion and perfumerecommendations.
It really means nothing in thegrand scheme of the universe,
(05:36):
but I kind of like it.
I like to think of it as acutesy little magazine.
It's really fun.
The reason for this episode isdue to me just trying to find my
most perfect pair of denimjeans, and I'm looking for
something that's high quality,looks great and feels better.
But I'm having trouble with thefact that jeans will take time
(05:59):
to mold to your body in order tofeel the most comfortable.
So that's a struggle, but wewill prevail, I believe it.
And just one note before we doour little deep dive Bear in
mind that throughout most ofthis episode, jean and denim are
different things, but they endup meaning the same thing by
(06:21):
about 1950.
Up meaning the same thing byabout 1950.
So until then, jean and denim,two different things.
Don't get it twisted, let's getinto it.
So kind of the denim'sconception is that the jean
dates back to genesis, or geneg-e-n-e.
(06:43):
Like your body, the genematerial is a tough twill
trouser used by italian coastalworkers in the city of genoa
genoa, I've heard it in luca,and that's about it.
And denim throws us back to17th century france.
(07:04):
It's created by accident innimes, france nims.
They were trying to replicatethe jean material but ended up
creating a sturdier materialmade from cotton twill cloth,
and it was dubbed surge to nims,later shortened to denim.
So that's how it came to be.
(07:25):
But how did it come to the US?
Thank you for asking.
Levi Strauss.
Levi Strauss is a Germanimmigrant who moved to New York
in 1851 with his mother andbrother to start a dry goods
business with his brother in theBig Apple.
In the Big Apple, levi thenmoved to San Francisco in 1853,
(07:50):
during the Gold Rush, to start awestern branch of his family's
dry good business.
And just jumping a few yearsahead, denim, as we know it,
originated in 1860 by LeviStrauss Co.
At the time he already wasknown for merchandising stiff
and durable canvas pants.
But due to customer requests ofwanting a product that is as
(08:12):
durable, just a little softerand more comfortable to wear,
levi added Serge Denims to hisproduct line.
Product line.
Levi Strauss and Co reallystarted to pop off in 1873 when
he partnered with Jacob Davis topatent their riveted work pant.
Riveting helps to reinforce thepockets and the seams on work
(08:35):
pants to keep them from rippingWhile doing heavy labor.
It is, if you're wearing jeansright now, it's the little metal
parts around your pockets.
Jacob Davis was a tailor fromReno, nevada, and he frequently
purchased Levi's materials toproduce goods such as tents,
(08:56):
horse blankets and wagon covers.
But he was in San Fran on acommission trip.
He was commissioned by a goldmining company to create a
durable, heavy-duty workwearpant that I guess the mining
company couldn't find from LeviStrauss.
Davis drew up a plan for theriveted denim overall and
(09:17):
proposed a plan to form apartnership with Strauss, as he
provided the denim material toDavis.
So they officially becamepartners on May 20, 1873, and
ran the denim jean game untilthe 20th century when Wrangler
and Lee entered the scene.
(09:42):
So that takes us to the 1900s.
Let's talk about her.
So during the 1900s, denim wasthe heart of industrial and farm
workers through the 19th and20th century.
I would move forward to arguethat it still is.
I'm not entirely sure about therest of the company, but the
blue-collar boys of the Midwestwill live and die in their denim
(10:05):
work pants.
Blue-collar boys of the Midwestwill live and die in their
denim work pants Before leavingthe working man pant archetype.
Denim found a diehard fan clubin the Western boy scene.
What Western cowboy scene beingintroduced to the rest of the
country, particularly to theEast, during the dude ranch
craze of the 1930s.
(10:26):
Dude ranches wereromanticizations, the wild west,
a sense of nostalgiasurrounding the olden days.
East coasters would visit thedude ranches to go on western
adventures and learn aboutfamous Wild West figures at the
dude ranches.
According to Hawthorne Intel,these dude ranches were pretty
(10:52):
lifelike, with many of thevisitors either loving the
authenticity and how authenticthe feel and odors smelled, or
they were severely displeased,hating those prior.
Two points During the 1930s andWorld War II, american soldiers
brought their denim overseasand would wear them off-duty,
(11:15):
though, one would argue, therewasn't very much time to be
off-duty.
But this became a way forAmerican soldiers to tell each
other apart and because of thisand due to the shortage of raw
material needed to make thedenim, it became less known for
workwear and more appealing asleisure wear.
Greaser types, you know, likePonyboy, greaser types really
(11:39):
rebranded denim in the 1950s,moving forward with successfully
renaming them blue jeans.
It was also during this decadethat the denim pants saw the
redesign and favoring the use ofzippers rather than overalls.
Up until then they would uselike suspenders and overalls to
hold their pants up, you know,like old people do, due to the
(12:01):
likeness of James Dean and Elvisjean.
Sales exploded the industry inthe us, taking the item from
being sold exclusively as workand utility fabric to capturing
the interest of just regulardegular fashion conscious people
.
Leave it to the baby boomers topopularize denim.
Thanks, thanks, thanks I guesstrickle down economics denim
(12:25):
style.
Thank you so much.
Denim was everywhere andeventually got banned from being
worn in school due to itsrebellious persona that it
adopted.
During this time, protesters ofthe Vietnam War, civil rights
activists and general rebels allwore denim pants to signify
(12:46):
their rebellion.
The American troops continuedto wear their denim off-duty
internationally, which sparksnatives to grow an interest in
denim.
Japan now, in the 21st century,is the top quality denim
producer in the world.
If you're looking for gooddenim, I would highly suggest
(13:08):
finding a Japanese-based site.
They have the best qualitydenim that I found during this
research.
I have not actually purchased apair of Japanese denim, but
based off of what I've beenreading, yeah, I would go with
Japanese denim.
During the 60s and 70s, wecontinued to see denim used in
(13:30):
acts of protest, ie the sexualliberation movement playing with
silhouettes and customizationsto reflect their free spirits.
So we saw bell-bottoms.
We saw denim move more intolike shirts.
We saw Daisy Dukes.
We saw painted pants andbedazzled pants.
(13:53):
Denim really started to becomelike customizable in the 60s and
70s.
However, comma.
I'm really having fun with.
However, comma today.
Huh.
During the 1980s, luxurydesigners saw the appeal of
denim and jumped on the craze.
Citing that, calvin Klein ledthe charge with Young Brooke
(14:13):
Shields hosting the first myCalvin's Denim campaign, and he
was also the first designer toshowcase denim in a runway show.
This was also the decade ofgrunge punk core.
So lots of acid wash, lots ofripped jeans, lots of skinny fit
, really experimenting withchemicals and materialization.
(14:36):
And then we have the 90s.
The 90s played around with fitsand lengths of denim
tremendously.
I feel like every other decadeleft their little ode to denim
with the bell-bottoms and thebejeweling.
But the 90s said so,overcorrecting for the brief
(15:03):
stint of skinny jeans and the80s.
But then we get into the 2000sand present-day denim.
The early 2000s saw denim in anew way.
We saw low-rise painted denim,ie galaxy shorts.
I painted my very own pair ofgalaxy shorts.
(15:24):
Loose jeans turned into ultraskinny jeans.
In the 2010s, constrictingblood flow like no other.
Low rise turned to ultra highrise.
The early 2000s and 2010s werejust one big overcorrection.
For the 90s, those skinny jeanswere really no joke.
(15:44):
I remember starting to adoptthem in middle school.
Yeah, they were very skinny andI needed them in every color.
I think at one point I had anelectric blue pair that was also
cheetah print, that I got fromWardmans and I do fear I wore
them more than I should have.
I do fear that Luxury denimcontinues to innovate and find
(16:09):
new ways to uphold the denimname.
Although Levi's, wrangler andLee's still dominate the game,
we have premium denim like PaigeJeans, citizens of Humanity and
Hudson's are leading the packof the luxury denim game.
When I think of luxury jeans, Ionly exclusively think of Paige
(16:29):
Jeans.
Purely because Jet and PookiePuckett on TikTok love Paige
jeans.
I feel like whenever they do anoutfit of the night, jet is
wearing Paige jeans and you knowthat right there means I will
not be affording them in thenear future, as he is what like
um, I don't know.
But private wealth, no, he, hedoes acquisitions of insurance,
(16:54):
so he's pretty rich, I fear.
So no page jeans for me rightnow, but we'll see.
I actually haven't looked upthe price.
So let's talk about currentdenim trends.
Current denim trends we seekind of that barrel leg.
It kind of looks like straightleg jeans on the inseam, but on
(17:17):
the outer seam it kind ofballoons out toward the end and
tapers back in.
They look funky, but I do fearthat that is the next silhouette
that's going to be trending forthe youngins.
As far as like fall denim, I'vesaid it once and I said it
again I think cowboy core isgoing to be in for the fall.
(17:38):
So get your denim ready, getyour tassels ready on your denim
jackets.
I think denim is going to havea moment this fall and we might
see some revolutionized ways ofthinking in terms of denim.
But what's the future of denim?
Thanks so much for asking.
(17:59):
With growing concerns ofsustainability, brands are now
adopting efforts to combatclimate change.
Wrangler's Icon Collection ismade with 20% recycled denim.
Primark, a fast fashion brandin the UK, has since launched
jeans made from 100% sustainablysourced cotton, and it's
(18:21):
incredibly strenuous on naturalresources to produce cotton at
the level required to run adenim empire.
One pair of jeans takes about20,000 liters of water just to
produce from start to finish.
Denim heavily relies onnumerous washing cycles
pre-customer purchase, sothere's a lot, a lot of water
(18:42):
waste that goes into creating agood pair of denim.
Digidenim is working around theclock to produce the first 3D
printed denim collection.
Digidenim is working around theclock to produce the first 3D
printed denim collection, thoughit's taking much more effort
than originally thought.
From creating the seamsperfectly getting the texture
just right, you need to createvarious effects of each washing
(19:04):
cycle in the 3D model Whilethey're still in the development
stages.
Digidenim hopes to be the firstwaterless denim on the market,
eliminating thousands of gallonsof water used in the denim
making process.
This would also reduce costsall around and create faster
production.
It would allow designers tounlock new avenues of creativity
(19:28):
when designing and connectingwith the customers, sort of a
come into our shop and watchyour jeans come to life before
your very eyes type of deal.
Me personally, I think it's alittle bit gimmicky, but I think
it could find its targetdemographic.
It's just not me.
I'll be opting for recycled orthrifted denim.
(19:50):
Now we talked a lot about denim.
What makes good denim?
How do I know if the denim thatI'm purchasing is the best
quality that I can find?
I'll be honest with you it'sgoing to be hard.
Denim is a unique material thatthe components that make the
(20:11):
denim include yarn, indigo dye,weaving and designs, washes and
finishes.
Denim needs to be dyed, washeddown, chemically finished and or
mechanically finished.
Now, chemically finished meansa durable press.
Some softeners, some stainrepellents, water repellents,
(20:36):
mechanical finishes includebrushing, sanding, laser etching
, ripping to give a rippedeffect.
These treatments can improvethe lasting power of the indigo
dye.
A large part of the denim'sfinal product comes from the
yarn process.
The yarn is probably the mostimportant part, other than, of
(21:02):
course, the indigo dye.
But the yarn is really thefoundation.
So the yarn is weaved together.
It's two strings of yarn weavedtogether to make the denim
effect.
It's one white piece of yarnand one denim dyed, indigo dyed
piece of yarn that's woventogether.
The firmness of the weaves, thestrength of the weaves, the
(21:24):
twists of the weaves all impactthe final product.
The evenness of which the yarnis twisted can affect the
saturation of the indigo, as canvarying thickness of the spun
yarn.
The firmness of the twistedyarn can affect the stiffness
and the strength of the material.
(21:44):
So you want it pretty firm toget a good quality pair of denim
.
You want it evenly twisted.
You want to make sure there'sno discrepancies in the pant.
If you're looking at the pantjust head-on, you want to make
sure that the weaving looks good.
Honestly, you're going to haveto really get to know denim to
(22:06):
find a good pair of denim.
Let's talk about the indigo dye, though.
Indigo is amongst the oldestdyes to be used in terms of
textile dyeing.
It can be dated back to atleast 2500 BC, egypt, where an
indigo robe was uncovered.
The indigo dye was seen assacred, as blue dye was very
(22:28):
rare.
The indigo dye is essential todenim due to its unique ability
to fade in color after repeatedlaundering.
So the point of denim is thatit not only molds to your shape
better, it's durable, but italso has a worn effect as you
love it.
It was originally a vegetabledye from the indigo fara plant
(22:51):
from India and Africa, but thankyou to colonization and just
being found in Europe and theAmericas, it became so
widespread that you know itbecame a depleting source.
Most of the indigo used indenim is synthetic.
As 95% of the natural resourceswere depleted, let's go
(23:16):
capitalism and exploitation.
In 1878, adolf van Beyerinvented synthetic indigo dye,
which accounts for nearly 100%of all indigo dye products.
Today, the use of indigo dyealso improves the lasting power
of the denim pant color.
So present day, you may noticethat your indigo dyed denim
(23:40):
pants don't bleed as much aslike you would expect them to.
That is because synthetic dyeshave a better lasting power in
cotton than regular denim.
So I would argue that today'sdenim is not like past denim,
which kind of sucks.
But I think finding highquality denim is all you really
(24:01):
need.
I saw on TikTok that there waskind of a craze of people trying
to exclusively find raw denimand while I think that's great,
I think that's only probablynecessary for, like, people who
use it for work.
I don't think the averageeveryday wearer needs to find
raw denim, unless that's yourthing.
But in closing, jeans transcendgender, age and class.
(24:26):
Their appeal will be timeless,with fresh designs and
technology forever evolving thematerial to cement its place in
American traditional fashion.
If this episode has taught meone thing, it's that denim rules
everything and it's sointerwoven in American culture.
I love denim and I'm stilllooking for my most perfect pair
(24:48):
of denim, so if you have anysuggestions, send them my way.
But that's denim.
Thank you, levi Strauss, forbringing it and popularizing it.
Really appreciate you there.
If you want to keep up with usand my journey to find my most
perfect pair of jeans, followour links it's in the episode
notes or you can follow me onInsta at Gabrielle Forshee,
(25:12):
follow the pod at MagnifiquePod.
That's kind of all I got foryou today.
Bye y'all and long live OneDirection.
Hi everyone and welcome to Magnifique, your fave
fashion deep dive podcast.
I'm your host, gabrielle, andtoday we fall down the rabbit
hole of denim and the history ofdenim.
How it came to be really justyada yada.
But first let's get into thepleasantries.
(00:21):
How are we?
How was our weekend?
Did you do anything fun?
I'm going to pause for likethree seconds.
You tell me exactly what youdid, in every detail.
Ever Go.
That sounds so amazing.
Thank you for sharing Me.
Personally, I am bringingtoday's episode to you from my
(00:43):
basement floor, snuggled up in ablankie, just how we do.
Tiktok has been feeding methings I find incredibly elegant
and you know, as I just toldyou, I'm sitting down on the
basement floor.
But besides that, every singletime I see a video I'm like, oh,
(01:04):
that's me, oh, I do that, oh, Ithink I might be elegant.
And you know, thank you.
Finally, I've been cosplayingelegant since eighth grade.
Go ahead and roll the tapes.
I do have outfit of the daysfrom eighth grade and I am just
(01:26):
serving.
I'm serving, serving what, Idon't know, but I think we might
be entering my era and I'msuper excited.
My only qualm is that I thinkelegant and kind of the
archetype of elegant might bestolen.
(01:46):
It might be stolen, it mightbecome not that it ever wasn't
mainstream, but I think theTikTok girls are going to steal
it from me and just kind ofwater it down into whatever it's
not.
And I don't think everybodyneeds to be elegant.
I think everybody needs to dowhat feels right for them.
Me personally, I feel mostempowered when I'm cosplaying
(02:09):
elegance and I wouldn't evencall it elegance, to be
completely honest, everythingthat they're listing in these
videos just adult women things.
They just want to be an adultand that's fine.
I'm not yucking anybody's yum.
This is my yum.
It's just how I candidly feel.
(02:37):
But but in the same breath I'vebeen getting a little bit down
on myself for not having mycloset look exactly as I want it
, and I know that the TikTokgirls are going to beat me to
have a fully elegant closet.
So that's kind of getting me inthe dumps.
But so many buts today.
Call me MC Hammer.
Yeah, I'm a little bit downthat my closet doesn't look
(02:58):
exactly how I want it to.
However, comma, I did have totake a step back and I'm like
girl, you're literally 25.
Take a breath.
We're chilling.
We're only a quarter waythrough life.
Actually, I read a book theother day that said nevermind,
nevermind.
But to be honest, the wholeCOVID thing really ruined my
(03:19):
perception of time.
We don't talk enough about howthe pandemic stole two years
from us at least.
So in reality I am 23,.
And what the heck is a23-year-old doing with a home
and a mortgage and a fullyelegant closet?
She has no business doing that.
So I think I'm on the righttrack.
Thank you for indulging me inthat.
But also, speaking of turningback time, I have been if we
(03:45):
could only turn back time forone more day.
I've been in my One Directionera again lately and I'm in two
boats.
It's kind of freaking me out,but also I'm kind of living for
it.
I don't know if it's a goodthing or maybe a cry for help
how about you tell me but Isimply cannot stop.
(04:06):
And I forgot how many absolutebangers the Up All Night album
have.
I am just bumpin'.
It's truly liberating.
I feel free.
Thank you for asking.
My favorite album from OneDirection is Take Me Home, just
due to the memories.
It was the first album that Iexperienced in the fandom and
(04:27):
you know that special feeling.
You have a special place inyour heart, and I watched all
the teasers, I watched the musicvideos, I followed all the
discourse.
I had fan accounts.
I was in the trenches.
Here we are.
I've been in the trenches since, um, like February of 2012.
So it's been a while, been 12years, and you know I keep
(04:52):
cycling through my phases, andthat's okay.
I am needing a One Directiondance party immediately, if not
sooner.
I think it would fix all myailments.
And I had a dream the othernight that I had a birthday
party that was One Directionthemed and I'll be honest, that
was probably the best birthdayparty I've ever had, even if it
wasn't a dream.
So, yeah, that's how I'mfeeling.
(05:13):
Um, a little bit ofhousekeeping, housekeeping I
don't know what the fuck I'm ontoday.
Um, make sure you follow thelink in the show notes to my sub
stack.
I'm putting out really cutesylittle articles about fall
fashion and perfumerecommendations.
It really means nothing in thegrand scheme of the universe,
(05:36):
but I kind of like it.
I like to think of it as acutesy little magazine.
It's really fun.
The reason for this episode isdue to me just trying to find my
most perfect pair of denimjeans, and I'm looking for
something that's high quality,looks great and feels better.
But I'm having trouble with thefact that jeans will take time
(05:59):
to mold to your body in order tofeel the most comfortable.
So that's a struggle, but wewill prevail, I believe it.
And just one note before we doour little deep dive Bear in
mind that throughout most ofthis episode, jean and denim are
different things, but they endup meaning the same thing by
(06:21):
about 1950.
Up meaning the same thing byabout 1950.
So until then, jean and denim,two different things.
Don't get it twisted, let's getinto it.
So kind of the denim'sconception is that the jean
dates back to genesis, or geneg-e-n-e.
(06:43):
Like your body, the genematerial is a tough twill
trouser used by italian coastalworkers in the city of genoa
genoa, I've heard it in luca,and that's about it.
And denim throws us back to17th century france.
(07:04):
It's created by accident innimes, france nims.
They were trying to replicatethe jean material but ended up
creating a sturdier materialmade from cotton twill cloth,
and it was dubbed surge to nims,later shortened to denim.
So that's how it came to be.
(07:25):
But how did it come to the US?
Thank you for asking.
Levi Strauss.
Levi Strauss is a Germanimmigrant who moved to New York
in 1851 with his mother andbrother to start a dry goods
business with his brother in theBig Apple.
In the Big Apple, levi thenmoved to San Francisco in 1853,
(07:50):
during the Gold Rush, to start awestern branch of his family's
dry good business.
And just jumping a few yearsahead, denim, as we know it,
originated in 1860 by LeviStrauss Co.
At the time he already wasknown for merchandising stiff
and durable canvas pants.
But due to customer requests ofwanting a product that is as
(08:12):
durable, just a little softerand more comfortable to wear,
levi added Serge Denims to hisproduct line.
Product line.
Levi Strauss and Co reallystarted to pop off in 1873 when
he partnered with Jacob Davis topatent their riveted work pant.
Riveting helps to reinforce thepockets and the seams on work
(08:35):
pants to keep them from rippingWhile doing heavy labor.
It is, if you're wearing jeansright now, it's the little metal
parts around your pockets.
Jacob Davis was a tailor fromReno, nevada, and he frequently
purchased Levi's materials toproduce goods such as tents,
(08:56):
horse blankets and wagon covers.
But he was in San Fran on acommission trip.
He was commissioned by a goldmining company to create a
durable, heavy-duty workwearpant that I guess the mining
company couldn't find from LeviStrauss.
Davis drew up a plan for theriveted denim overall and
(09:17):
proposed a plan to form apartnership with Strauss, as he
provided the denim material toDavis.
So they officially becamepartners on May 20, 1873, and
ran the denim jean game untilthe 20th century when Wrangler
and Lee entered the scene.
(09:42):
So that takes us to the 1900s.
Let's talk about her.
So during the 1900s, denim wasthe heart of industrial and farm
workers through the 19th and20th century.
I would move forward to arguethat it still is.
I'm not entirely sure about therest of the company, but the
blue-collar boys of the Midwestwill live and die in their denim
(10:05):
work pants.
Blue-collar boys of the Midwestwill live and die in their
denim work pants Before leavingthe working man pant archetype.
Denim found a diehard fan clubin the Western boy scene.
What Western cowboy scene beingintroduced to the rest of the
country, particularly to theEast, during the dude ranch
craze of the 1930s.
(10:26):
Dude ranches wereromanticizations, the wild west,
a sense of nostalgiasurrounding the olden days.
East coasters would visit thedude ranches to go on western
adventures and learn aboutfamous Wild West figures at the
dude ranches.
According to Hawthorne Intel,these dude ranches were pretty
(10:52):
lifelike, with many of thevisitors either loving the
authenticity and how authenticthe feel and odors smelled, or
they were severely displeased,hating those prior.
Two points During the 1930s andWorld War II, american soldiers
brought their denim overseasand would wear them off-duty,
(11:15):
though, one would argue, therewasn't very much time to be
off-duty.
But this became a way forAmerican soldiers to tell each
other apart and because of thisand due to the shortage of raw
material needed to make thedenim, it became less known for
workwear and more appealing asleisure wear.
Greaser types, you know, likePonyboy, greaser types really
(11:39):
rebranded denim in the 1950s,moving forward with successfully
renaming them blue jeans.
It was also during this decadethat the denim pants saw the
redesign and favoring the use ofzippers rather than overalls.
Up until then they would uselike suspenders and overalls to
hold their pants up, you know,like old people do, due to the
(12:01):
likeness of James Dean and Elvisjean.
Sales exploded the industry inthe us, taking the item from
being sold exclusively as workand utility fabric to capturing
the interest of just regulardegular fashion conscious people
.
Leave it to the baby boomers topopularize denim.
Thanks, thanks, thanks I guesstrickle down economics denim
(12:25):
style.
Thank you so much.
Denim was everywhere andeventually got banned from being
worn in school due to itsrebellious persona that it
adopted.
During this time, protesters ofthe Vietnam War, civil rights
activists and general rebels allwore denim pants to signify
(12:46):
their rebellion.
The American troops continuedto wear their denim off-duty
internationally, which sparksnatives to grow an interest in
denim.
Japan now, in the 21st century,is the top quality denim
producer in the world.
If you're looking for gooddenim, I would highly suggest
(13:08):
finding a Japanese-based site.
They have the best qualitydenim that I found during this
research.
I have not actually purchased apair of Japanese denim, but
based off of what I've beenreading, yeah, I would go with
Japanese denim.
During the 60s and 70s, wecontinued to see denim used in
(13:30):
acts of protest, ie the sexualliberation movement playing with
silhouettes and customizationsto reflect their free spirits.
So we saw bell-bottoms.
We saw denim move more intolike shirts.
We saw Daisy Dukes.
We saw painted pants andbedazzled pants.
(13:53):
Denim really started to becomelike customizable in the 60s and
70s.
However, comma.
I'm really having fun with.
However, comma today.
Huh.
During the 1980s, luxurydesigners saw the appeal of
denim and jumped on the craze.
Citing that, calvin Klein ledthe charge with Young Brooke
(14:13):
Shields hosting the first myCalvin's Denim campaign, and he
was also the first designer toshowcase denim in a runway show.
This was also the decade ofgrunge punk core.
So lots of acid wash, lots ofripped jeans, lots of skinny fit
, really experimenting withchemicals and materialization.
(14:36):
And then we have the 90s.
The 90s played around with fitsand lengths of denim
tremendously.
I feel like every other decadeleft their little ode to denim
with the bell-bottoms and thebejeweling.
But the 90s said so,overcorrecting for the brief
(15:03):
stint of skinny jeans and the80s.
But then we get into the 2000sand present-day denim.
The early 2000s saw denim in anew way.
We saw low-rise painted denim,ie galaxy shorts.
I painted my very own pair ofgalaxy shorts.
(15:24):
Loose jeans turned into ultraskinny jeans.
In the 2010s, constrictingblood flow like no other.
Low rise turned to ultra highrise.
The early 2000s and 2010s werejust one big overcorrection.
For the 90s, those skinny jeanswere really no joke.
(15:44):
I remember starting to adoptthem in middle school.
Yeah, they were very skinny andI needed them in every color.
I think at one point I had anelectric blue pair that was also
cheetah print, that I got fromWardmans and I do fear I wore
them more than I should have.
I do fear that Luxury denimcontinues to innovate and find
(16:09):
new ways to uphold the denimname.
Although Levi's, wrangler andLee's still dominate the game,
we have premium denim like PaigeJeans, citizens of Humanity and
Hudson's are leading the packof the luxury denim game.
When I think of luxury jeans, Ionly exclusively think of Paige
(16:29):
Jeans.
Purely because Jet and PookiePuckett on TikTok love Paige
jeans.
I feel like whenever they do anoutfit of the night, jet is
wearing Paige jeans and you knowthat right there means I will
not be affording them in thenear future, as he is what like
um, I don't know.
But private wealth, no, he, hedoes acquisitions of insurance,
(16:54):
so he's pretty rich, I fear.
So no page jeans for me rightnow, but we'll see.
I actually haven't looked upthe price.
So let's talk about currentdenim trends.
Current denim trends we seekind of that barrel leg.
It kind of looks like straightleg jeans on the inseam, but on
(17:17):
the outer seam it kind ofballoons out toward the end and
tapers back in.
They look funky, but I do fearthat that is the next silhouette
that's going to be trending forthe youngins.
As far as like fall denim, I'vesaid it once and I said it
again I think cowboy core isgoing to be in for the fall.
(17:38):
So get your denim ready, getyour tassels ready on your denim
jackets.
I think denim is going to havea moment this fall and we might
see some revolutionized ways ofthinking in terms of denim.
But what's the future of denim?
Thanks so much for asking.
(17:59):
With growing concerns ofsustainability, brands are now
adopting efforts to combatclimate change.
Wrangler's Icon Collection ismade with 20% recycled denim.
Primark, a fast fashion brandin the UK, has since launched
jeans made from 100% sustainablysourced cotton, and it's
(18:21):
incredibly strenuous on naturalresources to produce cotton at
the level required to run adenim empire.
One pair of jeans takes about20,000 liters of water just to
produce from start to finish.
Denim heavily relies onnumerous washing cycles
pre-customer purchase, sothere's a lot, a lot of water
(18:42):
waste that goes into creating agood pair of denim.
Digidenim is working around theclock to produce the first 3D
printed denim collection.
Digidenim is working around theclock to produce the first 3D
printed denim collection, thoughit's taking much more effort
than originally thought.
From creating the seamsperfectly getting the texture
just right, you need to createvarious effects of each washing
(19:04):
cycle in the 3D model Whilethey're still in the development
stages.
Digidenim hopes to be the firstwaterless denim on the market,
eliminating thousands of gallonsof water used in the denim
making process.
This would also reduce costsall around and create faster
production.
It would allow designers tounlock new avenues of creativity
(19:28):
when designing and connectingwith the customers, sort of a
come into our shop and watchyour jeans come to life before
your very eyes type of deal.
Me personally, I think it's alittle bit gimmicky, but I think
it could find its targetdemographic.
It's just not me.
I'll be opting for recycled orthrifted denim.
(19:50):
Now we talked a lot about denim.
What makes good denim?
How do I know if the denim thatI'm purchasing is the best
quality that I can find?
I'll be honest with you it'sgoing to be hard.
Denim is a unique material thatthe components that make the
(20:11):
denim include yarn, indigo dye,weaving and designs, washes and
finishes.
Denim needs to be dyed, washeddown, chemically finished and or
mechanically finished.
Now, chemically finished meansa durable press.
Some softeners, some stainrepellents, water repellents,
(20:36):
mechanical finishes includebrushing, sanding, laser etching
, ripping to give a rippedeffect.
These treatments can improvethe lasting power of the indigo
dye.
A large part of the denim'sfinal product comes from the
yarn process.
The yarn is probably the mostimportant part, other than, of
(21:02):
course, the indigo dye.
But the yarn is really thefoundation.
So the yarn is weaved together.
It's two strings of yarn weavedtogether to make the denim
effect.
It's one white piece of yarnand one denim dyed, indigo dyed
piece of yarn that's woventogether.
The firmness of the weaves, thestrength of the weaves, the
(21:24):
twists of the weaves all impactthe final product.
The evenness of which the yarnis twisted can affect the
saturation of the indigo, as canvarying thickness of the spun
yarn.
The firmness of the twistedyarn can affect the stiffness
and the strength of the material.
(21:44):
So you want it pretty firm toget a good quality pair of denim
.
You want it evenly twisted.
You want to make sure there'sno discrepancies in the pant.
If you're looking at the pantjust head-on, you want to make
sure that the weaving looks good.
Honestly, you're going to haveto really get to know denim to
(22:06):
find a good pair of denim.
Let's talk about the indigo dye, though.
Indigo is amongst the oldestdyes to be used in terms of
textile dyeing.
It can be dated back to atleast 2500 BC, egypt, where an
indigo robe was uncovered.
The indigo dye was seen assacred, as blue dye was very
(22:28):
rare.
The indigo dye is essential todenim due to its unique ability
to fade in color after repeatedlaundering.
So the point of denim is thatit not only molds to your shape
better, it's durable, but italso has a worn effect as you
love it.
It was originally a vegetabledye from the indigo fara plant
(22:51):
from India and Africa, but thankyou to colonization and just
being found in Europe and theAmericas, it became so
widespread that you know itbecame a depleting source.
Most of the indigo used indenim is synthetic.
As 95% of the natural resourceswere depleted, let's go
(23:16):
capitalism and exploitation.
In 1878, adolf van Beyerinvented synthetic indigo dye,
which accounts for nearly 100%of all indigo dye products.
Today, the use of indigo dyealso improves the lasting power
of the denim pant color.
So present day, you may noticethat your indigo dyed denim
(23:40):
pants don't bleed as much aslike you would expect them to.
That is because synthetic dyeshave a better lasting power in
cotton than regular denim.
So I would argue that today'sdenim is not like past denim,
which kind of sucks.
But I think finding highquality denim is all you really
(24:01):
need.
I saw on TikTok that there waskind of a craze of people trying
to exclusively find raw denimand while I think that's great,
I think that's only probablynecessary for, like, people who
use it for work.
I don't think the averageeveryday wearer needs to find
raw denim, unless that's yourthing.
But in closing, jeans transcendgender, age and class.
(24:26):
Their appeal will be timeless,with fresh designs and
technology forever evolving thematerial to cement its place in
American traditional fashion.
If this episode has taught meone thing, it's that denim rules
everything and it's sointerwoven in American culture.
I love denim and I'm stilllooking for my most perfect pair
(24:48):
of denim, so if you have anysuggestions, send them my way.
But that's denim.
Thank you, levi Strauss, forbringing it and popularizing it.
Really appreciate you there.
If you want to keep up with usand my journey to find my most
perfect pair of jeans, followour links it's in the episode
notes or you can follow me onInsta at Gabrielle Forshee,
(25:12):
follow the pod at MagnifiquePod.
That's kind of all I got foryou today.
Bye y'all and long live OneDirection.
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