House of Denim, the origin of your jeans
Jeans, jeans or just jeans , for those who love to use anglicisms in the Spanish language. Never has a garment given so much to talk about, nor has it suffered so many reinterpretations throughout history. In 1873, Levi Strauss commissioned tailor Jacob Davis a pair of sturdy work pants, the first in rivet-reinforced denim, and the legend was born. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Marlon Brando or Elvis Presley They catapulted them to stardom, but it was the youth subcultures (rockers, punks, hippies...) who popularized them. Although when we talk about jeans we immediately think of United States, more specifically the Wild West of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne , in Europe we have an authentic denim city , which has gone unnoticed until now. neither more nor less than amsterdam.
responsible cowboys
In the last twenty years, renowned brands such as G-Star RAW, Pepe Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger or Calvin Klein have installed their headquarters or development offices in the Dutch capital. “In 2004, from the organization of Amsterdam Fashion International Week, we set out to put Amsterdam on the map as an inspiring, vibrant and interesting city for fashion professionals, but we realized that, in reality, it was more of a denim city ”. The person behind this phrase is Mariette Hoitink , co-founder of **House of Denim**, a platform to support craftsmanship, innovation and sustainability in the denim industry . Inside the beautiful industrial warehouse Hallen's , located in the cozy kinkerbuurt neighborhood, You will find this peculiar organization with a small team, but very endearing and committed.
Design, tailoring, pattern making... the ABC's of jeans
For them, their mantra and philosophy of life is to work together for a bright blue . Its goal, "to inspire professionals so that in all the key regions of this industry, drier, cleaner and smarter jeans are made". A utopia for some, but not for them. How to achieve it? Through the development of “education, innovation, business and networking” Mariette explains. One of the fundamental pillars is its **Jean School**, the first design school specialized in jeans. An atypical campus, but with a lot of vibes, which might as well be in the hipster neighborhood of Williamsburg . So much so that as soon as you enter, the first thing you think about is the likes you are going to get when you upload a photo to Instagram.
Sewing machines, countless denim fabrics to choose from, millions of buttons and zippers ; ** Blue Lab ,** a sustainable laboratory called where to fade pants and, above all, the must-see: the Indigo Archive, a library for lovers of jeans. the very Tommy Hilfiger or Adriano Goldschmied , a designer known as “the godfather of denim”, have donated their most prized possessions to this archive. Although the funniest anecdote is the letter they received from the former queen of Holland stating that she does not wear jeans and that she cannot give them any.
Denim City Study
According to Mariëtte Hoitink, it is “a great asset for students and a place of pilgrimage for denim lovers from all over the world” . But it is not only the mecca of “jeans lover ”, but there, students learn design, tailoring, pattern making, in addition to reusing the stock of important firms to give them a second life or repair damaged garments. A multipurpose location that also has a workshop for students to work on their own collection. In fact, one of them, Sophie Hardeman, recently showed her creations during New York Fashion Week. Could there be a better showcase?
Here students learn design, tailoring and pattern making
Nowadays, 100 million pairs of trousers are manufactured each year and the number continues to rise . From Amsterdam they try to make both brands and consumers aware of the importance of respect for the environment, the reduction of dyes and polluting products or the use of organic cotton . For everyone who works at the House of Denim, jeans are the most iconic item of clothing in fashion history and are increasingly seen on the catwalks. “ It is the most liberal garment there is, just like the mentality of many Dutch ”, she jokes. Such is their popularity that last April they held their event Denim Days to honor this key piece. If Lana del Rey already said it in her song, “_ Blue jeans, white shirt. Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn… _”
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