“I wish I had invented jeans. They are synonymous with expression, modesty, sex appeal and simplicity. Everything I want my creations to contribute”, said the great Yves Saint Laurent in life. There is no season in which denim fabric is not a trend. In darker indigo, close to violet, or worn down to even embrace white. As a basic and relaxed garment that counteracts the sophistication of the rest of the look or as the predominant fabric of the entire outfit in what has come to be called double denim or even triple denim.
As John Hopkins explains in the book Men's Clothing, denim “transcends the temporary vagaries of fashion and invites the wearer to instill their own aesthetic flair. A pair of jeans is the most common and, at the same time, the most personal article of clothing that a man owns”.
And although until now this fabric had been relegated in the field of decoration for years, especially due to its environmental impact, the new ecological processes for spinning and dyeing have managed to place it once again in the panorama of interior design trends. This is how big names in interior design, such as Nanimarquina and Roche Bobois, have launched collections in this fabric that include rugs, sofas, poufs and cushions.
But there is still more, the excellence of Vitra has wanted to pay homage to indigo in the new edition of objects by the master of design and engineering Jean Prouvé, both in his chairs and armchairs, as well as in his lamps, stools and shelves. To all this has been added that one of the most demanded colors of the iconic Wire Chair DKR, created in 1951 by Charles
“People are still wearing jeans, that has never changed. But in terms of decoration there had been, for a few years, more caution, as if the host feared that his eventual guests might think of him as not caring about the future of the planet. That is why we did not see denim furniture at any major fair or in decoration magazines. It is even paradoxical, because furniture has, in principle, much more durability than a piece of clothing, but we perceived that insecurity in buyers”, explains the interior designer Anne-Mette Rejnhold, with her own office in Copenhagen and a regular at the week of the fashion of that city and that of Stockholm.
“In Scandinavia we have been pioneers in producing denim without wreaking havoc on the planet. Swedish brand Nudie Jeans, for example, has been manufacturing with organic cottons and natural dyes for more than 20 years, and Ganni, Acne Studios and Rotate Birger Christensen are following in its wake”, he adds.
In Spain we have the firm Thinking Mu, which has made clean denim its slogan. “We start with a closed water circuit to reduce the use of this precarious resource. In addition, we use cotton made from sustainable techniques and organic fertilizers. Likewise, we use recycled material, giving a second life to the fabrics and betting on the circularity of the product”, explains Pepe Barguño, who, together with Miquel Castells, leads the firm.
When in Spain it seemed that sustainability was an illusory word, they imposed traceability, fair trade, circularity and transparency as brand values. Today many buy thinking about treasuring that garment. The new generations are more aware of the reality of the planet and want pieces of clothing to be proud of.
“They continue to bet on following the fashions of the moment, copying, for example, Zendaya's jean looks in the Euphoria series, but denim will always be a wild card and indigo is a color that perennially seduces for its connotations of calm, comfort and harmony. Hardly anyone says no to a garment or accessory in this shade”, adds Gabriella Montrasio, professor of Experimental Textile Design at the Istituto Marangoni in Florence.
Mango has just launched its home collection on the market, with plates with precious indigo brushstrokes, and interior designers like Mariona Espinet do not hesitate to propose an entire wall in this color when they present their home renovation projects. Moreover, in the state of North Carolina, in the United States, the Denim hotel was born in Greensboro, a region in which the predominant economic sector for centuries was cotton harvesting.
From the darkest indigo to white denim pants, going through faded and worn. This spring the first garments from La Veste, the Blanca Miró and Maria de la Orden brand, have seen the light of day, in denim with gray tones and colored trims. Tommy Hilfiger, one of the classics in jean design, has opted for total looks for men and women, also playing with subtle denim.
Fay has wanted to pay homage to the nineties in style with frayed finishes, while Loewe and Pomandère have opted for the most concentrated indigo, seeking to give the garment greater prominence and elegance. In its most refined line and as a must-have summer accessory, Birkenstock has launched a collection of flip flops and clogs in denim blue in its lightest shade.
“In a society as visual as ours, fashion is a particularly relevant language. With clothes we integrate and differentiate ourselves. Dressing is linked to rituals, sensibilities, roles and aspirations. It can encourage and strengthen us. In the aspect, almost nothing is rational, everything is emotional ”, exposes Marta D. Riezu in her book La moda justa. The author talks about denim and the enormous cost it has for the planet, but she also highlights the joy and essence that a garment can transmit and, from there, with an ethical conscience, we can talk about furniture.
There is no doubt about it, denim is the quintessential fabric when what is sought is to unite simplicity and overwhelming personality, almost an oxymoron if we think of design. Et voilà, ton voeu est exaucé par magie (your wish was magically granted), as Saint Laurent used to say to his most loyal clients.
