Denim, the history of a fashion icon

Denim is one of the most widely used fabrics for making clothes nowadays, both for its characteristics and for its aesthetics and versatility.

However, denim was not always the fashion icon we are used to. In fact, there was even a time when wearing denim was frowned upon in certain spheres of society.

The "fabric of Nîmes", the denim of France

Although there is no consensus, one of the most widely accepted theories about the origin of denim is that it appeared in Nîmes (hence its name), a city in the south of France halfway between Montpellier and Avignon.

Historically, this Gallic region was a major centre of textile production based on cotton, the raw material for denim.

Because of its strength, denim began to be used for peasant clothing in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, denim was also used to make the sails of ships, awnings and tarpaulins.

The popularity of denim as workwear began to grow, not only in Europe, but also in the new continent.

Löb Strauß, the first denim fabric manufacturer in the USA

Löb Strauß was a German merchant who emigrated to the United States in 1847. Later, in 1853, he moved to San Francisco, where he would eventually become one of the largest industrial denim manufacturers in the country: Levi Strauss.

Levi Strauss's idea was to use the "Nimes fabric" to make the miners' trousers, a very tough job that required a fabric resistant to weather, humidity, etc.

However, there was a problem: the miners' pockets often came undone due to the weight of the materials they carried in them. To reinforce them, Strauss turned to copper rivets, and patented the first Levi Strauss denim trousers in 1873.

Much later, in 1934, he made the first jeans for women who lived and worked on farms. But even then, Levi Strauss was not the only industrial manufacturer of denim trousers.

Lee joins the denim business

Henry David Lee created the Lee denim brand in 1889 to improve the quality of denim overalls for factory workers.

This fact, i.e. the creation of a new brand, was what further increased the popularity of denim, not only on the West Coast, but also on the East Coast.

In addition to making trousers like Strauss, Lee created denim jackets for railwaymen in 1921, which reached to the hips, had large front pockets and were cut loosely for comfort throughout the day.

Denim makes the leap to Hollywood

Although denim was originally used exclusively for workwear, this changed after the Second World War in 1945.

The first Hollywood films appeared in which the stars wore trousers made of denim. However, they continued to wear them in their daily lives, which caused a scandal, as denim was associated with workers' clothes.

People expected Hollywood stars to wear expensive, luxurious designer clothes in their everyday lives, not denim clothes worn by people from the lower, poorer classes of society.

Be that as it may, thanks to Hollywood and its most rebellious celebrities, denim definitely made the leap to streetwear stardom.

Marilyn Monroe, denim as an icon of sensuality

In her 1954 film River of No Return, Marilyn Monroe wore denim trousers, which further changed the perception of denim and denim itself.

Thus, it ceased to be a garment for working women and became a symbol of sensuality and femininity. So much so that editorials such as Vogue began to include jeans in their publications.

The denim revolution in the 1960s-70s

It was in the 1960s and 1970s, a decade of great social change, that denim trousers became widespread throughout the world.

They began to be created in different shades and styles, such as elephant-leg, bell-bottom and baggy trousers. The first frayed, ripped and torn jeans also appeared, symbolically imitating work clothes; and stonewashed(délavé) jeans, to give them that older look.

We, the denim fashion brand Bustins Jeans, were one of the first brands to introduce denim jeans in Spain in those years.

We struggled to find the right technique, but after many trials with dyes and chemicals, we finally managed to give the denim that finish.

That was the reason for the success of the "stocks" in the 70-80s, and in the years of the Movida Madrileña, denim garments that now, half a century later, we have recovered in this collection of vintage jeans.

And the denim fabric has survived to the present day...

Denim garments have long since ceased to be associated with the working class, and have also lost the protest character they had in the 60s and 70s.

Nowadays there is no wardrobe for men or women without denim garments. The styles and versatility of these garments are practically limitless.

From the times of Strauss and Lee until today, there are many brands that offer denim garments, although most of them are fast fashion brands with an unethical vision of the sector.

In fact, the extremely high demand for denim clothing has led these brands to cut costs by offshoring production sites to third world countries, where workers' rights and environmental legislation are practically non-existent.

As a result, the fashion sector has become one of the most polluting sectors today, accounting for approximately 10% of the emissions responsible for climate change.

It is undeniable that, due to the chain production and the low cost involved for them, these brands can sell their garments at very low prices, without forgetting that they are low quality garments that will end up in the garbage after a short time.

The problem is that we, the end consumers, don't seem to see the real price of 20-30 euro jeans: waste of water in countries where not all the population has access to it, tacit support for the exploitation of workers in those countries, etc.

At Bustins Jeans we did not want to be an agent that aggravates the problem, but a solution to it. Therefore, we prefer slow fashion as a business model, a more responsible and ethical vision of a sector that is condemning so many future generations.

For this reason, we produce our garments in Spain with materials of renewable and traceable origin, in an artisanal way in our small workshop, to offer a limited and timeless catalog. This is how we achieve garments capable of lasting for years if they are properly maintained.

Of course, quality and artisanal production is reflected in the price of our garments, but it is clear to us that if there is something worth investing in, it is our planet and the new direction we want to give it for the generations to come.

We have just seen the origins and evolution of denim... For everyone's sake, will you help us now to change its future and ours with it?