Start A Denim Brand

How To Start A Denim Brand.

(057). YES. WE ARE OPEN. It is not easy to start a denim brand. Branding for denim illustrates this perfectly. In 1985 levis ran a series of adverts for its  shrink-to-fit 501 jeans. They were probably the most effective ads ever created.  For years after them nobody with any creditability could buy any other brand of jeans, or even any other model of jeans.

EVERY other type of jean was considered uncool. Like everyone else, I had to sit in a bath of cold water with the jeans on, so that they would shrink to fit , just like in the ads. People would cheer loudly when the ad came on in the cinema. It also launched the popularity of boxer shorts, worn in the ads.

Before Levis were the denim brand to own, i remember that Fiorucci held this position for a while. After Levis cam Diesel denim. Today a lot of effort is put into making denim look used and worn. This is done in many ways including sand papering, grinding and tearing .

” The process by which money is created is so simple that the mind is  repelled “.        J.K. GALBRAITH

Innovative new denim brands use all sorts of ways to create a desire in the purchaser. One new start-up U.K brand makes a selling point of the fact that each pair of jeans is made by one machinist. The machinists name is on the label, along with a code. the owner can go online to see who made the jeans and what their interests in music are. Any future owner can also go online to see who previous owners were.

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Selvedge Jeans.

Selvedge jeans are sold as a very special type of jean. They are significantly more expensive to the alternative, although from the outside they look exactly the same. This type of branding appeals to men rather than women. men are a little geeky. they like the little details, i make a lot of vintage style patterns for menswear.

For men, all the little details need to be exactly correct. these details matter far more than the overall fit of the garment. There are many websites and bloggs dedicated to specific types of mens garments.

Startup Denim Brand.

Any fashion start-up  brand needs to think very carefully how to build their brand   in order to maximise sales. Obviously a small start-up would not normally be able to compete on the same level as established brands, but there are some very basic steps that can be taken to add value to the brand.

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Denim is a  heavy cotton similar to cotton duck, but twill woven rather than plain woven. Denim. Indigo denim is the most popular. In this denim the warp thread is dyed, while the weft remains white.Consequently blue jeans are predominately white on the inside and predominately blue on the outside. Denim  has been immensely popular for many years, and always seems to be at the very centre of fashion. It may be quiet for a while, but would then reappear in  new ways.

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Denim wear has also become a “heritage”  garment, so there are many enthusiastic followers of denim who require either original vintage garments, or accurate modern versions of them.

” We cant spend ourselves rich ” RONALD REAGAN

Pattern Cutting For Denim.

Denim wear pattern cutting has an extra dimension that most other areas of pattern cutting do not. Much of denim wear has to have shrinkage added to the pattern. This shrinkage varies, and can be up to 20%.  As a rule, the length will shrink more than the width.

So, when we make denim patterns we have to add in this extra allowance. Consequently the patterns may look unusual to an eye trained to know what normally looks right and what does not.

Denim used to be woven on a narrow 36″ shuttle loom with a  single continuous weft thread woven back and forth across the fabric, forming a seal down the edges .  These shuttle looms provided a denser weave and a heavier fabric.

While today denim tends to be made more economically on wider machines, the old “selvage” or “selvedge” denim is still  produced, although it is more expensive than the more modern method. Japanese selvedge denim is widely regarded as the best. While denim fabric can range from 5 to 32 oz, most denim  jeans are made in 12 to 16 oz

Selvage Denim Jeans.

Selvage denim jeans demand a premium price today.  They were originally cut in order to make best use of the fabric, by having a straight outside leg seam. the outside leg would be laid down the edge of the fabric. This compromises the shape and fit of the garment as all the leg shaping has to be placed on the inside leg.

he resulting shape, whether by accident or design, would be suitable for a bandy legged cowboy. And this is who they were originally designed for, as well as or other manual workers who demanded tougher clothing.

Early Levi 501`s were selvage jeans. they had the selvage running down the length of the side seams rather than being overlocked as the modern versions are.

The original five pocket  denim jeans were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873. They were designed to be strong pants made to withstand hard work.  They had two back pockets, two front pockets and small pocket on the right hand side. Some refer to this as a  ticket pocket, others call it a watch pocket. And others thing it was used to carry a small packet of matches so that the cowboys could light their cigarettes one handed by using the rear leather patch to strike the match.

Flat Felled Seams.

Jeans are normally constructed using flat felled seams. That does not mean that all the seams are flat felled – Normally the centre back seam, back yoke and side seam.  This This normally provides a far more robust construction than normal seams. The flat felled seam requires  special industrial machinery to sew correctly, although it can be made without  the specialist machinery. It just takes longer.

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