Since an inception of denim fabric perhaps during 17th century, there have been many other innovative and fashionable fabrics introduced in the industry, but denim remains one of the most versatile, durable, ever fashionable and popular fabrics. Denim jeans have become an integral part of every day life and common in the wardrobes, everywhere forever. In the beginning, denim jeans were used for miners, farmers, labours, workers, cowboys etc, more of a workwear type, main reasons were, fabric was more durable, sturdy and cheap. Modern jeans began to appear in the market during 1920s, and the first designer brought blue jeans on the runway was Calvin Klein during 1976, and by 1990s the fashion houses such as Versace, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana also entered in the jeans market. Today, almost all high-fashion designers and luxury labels have introduced the jeans or denim apparels & accessories on the runway, the items are available in both the ends of the price spectrum i.e., very expensive to most reasonable, in the multiple style options such as skinny, low, wide, high-waisted, baggy, light, dark, colored, wash effects, altered, printed, slim fit, relaxed fit, etc.,
Denim fabric is made by cotton, can be 100% or blended with wool or silk or any other materials. The fabric was a twill weave using one colored thread and one thread white on, the weft passing under the warp threads, the weavers used indigo to dye warp threads in blue and but left the weft threads in their natural white color. Originally, this process gave the fabric one side unique blue color and white on the other side, originated in France and partially in Italy. The famous copper/metal rivets used jeans design was firstly introduced by Levis Strauss & Co. during 1870s and the company created their first pair of jeans in the 1890s. And from the 19th century onwards the other competitors such as Wrangler and Lee emerged.
As per the data available in various researches, the size of the denim jeans industry globally is huge, in 2022 it was worth around USD 78 billion and is expected to grow at CAGR of 5.8% from 2023 to 2030. Approximately around 3 billion pairs of denim jeans are sold a year globally, worth around USD 55000 million a year. More than 50% of the denim is produced in China, India, Bangladesh and Turkey and other Asian countries.
Recently, there have been many innovations in the denim fabric as well as designs of jeans. New fits, washing effects, styles are being introduced. Sustainability and eco-friendly are also largely being practiced in the denim industry globally. Top jeans brands for 2023 are: Bestseller, Levi Strauss & Co., PVH, Inditex, ASOS, G-Star, VF Corp, Diesel, Guess, Mango, Wrangler, Calvin Klein, C & A, Lee and more.
Overall, the future of denim and jeans looks much promising due to many designs coming in and the rise of an e-commerce, also the dedicated trade shows such as Denim Premiere Vision Milan, Kingpins Show, Denims and Jeans, The Denim Revolution, Texworld, Munich Fabric Start and others are also supporting industry for networking, trade development and expansion.
