Denim Part 1

The word ‘denim’ conjures up all kinds of iconography, the word and the material itself mean a great deal to a lot of people. When you ask people about denim and denim jeans you often get a different response from every individual. Someone could strike up a conversation about famous icons of music and film to wear denim jeans, such as James Dean, John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Madonna and Steve McQueen who have all famously worn denim and to a high degree popularised its use in common society. Other people may discuss the origins of denim, from its historic beginnings in America where Jacob Davis and Levis Strauss pioneered a completely new design, which was reliable, durable and comfortable for the workingman. However many people will merely show an enthusiastic delight in discussing their own particular favourite pair of jeans. Whether they’re a beaten old pair of Levis 501’s or a brand new pair of Ijin’s or Michiko Koshino Yen’s, whatever the case people seem to relish in the seemingly ordinary topic of ‘denim’. Maybe the idea of ‘denim’ being such a fascinating subject is down to its amazing history and the way in which it has worked its way into every fibre our lives through popular culture and generations of use in all criteria of life from work wear to fashion wear.

Jacob Davis produced the first pair of denim jeans in 1870 as he attached small metal rivets onto a pair of trousers made from sturdy white cotton duck fabric, which he had purchased off a dry good supplier named Levis Strauss. The jeans became so popular that Jacob could not keep up with demand, he decided to patent his rivet idea but could not afford the $68 fee. Davis was worried that his competitors would steal his idea so he wrote to Levis Strauss explaining the situation and if Strauss agreed to pay the fee Davis would cut Strauss in on half the company. Strauss agreed and in May 1873 the joint patent was granted, by which time Jacob had the earliest pair of Levi’s jeans. Initially the Levi’s jeans were made for heavy-duty manual labour and Levi’s went unchallenged in the jeans market. However it wasn’t long before other brands started to appear on the market such as Lee and Wrangler.

Denim started to become fashionable during the 1950’s when the American youth such as James Dean and Elvis were seen to be wearing it as casual wear rather than work wear. The concept of denim becoming a ‘cool’ youth design was always inevitable. Since the 1950’s youth sub cultures have tended to rebel against the previous generation. And a good technique for rebellion is attaching your self to a working class ideal or a working class icon, in this case the working class icon is DENIM.

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