Why IS everyone we aring ripped jeans?
And why DO they cost more than ones with no holes?
THE world of fashion is often baffling to ordinary women. And every so often a trend comes along which seems utterly ridiculous, yet catches on. Take the current obsession with ripped jeans.
You can barely walk down any High Street without being assailed by bare knees, calves and thighs — all protruding through swatches of tattered denim.
Celebrities, it seems, can’t get enough of it. Yesterday, Jodie Whittaker, the actress cast as the new Doctor, flaunted her ripped jeans on a trip to the supermarket, while War And Peace actress Lily James sported a threadbare pair at the weekend.
The denim market is worth an estimated £1.5 billion annually in the UK alone — and ‘distressed’ styles make up a huge part of that, with prices ranging from gucci designs at £725 a pair to Lidl’s at just £7.99.
So why is everyone wearing ripped jeans?
WHERE DID IT ALL START?
THE first pair of jeans were designed in the late 1870s by Loeb Strauss, a german businessman who changed his name to Levi and founded the denim brand.
Using twilled cotton cloth, he created a durable trouser that would suit the working man. Indigo — a dye extracted from an Indian plant — was used to turn them a dark blue, which was thought to be more practical for the working environment.
The ‘ ripped’ trend came later, emerging in the cultural punk movement of the Seventies.
The rips signified rebellion: early punks tore apart consumer goods as an expression of their anger towards society, and denim became a key part of this political statement.
Celebrity devotees included The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop and Bros, while stars such as Bananarama and Madonna helped popularise the trend for women. Fans began to copy the look by ripping their own jeans at home, and denim manufacturers soon caught on.
... SO WHY ARE THEY BACK NOW?
In 2010, ripped jeans made a comeback — rebranded as ‘distressed’ denim. Designers such as Diesel and Balmain (who sold pairs for £1,800 in 2011) showed the look on the catwalk, and highend stores such as Harrods and Fenwick started stocking them.
Experts say this coincided with an Eighties fashion revival, marked by the return of jumpsuits, high- waisted trousers and culottes. Today, ripped jeans have become so ubiquitous that even M&S stocks them (including some with patches under the rips so the wearer doesn’t get chilly knees).
At Selfridges, you can invest in a £555 pair of baggy-fit distressed jeans, complete with ‘busted knee’ rips, by trendy brand Unravel.
At next, there’s even a £30 pair of ripped maternity jeans.
So why does today’s consumer buy pre-ripped rather than do it herself? The answer is denim now is less likely to rip than the lightweight fabric of old. Most jeans today are made of thicker, stiffer fabric — which is far harder to rip.
JUST HOW DO THEY RIP THEM?
DEnIM manufacturers rip jeans in one of two ways: by laser or by hand. The former tends to be used by cheaper brands which produce garments in bulk, while premium designers prefer the latter.
The machine most often used is called a 2500W Laser Sharp DenimHD Abrasion System.
Jeans are secured vertically against a metal backdrop and the laser is targeted at the denim, where it works by burning holes according to a pattern that’s programmed into the software.
It’s so accurate that not only can it ‘distress’ the fabric by burning into it just a little, but it can cut intricate patterns into it. Each pair takes just a minute to finish.
Brands known to use laser ripping include Hugo Boss, Replay and High Street shop Jack & Jones.
Hand ripping — used by brands such as Levi’s and Abercrombie & Fitch — is far more intricate, requiring individual workers to design, rip and finish each pair, which can take several hours.
First, the design is sketched on the denim, using chalk or a fabric marker. The cuts are made using large, blunt dressmaking shears (the bluntness makes the holes look ‘ natural’), or, for more dramatic effect, a Dremel tool, which is like a drill fitted with a piece of circular sandpaper, which rotates and gradually grinds a hole in the denim.
Finally, the threads are pulled apart using a fabric picker, which frays the material and gives an authentic finish.
THE RISKS TO FACTORY WORKERS
RIPPIng is only part of the process. For that truly fashionable feel, the denim needs to be frayed around the rip. Manufacturers use various tools, from heavy- duty sandpaper to pumice stones, and until recently a process known as