Though the actual origin of denim is hard to trace, the fabric has an illustrious future in the global fashion scene due to its versatility and youth oriented usage profile. The denim fabric is increasingly being used by designers around the world to venture beyond fabric finishes and explore crossover styles.
Evolution of Denim from Casual Wear to a Fashion Garment
For most people, denim is a fabric that evokes nostalgia of their denim jean and jacket clad days of college, which formed a great combination with ankle length zipped boots. Since it is easy to wash and maintain, denim has been treated more as casual wear.
Denim has slowly evolved from casual wear to leisure wear and lifestyle fashion wear as people are looking for simple solutions to more formal and fashionable clothing. Therefore, it has now become a fabric of choice amongst haute-couture designers, who apply their skills along craftsmanship and sophistication to make it a fashionable garment. The exploration of fashioning out new garments out of denim was recently showcased in the form of a denim tuxedo and a denim resort dress in white. Who would have thought?
Denim Trends in the Global Market
People, all over the world, crave for denim along with fresh designs and applications. This has inspired designers and manufacturers to experiment with contrast dyes and varied textures to increase appeal. While Americans are trying out new designs in denim like tunic dresses, high waist jeans, and jumpers; Europeans are venturing into striped denims with both metallic sheen and shiny finishes. Further, people from the East prefer bright colors in denims, while twisted seams is the new trend along with clichéd ankles in jeans.
Denim as a Cutting Edge Fabric
Due to its popularity, denim has gone through various innovations to improve durability and fashion quotient. A recent collection of white denim has been developed, which aims to address the concerns of buyers who are worried about investing in this fabric as it is difficult to maintain. This unique white denim fabric is able to repel stains as it undergoes a wash treatment during manufacturing, which keeps it clean. The material is also able to repel water; therefore, a buyer does not need to wash it on a regular basis.
Making denim more versatile than a fabric used only for jeans and jackets, a Canadian firm has developed a snowboarding suit with it. This conventional appearing suit consists of a jacket and pant set made from stretch denim. The denim is both, water resistant and fur lined, while being breathable. Another premium denim brand has developed a fleece like denim fabric, which is soft and malleable unlike conventional varieties. Clothes made from this fabric are comfortable and flexible enough to be built into jeans and other conventional clothes. In fact, some firms have even developed denim known as the ‘Spa Collection’, which works like a body lotion as it contains aloe-vera and olive oil.
Every year, a prestigious international show is held in Paris called “Denim by Première”, which is attended by all the large denim brands to showcase their latest innovations. Besides helping manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers to forge profitable business deals, the meet helps the denim industry face economic challenges as a combined force.
With each new season, it won’t be a big surprise if denim makes its way into the list of the “in thing” or be a part of the season’s hot trend list. And of course, comfort will always be on its side, for denim to hit a home run after home run, each season.