THE AGE OF TRANSFORMATION
Denim is famous for being the shapeshifter of the fashion world. Originally developed as workwear due to its remarkable endurance, denim now spans the spectrum from luxury status symbol to athleisure star. WeAr takes you on a whistle-stop tour of the !ts, processes and washes that are shaking up the denim world now.
Looser Silhouettes Slim and straight-cut silhouettes dominated the recent womenswear denim collections. Wide leg styles were seen at Free People and Levi’s, whereas Mother Denim showed straight-cut and bootcut jeans in their latest collection. The relaxed boyfriend !ts at Rag and Bone re#ect consumers’ longing for comfortable clothes to wear whilst working from home. The return of these styles suggests that the reign of the “mom jean” may be over! Wide, straight-legged denim also strode into the men’s denim collections. While skinny and slim !ts are still on trend, especially for streetwear and mass-market fashion brands, almost half of the market is now represented by straight and some loose !ts, as seen at Citizen of Humanity and Tommy Jeans. Nature Meets Technology Due to the rising price of cotton and increasing consumer demand for sustainable fabrics, more and more labels are working with cotton alternatives such as hemp and recycled yarns. Turkish denim manufacturer Orta continue to pave the way to a more sustainable textile industry with their new ‘Scenic Route’ collection by sharing the origin of the !bers used and showcasing fabrics like ZeroMax, a blend of Tencel, Tencel Modal, pre-consumer recycled cotton and post-consumer recycled polyester. Denham have partnered with Candiani to innovate and launch Coreva, the !rst biodegradable stretch denim, made from natural rubber yarns. Responding to the need to measure the sustainability of manufacturing, Jeanologia’s Environment Impact Measurement (EIM) software monitors the eco-footprint of garment !nishing processes. This allows laundries and garment !nishers to measure their production’s water and energy consumption as well as its chemical impact and impact on worker’s health. Pepe Jeans’ WiserWash technology has drastically reduced the volume of water required to decolourize a pair of jeans, using 1 cup of water rather than the 16 liters used in a traditional wash. A Return to Classic Washes While distressed details and eye-catching features are a constant feature in denim, the latest trend in washes is a return to denim’s roots, as brands respond to consumer appetite for washes that feel nostalgic and authentic. For A/W 21, Tommy Jeans partnered their collection of straight, loose !ts with a range of classic washes, from faded blue jeans to fresh, deep indigo, whereas at Denham, we saw washes in clean blue-greys and soft charcoals. Nostalgia for the 90’s showed up in Madewell’s A/W 21 collection, through washes in stone grey and mid blues that evoked the gentle fade of garments over time. We are truly in an age of denim transformation, as this timeless textile shapeshifts into more comfortable !ts and simpler washes while satisfying consumers’ hunger for eco-friendly styles.