It’s a fabric that’s both classic and unusual at the same time, releasable to infinity and perpetually fashionable throughout time. Denim has revealed itself to be an eternal and universal fabric. It incarnates a myth, an icon, and a style all on its own. Born from a collaboration between Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, jeans first appeared during the Gold Rush in 1853. In a context where practicality and durability were de rigueur for a garment, these pants made of resistant and comfortable fabric were a painstakingly obvious choice. Levi Strauss, tapping into his instinct, used canvasses that were originally intended to fabricate tents and wagon covers. He then got inspiration from a particular solid cotton fabric with a baize weaving, made in Nimes, France. Denim is a reinforced and very tight weaving, fabricated from a raw or white weft and a string died indigo blue (“bleu de Genes”, in French; hence the name “blue jeans”). The pants were immediately successful amongst farmers, miners, and railworkers. In 1873, Levi Strauss finished off his creation with a few details: hemlines made with orange thread and two riveted back pockets, that optimized the garment’s solidity and hold-up. Finally, he filed a patent and created the mythical 5-pocket 501 jean in 1890.
An attribute of the working world and the American dream, jeans have been able to feminize and popularize themselves. Constantly reinvented through the decades, they are now everywhere. An emblem of James Dean or the Beatniks, a telltale sign of Marilyn Monroe’s sensuousness, characteristic of Joe Cocker in his Woodstock years, jeans are easily fashioned and personalized as per the wearer. According to the sense of identity and individuality of each, it can be embroidered, studded, destroyed, or even faded, brushed, or impeccably ironed. It’s almost the reflection of one’s soul.
With its ups and downs, jeans transcend genres, styles, and ages. This wealth of possibilities has been tapped into by certain couture houses, such as Chanel. In their Spring/Summer 2013 runway, Chanel presented a particularly unusual jean dress. It appears as a reinterpretation of the first denim skirt. First achieved in the 60s by cutting up a pair of jeans and then sewing the tapered pieces together between the four sections of the legs, it was the symbol of the feminization of this fundamentally masculine fabric. Today, Chanel is releasing it as a simple bustier dress, playing with this transition between apparel categories. Two diagonal raglan pockets have been added on the hips, while a leather belt adorned with pearls perfectly finishes off the bustier’s top part. The denim skirt is now officially a “couture” dress. Another unique feature: the two back pockets, emblematic of jeans, are placed on the frontside of the dress, making for a fantastic game of front/back of iconic pieces. Like a contemporary exegesis of jeans, Chanel’s denim dress affirms itself in delicate contrasts, touched off by finesse and simplicity.
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