DENIM

Shahrukh Shahbaz

What is Denim?

Warp faced Twill Textile in which colored ends are interlaced with white
picks.

The facing of the fabric appear colored and the back appears as white.

Traditionally its dyed withindigo dyeto makeblue jeans, although

"jean" formerly denoted a different, lighter, cotton fabric.

ORIGIN:

Denim comes from French wordserge de Nimes, referring to the city

ofNimes.

The contemporary use of the word "jean" comes from the French word
for Genoa,Italy(Genes),where the first denimtrouserswere made.

Denim has been used in the USA since the late 18th century.

Initially workers wore it because the material was very strong and it did
not wear out easily.

EVOLUTION:

In 1848, gold was discovered in California and the famous Gold Rush
began. The gold miners wanted clothes that were strong and did not
tear easily. In 1853, a man called Leob Strauss left his home in New York
and moved to San Francisco, where he started awholesale business,
supplying clothes. Strauss later changed his name from Leob to Levi.

A big problem with the miners' clothes were the pockets, which easily
tore away from the jeans. A man called Jacob Davis had the idea of
using metal rivets (fasteners) to hold the pockets and thejeans together
so that they wouldn't tear. Davis wanted to patent his idea, but he didn't
have enough money, so in 1872, he wrote to Levi Strauss and offered
Strauss a deal if Strauss would pay for thepatent. Strauss accepted,
andhe started making copper-riveted 'waist.

How denim became popular?

The 1930's: Westerns

In the 1930's, Hollywood made lots of western movies. Cowboys - who often
wore jeans in the movies-became very popular. Many Americans who lived in
the eastern states went for vacations on 'dude ranches' and took pairs of
denim 'waist overalls' back east with them when they went home.

The 1940's: War

Fewer jeans were made during the time of World War 2, but 'waist overalls'
were introduced to the world by American soldiers, who sometimes wore
them when they were off duty. After the war, Levi began to sell their clothes
outside the American West. Rival companies, like Wrangler and Lee, began to
compete with Levi for a share of this new market.

How denim became popular?

The 1950's: Rebels

In the 1950's, denim became popular with young people. It was the symbol of
the teenage rebel in TV programs and movies (like James Dean in the 1955
movie Rebel without a Cause). Some schools in the USA banned students from
wearing denim. Teenagers called the waist overalls 'jean pants' - and the name
stayed.

The 1960's: Hippies & the Cold War

In the 1960's many, many university and college students wore jeans. Different
styles of jeans were made, to match the 60's fashions: embroidered jeans,
painted jeans, psychedelic jeans...

In many non-western countries, jeans became a symbol of 'Western decadence'

and were very hard to get. US companies said that they often received letters
from people all around the world asking them to send the writer a pair of jeans

How denim became popular?

The 1970's: Sweatshops

The 1980's: Designer Jeans

As regulations on world trade became more relaxed in the late 1970's, jeans
started to be made more and more in sweatshops in countries in the South.
Because the workers were paid very little, jeans became cheaper. More
people in the countries of the South started wearing jeans.

In the 1980's jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when famous
designers started making their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on
them. Sales of jeans went up and up.

The 1990's: Recession

In the worldwide recession of the 1990's, the sale of jeans has stopped
growing.

How denim became popular?

In the 21st century there has been a major breakthrough in the denim
industry with the introduction in versatility of the manufacturing
equipment processes. The worn out look of denim goods particularly
appealed the consumers to use them. Several brands marketed their
goods in their respective themes and till yet denims are an essential
component of every wardrobe.

UNIQUENESS OF DENIM:

The uniqueness of denim goods is the versatility in the adoption of

styling according to the seasons and the versatility in the appearance
from the raw look to the worn out look. This is the reason that denims
have spread out in vast dimensions from casual wear to the party wears.

The expansion doesnt stop here since denim is not just limited to
apparels but the markets have explored its consumption in shoes, bags
and other upholsteries also.

The Washing out of the denim goods helps out to produce various
different worn out looks that have interfered a lot in the exposure of the
denim business.

TYPES OF DENIM:

Dry or Raw Denim:

Dryor Raw denim is denim thatis not washed after having been dyed during
production. Over time, denim will usually fade, which is considered desirable by
some people. During the process of wear, fading will usually occur on those parts of
the article that receive the most stress. In a pair of jeans, these parts include
theupper thighs, the ankles, andthe areasbehind the knees. After being made into
an article ofclothing, most denim articles are washed to makethem softer and to
reduce or eliminate shrinkage. In addition to being washed,"washed denim" is
sometimes artificially distressed to produce a "worn" look. Much of the appeal of
artificially distressed denim is that it resembles dry denim which has faded. In jeans
made from dry denim,such fading is affected by the body of the person who wears
them andby the activities of daily life. This process creates what many enthusiasts
feel to be a more "natural" look than the look of artificially distressed denim.

To facilitate the natural distressing process, some wearers of dry denimwill abstain
from washing their jeans for more than six months.

TYPES OF DENIM:

Selvedge denim:

Selvedge denim is a type of denim which forms a clean natural edge that
does not unravel. It is commonly presented inthe unwashed or raw state.
Typically, the selvage edges will be located along the out seam of
thetrousers, making it visible when cuffs are worn. The word "selvage" comes
from the phrase "self-edge",the natural edge of a roll offabric. Selvage
isdesirable because the edge cannot fray like denim made on aprojectile
loom that has separate wefts, which leave an openedge that must be
stitched. This advantage is only realized on one edge ofthe fabric, however,
as the fabric has to becut to shape and anywhere it is cutthe self-edge is
lost.

TYPES OF DENIM:

Stretch denim

Stretch denim usually incorporates anelasticcomponent (such aselastane)

into the fabric to allow a degreeofgive in garments. Only a small percentage
is requiredwithin the fabric (approx 3%) toallow a significant stretch capacity
of around 15

TYPES OF DENIM:

Color denim

Denim fabric dyeing is divided into two categories; indigo dyeing andsulfur
dyeing. Indigo dyeing produces traditional blue colors or shades similar to
blue colors.Sulfur dyeing (also called color denim) is used to create specialty
black colors and other colors likepink, grey, rust, mustard, green, and red.

Interesting Facts about Denim:

48% of the world's trade in fabric is in cotton, from which denim is

made.

At least 225 pair of denim jeans can be made from one bale of cotton.

Authentic blue denim takes its characteristic color from interweaving

indigo (blue) and white threads. The term "bull denim" refers to
colored/dyed denim.

The orange thread traditionally used to sew Levi Strauss blue jeans was
intentionally selected to match the copper rivets that doubled the
durability of the jeans.

What is Denim Washing?

Its a process to induce Aesthetic finish

Dry denim-Not washed after dyeing

Washed denim-Natural distressing of dry denim is attempted to replicate

When it started?

The concept of washing the Denim jeans was started by Jack Spencer for
the brand Lee.

Stone-wash was first started by Francois Girbaud.

The concept of sandblasting was started in 1988 by a number of

branded companies in Italy.

Types of Denim Washes:

1. Chemical Washes

Denim bleaching

Enzyme wash

Acid wash

2. Mechanical Washes

Stone wash

Micro sanding

DENIM BUSINESS:

Total market size in the EU can be estimated at 389 million pairs of

jeans, value 14.0 billion in 2007, against 373 million pairs, value
13.8 million in 2003.

The seven major EU countries covered around 80% of the total EU

market. Germany is still the largest market, despite a slight fall in
consumption during the period 2005-2007. Among the major EU
countries, growth in volume was stronger than growth in value.

Italy is still the leader in jeans manufacturing in the EU but production

migrated to Eastern Europe and North Africa to take advantage of the
lower labor costs. Other EU countries which have a significant jeans
industry are Spain, Portugal and Romania.

DENIM BUSINESS:

The EU imported 554 million pair of jeans at a value of 5.4 billion in

2007, indicating an average import price of 9.81 per unit. The average
import price fell by 5% in the period 2003-2007, caused by factors like
intensified price competition among suppliers and a cheaper US dollar.

Turkey remained the leading EU supplier in 2007. Exports by Turkey to

the EU increased 12% in 2007 compared to the previous years. Imports
from second supplier China were 70% higher in 2007 than in the
previous year, while Italian exports to other EU countries decreased by
12% during the same period.

DENIM BUSINESS:

DENIM BUSINESS:

CONCLUSION:

The global jeans market is projected to reach $56 billion by 2018, according to
research firm Global Industry Analysts, Inc. In the U.S., the NPD Group reported
U.S. shoppers spent nearly $16 billion on denim in 2011.

NPD recently reported that total dollar sales for denim have increased in the U.S.
In the past 12 months ending November 2014, mens was up 2%, while womens
rose 8%. Marshal Cohen, chief industry expert, states denim at the mid- and highend levels is doing well.

We can say that the denim products have acquired a major market share in the
apparel industry and its growing day by day creating a lot of innovations and
competition among the manufacturers. The designers are playing vital role in
making up and styling the products out of the consumer trends and seasons. The
international trade fairs and exhibitions like Denim by Premeire Vision, Kingpins
Show and TexWorld are playing the role of platform to meet up with the Denim
Brands and manufacturers.