August 2008
Cheat Sheet
How to sound like an expert even when you’re not.
Q. Denim never seems to go out of style, so I’d like to know more about the fabric. Where did denim come from and how was it first used? Were jeans the first items denim was used for? Why is denim usually blue and why does it usually fade over time? Anything you can tell me would be helpful.
A. When you say that denim “has always been in style,” you probably have no idea just how right you are. Denim has been around for a very long time, and we’re talking hundreds of years. Levi Strauss was making jeans in the late 1800s, George Washington toured a denim mill 100 years earlier and in Europe during the 1600s an early version of denim was being produced in several different countries, mainly France, England and Italy.
Where the word “denim” came from is still under debate. The most frequently told story claims the name is a shortened version of the French “serge de Nimes,” which was a fabric created in the town of Nimes, France. However, Levi Strauss & Co. Historian Lynn Downey (yes, the company has its own historian) says the story might be nothing more than marketing spin.
While there was indeed a fabric made in 17th century France with that name, it was composed of silk and wool. Downey, along with other historians, believes the oft-quoted origin might actually be a story created by English manufacturers to give their domestically produced fabric a foreign-sounding name to lend it added appeal.
While the source of the name can’t be pinned down, the popularity of denim isn’t up for dispute. It’s long been renowned for its durability and its comfort, and was quickly adopted by both men’s clothing stores and manual laborers at the end of the 19th century. One of denim’s biggest boosts in popularity and mainstream acceptance came from Levi Strauss, who started producing “waist overalls” or “jeans” in the 1870s. It was that type of “jeans” that you’d have seen in early Westerns films worn by Hollywood icons such as John Wayne and Gary Cooper that helped cement their classic fashion status.
Despite the mythology surrounding denim, its production is simple. The fabric is a cotton twill made from interlacing warp and filling yarns in an alternating pattern. The right-hand construction produces a diagonal ribbing effect and a surface with the warp threads exposed. The signature look comes from the dying of the warp thread with an indigo dye, one of the oldest colors in the world. Denim is unique in that while other colors can be used to dye denim, the color blue has become so associated with the fabric it has become part of its identify.
Versatility is one of the biggest reasons denim has been able sustain its popularity for so long. Various treatments and processes can be used to affect the look of denim such as stone, acid and enzyme washing to dying in different shades of blue or any color for that matter. That said, expect variation in color even within the same lot.
“Dye lots aren’t ever exactly the same and I think that’s understood with pretty much any denim garment,” says Danny Tsai, president of Tri-Mountain/Mountian Gear (asi/92125). “The wash is going to be a bit different. When you receive an order, the colors will vary a little bit. That can be good in that you don’t have to worry about perfect color matching.”
Here in the industry denim is found in many different garments from jackets and shirts to caps and bags. Oddly, jeans aren’t the most common type of denim distributors sell, even though it does well at retail. Many of the advance treatments such as distressing or over-dying are also absent. What’s popular is light to medium shades of blue and the inclusion of a small percentage of spandex or nylon blended in for elasticity and comfort, particularly with women’s garments.
Break the Mold
Denim fabric can be decorated in any number of ways, including screen printing, embossing or embroidery, giving your client a wide range of choices. One of the newest methods is offered by Tyca Corp. (asi/92370). Instead of embossing denim using a plate that’s attached to the denim and then struck, Tyca uses its own proprietary technique. “In order to create the design, we make an actual mold,” says Maryann Castillo, executive vice president. “So the denim is actually molded from the backside, then backfilled with a resin and stone washed.” While some embossing methods can eventually wear out over time through wash and wear, this process is permanent. Tyca can also add a color to the embossing using its newest technique call Splat. Says Castillo, “It’s been very well accepted by clients looking some more than a basic tone-on-tone.” |
Matt Histand is senior editor for Wearables and Counselor. Contact: mhistand@asicentral.com.
