On November 9, Katy Perry arrived in a total denim look on the red carpet of the 56th Country Music Awards, which took place in Nashville, Tennessee.
Corset with a V-shaped cutout at the bust, trousers flanked by an oversized bow and frayed hem: the singer's outfit (reminiscent of the silhouette of the 2000s of Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake era) is signed Marques' Almeida, the label of the young London duo formed by Paulo Almeida and Marta Marques, both graduates of the prestigious Central Saint Martins, and whose grunge and denim couture spirit has already conquered other pop stars, such as Beyoncé, Rihanna and FK Twiggs.
On video, basic - jeans
More than two centuries after its creation, i.e. in the 1800s, the iconic cotton canvas trousers of the gold diggers and indispensable companion of the cowboys are more than ever the king of the female wardrobe: the one that the women put on to go to the office,
party girls
to go dancing, celebrities to walk the
red carpet
.
Above all, it has become an iconic piece that fashion designers are constantly reinventing and upgrading to a luxury version.
It is an essential best-seller of the collections (Dior, Celine…).
“Jeans have survived all eras without ever falling into fashion,” explains Frédéric Monneyron, writer and professor of literature and sociology of fashion at the University of ́Perpignan-Via Domitia.
His taste for luxury is largely due to Yves Saint Laurent who, in the 1970s, felt the seductive power of this inimitable fabric from Nîmes long before anyone else, by introducing it into his haute couture collections.
At that time, if Jackie Kennedy was already wearing white denims, the
ladies
began to go to social events slipped into a pair of jeans, associated with pretty pumps or patent leather boots.
To better understand its success in the world of couture, I would quote Jean Cocteau who said: “Elegance is in negligence.” Understand: elegance is in relaxation.
We could therefore say that jeans contain a ferment of elegance in themselves.
»
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Givenchy fashion show.
Imaxtree
"The great blank canvas of fashion"
Excessively high waist and patched canvas at Acne Studios, ruffled eph flaps at Alaïa, corset-style zipper at Balmain, beaded embroidery at Givenchy or patch pockets down to the feet like baggy pants at Isabel Marant... On the catwalks of designers for the coming fall-winter and spring-summer, blue jeans are popular in augmented, sophisticated, enriched versions.
The house of Karl Lagerfeld announces this month the launch of its brand Karl Lagerfeld Jeans, a label that would undoubtedly have pleased the emblematic couturier of chic, himself a lover of jeans.
"Karl Lagerfeld was a master in the art of mixing cool and rock chic denim with dressier pieces," explains Hun Kim, the brand's design director.
It also showed that denim has no age.
»
"Raw,
bleached
, torn or excessively worn, it is the great blank canvas of fashion, the one which, season after season, continues to fascinate stylists, who do not hesitate to mix shades and textures to deliver ever more original creations, attests Lorenza Martello, denim specialist at Première Vision, one of the most important shows in the world for professionals in the fashion industry.
It is a material that cannot be compared to any other, the one that has accompanied the history of fashion and whose
workwear
essence has united designers and generations for decades.
»
They have character, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity – everything I want for my clothes
Yves Saint Laurent
In the world of luxury, jeans are generally defined by the quality of their finishes.
"Beyond the choice of the best fiber (for example a highly certified cotton), the detail of the seams, the washing process or the choice of the dye, the intervention of the hand is often required for the insertion embroidery, rhinestones or any other detail that cannot be produced by a machine, specifies the indigo specialist.
Meticulous, artisanal work and attention to detail which partly explain the high prices..." All the brands and luxury houses now offer signed, branded, singular jeans. "They have character, modesty, sex- appeal, simplicity – everything I want for my clothes”,
New Yorker
.
More ethical and sustainable
Nearly forty years later, in the era of well-being and stylish comfort, this statement does not seem to have aged a bit.
But the issue of sustainability could change the situation... Because, if it is the most worn garment in the world (2.3 billion pairs are sold worldwide each year, according to the Ecological Transition Agency, i.e. 73 per second), jeans are also one of the worst polluters on the planet.
The production of a single model consumes up to 10,000 liters of water (equivalent to 287 showers) and it can travel up to 65,000 km before landing in our cupboards.
It's a fact, customs change.
According to a Boston Consulting Group study, 64% of future Gen Z luxury consumers want engaged companies.
The sector must therefore adapt to it.
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Burberry's ultra-high-rise jeans.
Imaxtree
Some big houses have already chosen to market ethical and sustainable jeans (such as Stella McCartney's biodegradable five-pocket, created from organic plant-based yarns, plastic and natural rubber microplastics; upcycled denim pants by Marine Serre, Margiela or Chloé).
Others offer innovative jeans, like the traceable leather pants with a denim-effect print at Bottega Veneta, or incorporate new techniques into their creative process, like eco-washing for a worn canvas effect from Gucci, whose scraps of organic cotton, from the cutting of this product, are recycled to form new fabrics as part of the Gucci Up program.
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Stella McCartney lose jeans.
Imaxtree
“Over the next few years, new fabrics will allow us to focus on more eco-responsibility, adds Lorenza Martello.
If hemp (whose cultivation requires little water, therefore a sustainable alternative to cotton) has already made a great breakthrough in the manufacture of denim, kapok is making a remarkable entrance this season among textile manufacturers.
For years, this ultralight natural fiber from a tree, the kapotier, has been used (straight from its giant pod in which it grows) as a simple filler in mattresses and soft toys.
Soon, denim woven from its yarns will offer a very robust material and above all very soft to the touch.
“If the road remains long, blue jeans could indeed see life in green.
