THE ROOT OF ALL DENIM

Despite its entrenchment in USA culture as a symbol of all-American style, the word ‘denim’ comes from the French phrase serge de Nimes, in reference to a type of fabric produced in Nimes, France. This fabric was hugely popular due to its durable nature, and its use quickly spread into neighbouring Italy, where the city of Genoa soon became the world’s biggest product of ‘serge de Nimes’  fabric. 

As denim became a popular workwear choice in the States, primarily due to The California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, the name ‘jeans’ was adopted after the French name for Genoa, ‘Gênes’. This was also the time that denim got its original indigo colouring as a more practical alternative to the undyed ecru colour. Indigo was a readily available, naturally occurring dye source, so American producers chose it out of necessity. 

HOW COTTON BECOMES DENIM

Most of our denim is primarily made from cotton, with a few additions of elastane for stretch or Lyocell for extra softness. But cotton as you may picture it - crisp shirts and breezy summer dresses - is worlds away from the distinct texture, look and feel of classic denim.  

Grown in areas with a lot of sunshine, cotton plants have tall stems with heads of fluffy fibres to protect the seeds. It’s these fluffy heads that are harvested, cleaned and combed into long fibres, before they’re spun into yarn using an industrial machine. 

What sets cotton fabric apart from denim is the fibre density. Classic cotton fabrics like poplin, muslin or voile use thinner fibres for a higher thread count per square inch, giving these fabrics a lighter feel and a more fluid quality. In contrast, the cotton fibre used to make denim is much more dense, resulting in a lower thread count and the weightier, stiffer feel. 

Undyed Denim

Undyed denim, often labelled ‘Ecru’, refers to the denim-weave cotton in its natural state, which is a soft, off-white colour.

Raw Denim

As the name suggests, raw denim is unwashed and untreated. It has an initial stiff appearance and feel but transforms over time with each wear. Raw denim is dyed indigo and not washed in any way, so considerations should be taken before the first machine wash.

Rinse Wash

The more practical relative of raw denim, rinse wash denim has the same deep indigo colour as raw denim, but it’s been rinsed in water to remove residual dye and softened for a more comfortable fit.

Stone Wash

Stone washing is a conventional finishing option that involves the use of pumice stones to quickly achieve the coveted lived-in, authentic look of aged denim. Different intensities of stone washing are achieved by using stones of different sizes, and can vary from very light blue, to mid and darker tones. We work with denim suppliers that also use lower-impact finishing technology such as lasers to replicate the stone-washed look.

Dark Wash

This wash covers the colour spectrum from mid grey to almost black. Dark dyes are used to create the colour which penetrates deeply into the fabric. However, due to the heavily-dyed nature of this wash, it’s the hardest colour to maintain and the intense washing treatment can also cause the fabric to shrink a little, which might account for why you often have to size up in darker wash jeans. 

Hand-Finished Denim

From statement torn knees to subtle fraying along pocket seams or hem, hand-finishing is a popular choice to achieve the perfectly undone look. It involves a variety of hand techniques like sanding or pumicing in order to artificially create rips, tears and abrasions associated with long-term wear.