Jeans: here to stay
Publication: Nostalgia Magazine
They’re everywhere. Worn by men and women, young and old. For work and play, business and pleasure. For decades, they have been a trend in youth culture. Just how is it though, that jeans have managed to remain popular and survive through to this day?
Blue jeans were first introduced onto the market in the mid-to-late 19th century. In 1850, an immigrant living in California had several rolls of denim fabric. Realising the demand for solid work trousers made from hard-wearing fabric, he began distributing denim jeans. That man’s name was Levi Strauss. In 1873, an inventor in Nevada named Jacob Davis added copper rivets to the trousers at areas of high stress to prevent them from splitting. As he couldn’t afford a patent, he turned to Strauss, who patented riveted jeans under both their names.
Initially, jeans were attire purely for the working class. In the 1920s, some middle class youth adopted jeans as everyday wear. They didn’t break on to the popular front until the 1940s and 1950s when famous film stars wore them on screen (most notably Marlon Brando in The Wild One and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause), and out in public. Since then, the traditional white t-shirt and jeans has been a popular fashion option. By the time the 1960’s had arrived, they were standard issue for members of the decade’s counterculture.
“During the 1960’s, jeans had also spread to the American middle class. Protesting college students began wearing them as a token of solidarity with the working class- those most affected by racial discrimination and war draft.” (Hegarty, 2012)
Since then, jeans have been produced in various styles. Modern varieties have proved immensely successful, selling millions worldwide. Baggy jeans were a popular trend during the 1990s, while in the 2000s, skinny jeans and jeans of different colours started to gain popularity. In both the UK and the US, they have become a tradition in the youth market.
Denim has faced rivalry however, particularly from companies producing sports and athletic wear. Throughout the 1990s, new styles such as khakis, chinos, and branded sportswear including Nike, Adidas, and Reebok became more and more popular with the youth of the period, pushing jeans to the backs of wardrobes.
“Denim had a tough time back in 2014 with the emergence of athleisure, which caused new arrivals to dip throughout 2015 and 2016, when the lifestyle was at its peak. Fashion’s continued obsession with nostalgia combined with streetwear’s ability to incorporate both athleisure and denim helped reinvigorate consumer interest in the material. Nowadays, there is room in the market and consumers’ wardrobes for both of these categories, as mass retailers include harmoniously in their assortments.” (Marci, 2020)
Despite facing this competition, it is fair to say that blue jeans will never go out of style. With more and more pairs being produced every year, they are both a climber and a faller in the fashion industry. Levi Strauss Co. in particular continue to boom today, just as many other imports from across the Atlantic have done.
“Levi’s has been in business longer than Coca Cola, Ford, and McDonald’s and today it is more popular and profitable than ever, somehow defying every rule of the fashion life cycle, and defeating our ever-shortening attention spans. For the last 150 years, the thing that has set Levi’s apart from every competitor is that, along the way, their denim pants and jackets have become the de facto uniform for nearly every relevant individual disrupting youthful subculture since the 1930’s. The story of the life and growth of the Levi’s brand is the story of the emergence of youth culture itself, including rock and roll music, beat poetry, skateboarding and counterculture.” (Ligget, no date)
Looks as though I’ll be clearing a massive space in my wardrobe for however many pairs of jeans I should happen to own in the next 10 years.
References:
Hegarty, S. (2012) How jeans conquered the world. Available at: bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17101768 (Accessed: 20 October 2020)
Ligget, D. (2019) How Levi’s has Remained Cool for One Hundred Years. Available at: justanotherinsight.co/articles/levis-defies-cool-club-logic (Accessed: 20 October 2020)
Marci, K. (2020) The EDITED Denim Report: market and product trends. Available at: edited.com/resources/denim-trends/ (Accessed: 20 October 2020)
