What's In The Jeans?

Little did the legendary Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis know that the Californian gold Rush would help them dig out one of the most golden inventions of the world. Denim pants or what we popularly refer to as 'jeans' in the present day has left a mark in numerous lives for the past 140 years at least. Patented in 1873 with fabric from Levi Strauss & Co. and designed by Davis, the product hit the market hard enough much to the delight of it's creators.

Levi Strauss & Co. Denims. Notice the label saying "Original" and "Riveted".

This sturdy , versatile and evergreen fabric called the Denim originated in the French city De Nîmes in the 1800s . This fabric is actually a technically unsuccessful attempt to reproduce Italian cotton corduroy originated in the city Genoa , from which the modern day word 'Jeans' is extracted. It is a sturdy cotton fabric in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads . The warp thread is dyed with indigo while the weft is not. This results in the fabric being dual coloured on both sides. While one side is predominantly blue , the other is mostly bare but for a few indigo threads. Natural indigo was imported from India for dyeing the thread , but soon was replaced by synthetic dyes which were cheaper and more accessible.

The indigofera flower which gives denims its distinct blue colour.

When Levi Strauss migrated to the United States from Germany, he produced and sold denims to the local miners during the Californian Gold Rush. One of his customers was Jacob Davis , the tailor who later invents the riveted denim.

Davis was requested to make hardy clothing by the wife of one of the miners and that is how the infamous riveted denim was invented. He used copper rivets to fasten places most susceptible to tears and frays , such as the area at the pockets . The idea was much liked by his customers and slowly the demand was skyrocketing. Davis decided to partner up with Strauss who supplied him with fabric for mass production of riveted denims. Their invention patent was issued on 20 May , 1873. Later, Davis started stitching double orange lines on the garments to set it apart from its competitors.

Today, denim is not just another apparel, it's an emotion. Ever since they were introduced in the global market, people treated it like an extension of themselves. In the 1970s , Johnny Rotten, the father of British punk started breaking free from restrictive stereotypes in Britain by ripping, tearing and fraying denims. Often , slogans we're pinned on them to express their rebellion. This movement was popularly known as the Counterculture Movement.

Ripped denims became a symbol for rebellion in the 1970s.

The different kinds of jeans or denims we see today is a result of many years of effort, struggles and expression of emotions. It is an amalgamation of materials, ideas and labour from all parts of the globe ,thus , bringing the world together