Denim History

Historical evolution of Denim
• Denim and jeans - where do the

names come from?
• The word ‘jeans’ comes from a

kind of material that was made in
Europe. The material, called jean,
was named after sailors from
Genoa in Italy, because they wore
clothes made from it.
• The word 'denim' probably came

from the name of a French
material, serge de Nimes: serge (a
kind of material) from Nimes (a
town in France).
The 18th century
• At first, jean cloth was made from a
mixture of things. However, in the
eighteenth century as trade, slave
labour, and cotton plantations
increased, jean cloth was made
completely from cotton. Workers
wore it because the material was very
strong and it did not wear out easily.
It was usually dyed with indigo, a
natural dye taken from plants in the
A group of warehouse workers bailing cotton
Americas and India, which made jean
and wearing un-riveted denim.
cloth a dark blue colour.
The dye house at the White Oak Cotton Mill, in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Cone
Mills Corporation, which owned the mill, was formerly the world's largest maker of denim.
The 19th century – The California Gold Rush
In 1848, gold was found in California (not

too far from San Francisco) and the
famous Gold Rush began. The gold
miners wanted clothes that were strong
and did not tear easily. In 1853, a man
called Leob Strauss left his home in
New York and moved to San Francisco,
where he started a wholesale business,
supplying clothes. Strauss later changed
his name from Leob to Levi.
Rivets
• A big problem with the miners' clothes were the pockets, which easily tore away from
the jeans. A man called Jacob Davis had the idea of using metal rivets (fasteners) to
hold the pockets and the jeans together so that they wouldn't tear. Davis wanted to
patent his idea, but he didn't have enough money, so in 1872, he wrote to Levi Strauss
and offered Strauss a deal if Strauss would pay for the patent. Strauss accepted, and he
started making copper-riveted 'waist overalls' (as jeans were called then).
• Zipper’s replaced button flies in
1920 (although later button flies had a
resurgence of popularity) and in 1937
the rivets on the back pockets were
moved inside in response to
complaints from school boards that
the jeans students wore were damaging
chairs and from cowboys that their
jeans were damaging their saddle s. In
the 1960s, they were removed entirely
from the back pockets.
• In 1886, Levi sewed a leather label on their jeans. The label showed a
picture of a pair of jeans that were being pulled between two horses. This
was to advertise how strong Levi jeans were: even two horses could not
tear them apart.
The 1930's: Westerns
Vintage work wear men’s fashion inspiration – 1910s
• Hollywood made lots of western movies. Cowboys - who often wore jeans in the
movies-became very popular. Many Americans who lived in the eastern states
went for vacations on 'dude ranches' and took pairs of denim 'waist overalls' back
east with them when they went home.
Men’s fashion work wear advertising – 1930s
The 1940's: War
• Fewer jeans were made during the time of World

War 2, but 'waist overalls' were introduced to the
world by American soldiers, who sometimes wore
them when they were off duty. After the war, Levi
began to sell their clothes outside the American
West. Rival companies, like Wrangler and Lee,
began to compete with Levi for a share of this new
market.
The 1950's: Rebels
• In the 1950's, denim became
popular with young people. It was
the symbol of the teenage rebel in
TV programmes and movies (like
James Dean in the 1955 movie
Rebel Without a Cause). Some
schools in the USA banned
students from wearing denim.
Teenagers called the waist overalls
'jean pants' - and the name stayed.
The 1960's: Hippies & the Cold War
• In the 1960's many, many university and

college students wore jeans. Different
styles of jeans were made, to match the
60's fashions: embroidered jeans,
painted jeans, psychedelic jeans...
• In many non-western countries, jeans
became a symbol of 'Western
Splattered Denim inspired from work wear
decadence' and were very hard to get.
US companies said that they often
received letters from people all around
the world asking them to send the writer
a pair of jeans .
The 1970's: Sweatshops
• As regulations on world trade

became more relaxed in the late
1970's, jeans started to be made
more and more in sweatshops in
countries in the South. Because the
workers were paid very little, jeans
became cheaper. More people in the
countries of the South started
wearing jeans.
This iconic ad from Calvin Klein
featuring Brooke Shields helped
spark the 1980s designer jeans
craze. Jeans became a huge status
symbol and the brand of jeans worn
meant everything.
The 1980's and 1990’s: Designer Jeans
In the 1980's jeans finally became

high fashion clothing, when
famous designers started making
their own styles of jeans, with
their own labels on them. Sales of
jeans went up and up.
The 1990's: Recession

In the worldwide recession of the 1990's, the sale
of jeans has stopped growing.
Best Denim Brands Worldwide – Europe/ Americas/Asia
Denim Brand Denim Brand Denim Brand

45rpm Edwin Mavi Jeans
1921 Jeans Evisu Miss Sixty
575 Denim Genetic Denim Naked & Famous
7 for all Mankind Giorgio Armani Nudie
Acne Jeans Hudson Jeans Paige Premium
AG Jeans Iron Heart Paper Denim
Antik Denim J Brand PRPS
Cheap Monday Joe’s Jeans Rag & Bone
Citizens of Humanity Juicy Courture Red Monkey
Current/Elliot Kasil Rock & Republic
Del Forte Denim Ksubi Samurai
Diesel LA Denim Atelier Serfontaine
dvb – Denim Lee Jeans Siwy Denim
Earl Jeans Levi’s Sugarcane
Earnest Sewn Loomstate True Religion
G Star
William Rast Wrangler
Here is a list of popular Denim Brands :
•Levi’s •Denizen
•Lee •Lee Cooper
•Wrangler •Miss Sixty
•Spykar •Tommy Hilfiger
•Pepe Jeans London •Lacoste
•Reebok •Ruf & Tuf
•Adidas •Replay Jeans
•Bare Denim •Ed Hardy
•Numero Uno •Trigger
•Diesel •Sand Dunes
•Flying Machine •RedTape
•Killer •Cantabil Retail
•Jealous Jeans •Calvin Klein
•Mufti •Armani Jeans
•True Religion •Duke Fashion
•K-Lounge •John Players
•Lawman Pg3 •Gas
•Integriti •Espirit
•Madame
The Fabric which wears out … fades
…distresses….but remains ageless
……………. DENIMS

Denim History

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Denim History

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Historical evolution of Denim

• Denim and jeans - where do the

• The word ‘jeans’ comes from a

• The word 'denim' probably came

In 1848, gold was found in California (not

Vintage work wear men’s fashion inspiration – 1910s

• Fewer jeans were made during the time of World

• In the 1960's many, many university and

• As regulations on world trade

In the 1980's jeans finally became

The 1990's: Recession

Denim Brand Denim Brand Denim Brand

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