Who invented denim fabric? The true story of blue jeans

The invention of jeans fabric, also called denim, it dates back to the 1400swhen in Chieri, in Piedmont, a resistant blue fabric was produced, which was then exported through port of Genoa. A similar fabric was made in Nîmes, France. Denim pants were invented in United States in the nineteenth centuryat the time of the California Gold Rush, and for a long time they were used only as work clothes. After the Second World War, however, they became a fashionable item of clothing and became established throughout the worldfirst among young people and poles among the rest of the population.

The origins of the fabric: denim and jeans

The origins of jeans date back to the 15th century, when in the city of Chieri (now in the province of Turin) a blue fabric was made, very resistant and similar to moleskin. The fabric was exported through the port of Genoa and therefore became known as Blue de Gênes (Blu di Genova, pronounced, where Gênes was pronounced “gin”). In the medieval and modern ages, in fact, it was customary to call fabrics by the name of the city from which they came. The word Blu Jeans derives from Blu de Gênes, attested in English since 1567. Originally the fabric was not used to make clothing, but to produce bags and sheets. Starting from the 16th century, it became widespread throughout Europe. However, it was not produced only in Chieri. In the French city of Nîmes a very similar fabric was produced, which became known as Denim, from the words “De Nîmes”.

Today the words denim and jeans tend to overlap: sometimes the fabric is defined as denim and the trouser model as jeans, but the word jeans is often used for the fabric as well.

The history of jeans from Genoa to America

Denim/jeans clothing has more recent origins and dates back only to the nineteenth century. The entrepreneur was the pioneer of its production Levi Straussa German who had moved to the United States. In 1851 Levi Strauss founded a company in San Francisco to produce clothes for gold miners. California was still an undeveloped territory, but it attracted thousands and thousands of people thanks to the gold rush, which had begun a few years ago. Prospectors needed very durable clothing, and Strauss began using denim fabric to make work aprons and other garments. In its modern form, denim trousers were invented by a tailor, Jacob William Daviswho inserted metal rivets to reinforce the most “delicate” points, such as pockets, which tended to break because gold diggers filled them with many objects. The tailor formed a company together with Levi Strauss and in 1873 filed with him the patent of his invention. The first denim jeans were produced on May 20, 1873.

The evolution of jeans and their arrival in Europe

In 1890, when the patent expired, other companies began producing jeans, which underwent numerous improvements over the years. For example, the first ones appeared in the 1920s zippers and in the following decade, belt loops.

Originally jeans were a work garment, used by workers, farmers, miners and other heavy workers. They were not worn, except rarely, on other occasions. Furthermore, they were an exclusively male item of clothing. The first ones women’s jeans they were put on the market in 1935, but they only became widespread during the Second World War, because many women called to replace the soldiers sent to the front in the factories wore them.

Metal rivet to reinforce the pocket (credits Marcos André)

Until the war years, the fabric was used almost exclusively in the United States. After the conflict, however, jeans spread to Europe, thanks to American soldiers, who wore them in their free time, and Hollywood films, which showed them on the big screen. As the years went by, jeans became a fashionable item of clothingespecially appreciated among young people, also because they are worn by some icons of cinema and music. The image of James Dean in the famous film Rebel Without a Cause of 1955 went around the world, as did that of Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and other famous singers wearing jeans during their concerts. In the 1960s, at the time of youth protest, jeans became a symbol of the countercultureas opposed to the more “serious” clothes imposed by society and worn by adults. The fabric even reached the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, although it was not appreciated by political authorities as a symbol of Western capitalism.

Jeans in the global world

Over the years, jeans have lost the aura of a “rebel” item of clothing used only by young people, to establish themselves throughout society. Furthermore, they have overcome every geographical barrier and have become a widespread product throughout the world. It is estimated that globally they sell approximately two billion jeans a year; in the United States, each citizen owns an average of 7 pairs of jeans. Moreover, today denim fabric is not used to produce trousers, but numerous other items of clothing. The market is constantly expanding. Sales have a value of approximately 68 billion dollarsbut it is estimated that in 2030 it will exceed 95 billion (according to other estimates it will exceed 100 million already in 2027). The popularity of jeans seems to know no obstacles, as demonstrated by the enormous number of models on the market.

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