Denim: How it Started vs. How it’s Going
Let’s take a look at one fabric’s journey from France to the future.
Did you know that denim, the fabric that has had the world in a chokehold since the 1860s, was actually not created in the United States, but actually in late 17th century France? In fact, the name itself serves as a clue to the sturdy material’s origins in the town of Nimes, France.
Nimes was home to a bustling textile industry in the 18th and 19th centuries and often exported its fabrics to North America. One such fabric, serge de Nimes, caught the eye of American entrepreneur Levi Strauss (yes that Levi Strauss) in the 1860s. Strauss rebranded serge de Nimes as denim and began using it to make blue jeans, and thus textile history was made.
Today, Nimes no longer produces denim and while America is still known for the fabric, more than 50% of denim is actually made in Asia. A versatile and durable textile, we have seen denim trends change over the years from jeans to jackets and even boots. That being said, what does the future of denim look like?
Denim production previously required a lot of manpower, but as we’ve talked about before, there is a huge drift toward digitalization in the textile industry. However, despite the numerous software available which make it easier for designers to visualize and create samples as well as streamline the production process, there still remains some hesitation around adopting these new technologies.
Take 3D technology, for example. There are many tools available that offer 3D solutions, but some companies struggle to land on a single software solution that covers all their needs. Some major concerns in the denim industry in particular come from the idea that 3D jeans feel rigid, plasticky, and unnatural. Denim mills face the challenge of recreating the character of the fabric in 3D renderings which often come across as lifeless.
In spite of the obstacles and challenges denim production in particular faces with digitalization, we still see a tangible shift towards it much like the rest of the textile industry. The reality is simply that 3D technology, as with any other newly adopted technology, requires training to understand complex workflows. Once this training is properly implemented, everything else can fall into place, making for a smoother production process.
Not too long ago, we took a deep dive into digital fashion and the growing role of the internet of things (IoT) and web3 in the fashion industry. Now we want to take a look at what implications this could have for the denim subset of the textile world.
These days you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t own a denim piece in their wardrobe. Unfortunately, denim’s manufacturing process makes it one of the least eco-friendly. The CO2 emissions from a single pair of jeans are equivalent to driving over 1,000km in a car. Yikes. How are new technologies changing the game to increase sustainability?
The Circular Fashion Summit (CFS) recently held a roundtable discussion with industry leaders on denim digitalization and circularity to see what possibilities the future could hold. When looking at digital fashion, we’ve seen that IoT, NFTs, and blockchain technology are loaded with potential, but what impact could they have on denim sustainability? Let’s take for example smartphones capable of taking full-length body scans - this allows for made-to-order products and minimizes excess stock.
You might be wondering what exactly is CFS. They are a global Collective Action Summit partnered with the United Nations to support Sustainable Development Goals 2030. CFS is committed to building a digitized and connected fashion system.
Following the roundtable discussion, they hope to utilize SPIN technologies to create next-generation digitized, circular, and connected denim jeans. Keeping this end goal in mind, each pair of jeans will exist in both the physical and digital space as what they call a “phygital” NFT. Every consumer who purchases a physical pair of jeans also gets a digital copy they can use to engage in the SPIN metaverse. With SPIN’s innovative NFT label printer, supply chain transparency as well as customer ownership tracking through all stages becomes a viable option, enabling circular business models at scale.
Events like the CFS roundtable excite us because there are so many opportunities for innovation and increased sustainability that were previously unimaginable. At MEC we are always keeping an eye out for the latest trends and news from the textile industry to keep us inspired.
The textile industry is going digital and we are certainly no exception. In keeping up with the times, MEC has also entered the virtual space in a way similar to CFS’s upcoming “phygital” jeans. We don’t offer NFTs as of yet, but we do provide digital files of some of our products. These files exist for you to mold freely in Browzwear to your desired end product.
After you have completely customized your digital file, you have the ability to 3D print it for either individual or store use - minimizing textile waste at both levels by avoiding mass production.
This post is part of our Welcome to the Digital Revolution: Textile Edition series about the textile industry’s rapid shift from analog to digital. Stay tuned for the next in the series and subscribe to our blog to make sure you don’t miss it!