Jeans fashion this spring – this garment is in vogue forever. Why ? Where does this fabric and these clothes come from? Why can’t we do without it? These are the jeans that will concern us in this article.
Fashionable jeans for spring in 2021
Should we say back when fashionable jeans have never left the catwalk of fashion shows or have never disappeared from our wardrobes or from the streets? How is this love of jeans, this dependence on this outfit explained? Let’s trace the history of jeans to understand.
Brief history of jeans and denim
Jeans are denim pants or overalls. They were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873 and were worn but in a different context. The jeans are named after the city of Genoa in Italy, a place where cotton corduroy, called jean or jeane, was made. Levi Strauss came to New York from Germany in 1851 to join his older brother who had a dry goods store.
In 1853, he heard about the gold rush in the West, so he moved to San Francisco to establish the western branch of the family dry goods business. There he sold, among other things, cotton fabric. One of his clients was Jacob W. Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada. Davis made functional items such as tents, horse blankets and wagon blankets.
One day her client ordered a pair of sturdy pants that could withstand hard work. He made them from denim he bought from Levi Strauss & Co and made them stronger by placing copper rivets where pants tear the most: pockets and flies. When he wanted to patent them, he wrote to Levi Strauss, and they became partners. They opened a bigger factory and that’s how jeans were born.
Jeans have marked the culture of the past 140 years probably more than you think. They were first work clothes, then symbols of disobedience and became fashion items. The history of denim and jeans is long and colorful.
Inventors of fashion jeans
Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss teamed up out of necessity and created an article that will influence cultural groups for years and even today.
Fashion jeans facts
Did you know that the most expensive pair of blue jeans sells for 250,000 US dollars? Did you know that the longest pair of blue jeans is sixty-eight meters? Read more interesting facts about jeans.
Fashion jeans: how to make them ?
Have you ever wondered how blue jeans are made? Or even zippers? Now you have a chance to find out. Learn about the methods of making jeans and zippers.
Long history of jeans manufacturing
Jeans are made of a material called denim. The name “denim” comes from the name of a sturdy fabric called “Serge de Nîmes”, originally manufactured in Nîmes, France, hence “de Nîmes” – “denim”. The weavers of Nimes tried to replicate the cotton corduroy that was famous in the city of Genoa, Italy, but without success.
The birth of Serge de Nîmes
While historians still debate the birthplace of denim, the fabric has been classified as a twill weave fabric using a colored yarn and a white. It is widely believed that he was “born” in Nimes, France.
Serendipity has played its part. During an unsuccessful attempt to replicate a tough cotton fabric known as “jeane” (named after the city of Genoa, Italy, or even supra), the weavers of Nimes realized they had developed a unique and sturdy fabric that was unlike anything else.
With trial and error, they developed another twill fabric which became known as denim. This fabric is made from a cotton twill weave, the weft passing under two or more warp threads. The weavers used indigo to dye the warp threads blue, but left the weft threads their natural white color.
This process gave the fabric a unique blue color on one side, with white on the other. They called him Serge de Nîmes (translated as “sergé de Nîmes”).
Denim is very durable, which is why it was used by people who needed clothes that would last a long time. This is also why it was used by Levi Strauss and Jacob W. Davis for the material of denim pants..
About Indigo
Synonymous with the classic image of denim jeans, indigo is among the oldest dyes to be used in textile dyeing and the origin of the iconic blue hue. Indigo dye is therefore a color used to color denim. It is an organic dye with a distinctive blue color.
It has been made and used in India, where it takes its name, since ancient times. From India (where it got its name), Indigo is imported to Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Other ancient civilizations, such as China, Japan, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Great Britain, Mesoamerica, Peru, Iran, and Africa also used indigo for dyeing. . Indigo in India was made from the plant Indigofera tinctoria. It was used on cotton because it was the easiest coloring method.
A natural dye extracted from the leaves of certain plants, this process was economically important because blue dyes were once rare. Originally made from the plant called indigofera tinctoria, it has become a very popular product, which has led Persian, Levantine and Greek exporters to impose heavy taxes. As such, this classic blue hue has become a rare luxury in Europe..
Once the road mapped out, manufacturing in Europe increased dramatically
It was only after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route to India in 1497, that the indigofera tinctoria entered the markets of other colonies. Importers could now avoid the heavy taxes imposed. As a result, the use of indigo in European clothing manufacturing has increased dramatically.
In 1865, German chemist Adolf von Baeyer began working on the synthesis of natural indigo. He eventually succeeded in doing so in 1883, paving the way for the first industrial mass production of synthetic indigo in 1897. Significantly cheaper to produce, synthetic indigo was also more reliable, due to the more durable color that offered. permanence and durability.
The only problem was: the color didn’t last long. Indigo was a rare luxury in Europe during the Middle Ages due to the high tariffs imposed by Persian, Levantine and Greek intermediaries. With the discovery of a sea route to India, this problem has been solved and the indigo plants are moving to colonies.
Organic indigo was used until the discovery of synthetic indigo at the end of the 19th century. It becomes a cheaper variant and replaces it.
The origin of Levis Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss had moved to San Francisco during the California “Gold Rush” of 1853 to establish a western branch of his family’s dry goods business. He was a German immigrant to the United States, moving to New York in 1851 to work with his brother.
Levi sold many products. One of his clients was a tailor by the name of Jacob W. Davis. A native of Reno, Nevada, Davis had purchased Levi’s denim fabric for his business, where he produced sturdy items like tents, horse blankets and wagon covers. He was commissioned by a gold mining company to create strong pants capable of withstanding hard work.
Davis improved the strength and durability of denim workwear with metal rivets; because Levi’s fabric was so integral to them that he proposed a partnership.
They became partners, and on May 20, 1873, the two received U.S. Patent 139,121 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patented rivet was then incorporated into the company’s jeans design and advertisements. Manufacturing of denim overalls began in the 1870s and the company created their first pair of jeans in the 1890s.
It was not until after the 19th century that competitors in the denim market began to appear: Wrangler (1905) and Lee (1911).
Beginning of the 20th century – Denim as work clothing
At the turn of the 20th century, denim was adopted as the preferred workwear fabric choice for Western cowboys, miners, and farmers in the United States..
Not only was the fabric cheap, but denim was more durable and stronger than the popular alternative – “jeans” (traditionally made from cotton, linen and wool). After Levi’s & Strauss patented the metal rivets to make them stronger, they began to produce the iconic denim blue pants that became a common feature among working men..
Jeans and American West
The classic symbol of the American West is now a wardrobe staple. Modern jeans began to appear in the 1920s, but sales were largely limited to workers in the western United States, such as cowboys, lumberjacks, and railroad workers. Levi’s jeans are believed to have been first introduced in the East during the 1930s ranch craze..
Guy ranches were born in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to take place in the late 19th century. Today, tumbleweed, rodeos and Wyatt Earp are as symbols of our Western ideal as the humble denim jeans.
In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared the US border to be demographically “closed”, which in turn caused feelings of nostalgia for days gone by. With the ruthless Wild West lifestyle now gone, this nostalgia could be explored without the risk of guns and shootouts. It was a time when the Wild West could be commercialized and romanticized.
Western adventures of famous people were made available to paying customers in Eastern towns, known as “dudes”.
Some visitors to the guest ranch expected a somewhat sanitized and more luxurious version of “cowboy life,” while others were more tolerant of the authentic smells and schedule of a working ranch..
Another chapter took place during World War II, when blue jeans were declared an “essential” commodity and were only sold to those engaged in defense or military work..
1940s – Denim during the war
In the 1940s, American GIs brought their beloved pairs of denim with them overseas. Although the production of denim workwear (or waist overalls as they were called at the time) declined during the war, due to the lack of raw materials for their manufacture, the end of the war marked the end of the war. a change in their perception. Denim jeans have become less associated with workwear and more closely associated with leisure wear.
1950s – The renown of denim
The dark hue and stiffness of denim made it a popular fabric for pants in the 1950s. Zippers were first incorporated in 1954. The younger generation began to wear denim pants as clothing. Hobbies.
As you started to wear denim they started to call them “jeans” rather than denim overalls. Meanwhile, movie star icons such as Marilyn Monroe have reimagined denim jeans as an uplifting, moderately sexualized style..
James Dean and Marlon Brando forever redefined the humble denim jeans with their highly styled roles in iconic films such as “The Wild One” and “Rebel Without a Cause”. Of course, everyone wanted to emulate these idols. Culturally, jeans became a symbol of youth rebellion during the 1950s and 1960s when students began to wear them to protest the Vietnam War and the formalities of the establishment..
At the same time, denim jeans have become popular among bikers and young offenders, largely influenced by these screen idols. Straight-leg jeans have become associated with these rebel figures, which has led many American schools to ban them from being worn. It seemed like nothing could slow the popularity of denim jeans as one newspaper quoted: “90% of young Americans wear jeans everywhere except in bed or in church”.
Other countries quickly started to get used to wearing jeans. US servicemen on duty in Europe and Japan often wore them when off duty to show they were American.
Denim jeans have become a cultural signifier. The pants showed the world a happier way of life; something people needed, especially after what they had endured in WWII.
All-time fashion jeans
Denim jeans have become a part of everyday life, so much so that most of us keep wondering where our favorite pair came from, how it was made, and its history..
Despite the range of innovative materials available, denim remains one of the most versatile, durable and sought after fabrics on the market. Jeans transcend gender, age and class – most people have more pairs than there are days in the week. Their appeal will always be timeless, but the design and fabric technology involved will forever evolve over time..
Now, new forms of ‘sustainable’ denim are emerging as manufacturers respond to consumer demand for eco-friendly fabrics as well as eco-friendly production processes..
