Trend Alert: JEANS LEGENDS

Legends in Blue Denim from way back influencing today's fashion jeanswear.    There were fewer variants in the indigo shade but the indigos were natural, bluer and brighter.    Slims and skinnies were born of the cowboy fit which in turn influenced rock n' roll jeans - slim legs; high waists; cuffs up.     The flying suit for women, born in the early munitions factories of the USA, reborn as 1950's denim wear, again has become the hottest denim fashion item on the street.                                                 

The Western shirt and Trucker jacket - are they original workwear? Yes!     Are they now universal everyday wear? Yes!     Are they current fashion denim wear?  Yes!  

So nothing changes, just the when and the where. 

From original biker's denim on denim to Amish farmer's work denims.

Legendary style of jeans and vest hasn't changed.

The recognisable Levi "swoosh" stitching matched with cowboy boots strikes a chord with denimistas every wear.   As does the re-inforced pocket stitching which replaced the original pocket rivet.     Real vintage jeans are dateable by button and rivet style and colour.

NEW ORDER: Easy Everyday

COMFORT is the driver.  Flexibility, softness, fluidity.

Knit denims in indigo and colour with a bit of stretch for extra flexibility.

Even the new khakis and chinos benefit from having stretch for comfort and ease.

Clockwise from top left: ©JackJones, ©Levis, ©Levis, ©JackJones

We mustn't forget cotton cords and cords in soft blended yarns including stretch. Corded chinos and corded 5 pocket jeans have a new cool vibe for the street tribe.

Big voluminous shapes in lightweight denims add a smarter look for everyday easy especially in super dark indigos.

L-r: ©Asos, ©

Knit denims -  woven indigos with a loop back to look and feel like knit fabric - have mushroomed since Diesel introduced them some years ago.  Now not only in indigo but in other jeans friendly colours and prints as well.  They are soft, warm, tactile, comfortable and especially amazing to wear when they have a little stretch.  

Fluidity in knit denims for guys are the new sweat pants.

Velour cotton with a little stretch adds another comfort dimension to every day easy jeans.

L-R: ©Asos, ©JackJones

NEW ORDER: Denim not Denim

When is denim not denim?   When it is jeans in comfort and crazy other fabrics.

Composite Image ©TheDenimEye

Photo prints onto jeans jackets - it starts as denim metamorphosing into psychedelic effects -retaining a base of indigo blue.

Textured flannels and striated weaves in work style jeanswear adds a warm touch.

L-R: ©Dior Homme, ©Andrea Crews

Edging trims used as stripes and message prints cut and pieced for crazy pattern effects onto denim jeanswear.

Wild coloured jeans - not denim but a great alternative with attitude.

Shiny sateen for guys and bold stripes for girls - yes it's jeanswear but not denim!

THE NEXT STEPS FOR SUSTAINABILITY AT KINGPINS AMSTERDAM

The return on investments in science, creativity and people were evident at Kingpins Amsterdam and Transformers, where sustainability was the leading story for almost all of the denim mills.

“The momentum on sustainability is at all levels,” said Tricia Carey, Lenzing director of global business development for denim. “There is now a concern from fiber to finished garment.”

The seminar series, Transformers, raised questions about the cost of sustainability. Speakers included representatives from Target Corporation, Lenzing, Jeanologia, Sai-tex, BlueSign, BCI, Bayer e3, Garmon, Archroma and more. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the denim leaders to connect and address industry challenges together,” said Andreas Dorner, Lenzing commercial director for U.S. and Europe.

At Transformers, Dorner presented about the value of sustainability, specifically Lenzing’s latest innovation, Refibra. He explained how the industry works together to develop new ideas and the process in which Lenzing is  reusing post industrial cotton scraps to make a new fiber called Refibra™ branded lyocell fiber. Dorner said time and financial investment is necessary to creating a more sustainable denim and apparel industry. “There is no balance sheet about the costs of environmental damage,” he quipped.

Denim experts agreed. At Transformers, fashion and sustainability journalist Paulina Szmydke-Cacciapalle stressed the fact that sustainable practices and innovation ultimately pay for itself, adding that companies with high ratings for CSR and ESG factories have lower costs of debt and equity. Meanwhile Target Senior Designer of Denim, Kristin Kimm, shared how the U.S. retailer is taking a lot of small steps to make a big impact in offering the end users sustainable products for value prices. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Kimm said.

Read the full article from our friends over at carvedinblue.lenzing-fibers.com, or click here to subscribe to their monthly newsletter with a recap of all the month's best articles. 

NEW ORDER: Denim with a Difference

Printed and pattered jeans are wild and fun with a carefree happy vibe.

Patterned jeans take denim and jeans into a different arena.  They may not be "authentic" like indigo blues and they may be eschewed by the indigo denim aficionados but we admit they are funky and fun.

Composite Image ©TheDenimEye

How wild is this Versace jeans combo!

G Star Raw has created a limited edition of lots of prints onto 5 pocket "Elwood" jeans - cool funky prints for gender neutral jeanswear.    Pity they are limited in availability.

Composite Image ©TheDenimEye

Different denims are not only printed patterns but also patterned jacquards. Woven in indigo, they joyfully fade and degrade and as the pattern is woven into the fabric the textural element adds a dimension unseen in a simple print onto white twill.

The jigsaw camouflage prints from G Star look amazingly cool.

Clockwise top left: ©GStar, ©John Richmond, ©Desigual

....... and add some shine to the prints for OTT glamour............

NEW ORDER: Colour me Different

Pigment and powder colours to dip dye, to stain and to print onto denim and airy open weaves.  Hot colours for summer work with indigo denims to create more colourful options.

Colour play on the backside of denim fabrics creating two tone effects and over dyeing blue with bright colour for a vintage recycled look.

Composite Image ©TheDenimEye

Millennial pink pairs with corn yellow and poster red for the 3 best jeans colours of the moment.

Seeing the boiled sweet colour options delivers a "must have" freshness to the essential jean. 

All ©BDG Denim

........Adding lilac for junior freshness......... 

Coloured jeans mostly start as white PFD twills being laundry dyed and finished for flexibility and a worn in finish.  Colour will never wash down and out like indigo as it is sulphur dyed but it can be degraded and treated with coloured spray to add effect and dimension.

Composite Image ©TheDenimEye Clockwise from Top Right: ©Zara, ©Asos, ©Levi, ©JBrand

Trend Alert: NEW ORDER

Beyond Indigo .......

jeanswear  goes beyond indigo denim with creative concepts in print; in colour; in different fabrics but always in jean style.  

New Order jeanswear is not only a mix of exciting new patterns and colour but also ordered geometric, repetitive patterns and structures. 

L : ©Moncler Gamme Bleu, Top Right: Liselore Forwijn, Bottom Right: GStar

Brilliant geometry; crazy stripes, bold lines and repetitive camouflage.  

L-R: ©Walter Van Bierendonck, ©KTZ, ©Bobby Abley

When made in denim New Order jeanswear uses different types of denim - knit denim for active and easy jeans; textured neppy denim for tweed jeans; different structures and textures all woven in indigo.

Colours are an essential part of the New Order mix. Palest pink is the newest hot trend for gender neutral jeans and of course the classic khakis both in colour and in style.  Whilst chinos and khakis are currently a hot topic they quickly become boring as they do not evolve.  Unlike denim which wears in with you , becoming better and better with age and customisation. Whereas chinos and khakis stay as when first bought.

Clockwise from L: ©BDG, ©Levis,  ©Levis, ©JackJones

Bold monochromatic patterned denims both patched and pieced and pigment printed. 

Fluo colours launch us into summer festival and street party season.  That is where colour is an essential part of the jeanswear package.

WORKWEAR REVOLUTION: Work in Details

Aprons, smocks, bags and holders all having origins in vintage workwear have been re-created in denims both raw rigid ( which will shrink!!) and in washed denims to achieve greater character.

Such fashion, function and home accessory items are a burgeoning cottage craft and gift industry.

above: American night safe banking bag below: Railroad workers caps

True original accessories bring us full circle from the 1800's to 2017 - the shape has changed a little and a lot but the denim, stripes  and colour has hardly changed at all.

 ©DawsonDenim

Quirky pocket and button detailing makes this Dawson combo a real must-have gender neutral item.