How We Became Blue

Originally a durable and sturdy fabric staple of Italian workers in the early nineteenth century, denim has evolved and taken on a new life. The genesis of this evolution began with the Levi Strauss company. Originally a dry goods merchant, Strauss took up the patent of a designer producing custom denim pants for women working farmland and then migrated to the American cowboy as a favored fabric. Denim subsequently found its way into youth culture hungry for a new garment to indulge. It has evolved in cut and wash while maintaining the same basic principles. Fits and standards of making have been refined and denim makers now search the globe for superior fabrics and new sources of inspiration.