Timeless. Universal. Versatile. Durable. Popular. Comfortable. Easy to find. All words that can describe the value and beauty of denim.

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From workwear to haute couture, denim is one of the world’s favourite fabrics, and one that is never out of style. In fact, it has been consistently in style since Levi’s patented their first pair of work jeans in the 1870s, produced for the gold mine diggers of the 19th century California gold rush. Denim is a particular kind of woven cotton that has come to rule and influence the way that people dress and express themselves through clothing around the globe. It has moved from casual into high fashion creating a multi-billion dollar industry. But it continues to be a great social equaliser.

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The sturdy cotton twill with a diagonal ribbing that was first produced in Nîmes, France, where its name comes from, became a symbol of social equality in dressing, and its universality remains. Denim wears out slowly and looks better as it ages. It is a mainstay in people’s closets, it is recyclable and it is popular across genders and generations, too.

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In 1988, two years before I moved to New York from Buenos Aires, American Vogue featured denim jeans for the very first time on their cover, and showed Israeli model Michaela Bercu wearing a pair of stonewashed Guess jeans and a fabulous Christian Lacroix sweater with an opulent beaded cross on it. That cover was fresh, playful and it felt like a natural choice, almost in anticipation of the grunge movement of the 1990s, which I experienced as I arrived in New York in March of 1990.

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Growing up in Buenos Aires, I wore denim jeans all the time, mostly in my adolescent years. I remember embroidering colourful flowers on them in the mid 80s, or patching them when they wore out too much. As one of four kids, owning a pair of denim jeans was having a secure item of clothing that lasted a long time.

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As we all know, fashion is a venue for self-expression and the beauty of denim is in its timelessness which lets the wearer express their individuality and sense of belonging, and in its flexibility to support the wearer in their activities. In spite of being a staple in people's closets for decades, denim, and particularly denim jeans, have embodied change. Denim has rolled with the times, and it continually adjourns itself, and adapts, endures, and shines brightly in the sea of clothing production saturated with millions of styles, fabrics and designs.

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I actually love denim. When Alexa suggested doing a denim story, I jumped at the opportunity. I was perplexed at my own collection of denim pieces, some at the forefront of my closet and others buried deep within. I counted sixteen pairs of denim jeans, four denim jackets and two denim peacoats.  More than half of those items are vintage at this point in time. Yes, that means I have had them for at least twenty-five years, or more. Who knew I loved denim that much!

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If you are interested in reading more about denim, I highly recommend the book

Denim: Fashion’s Frontier by Emma McClendon; with a foreword by Fred Dennis; Yale University Press, 2016. Denim: Fashion’s Frontier was a book written for the Denim exhibit at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, my alma mater, in New York City. It explores the history of denim and its relationship with high fashion from the 19th century onwards. The exhibition, which was up from December 1, 2015 to May 7, 2016, featured more than seventy pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, many of which had never been on view. It was a treat to see that exhibit with my daughter all those years ago and looking back, it still feels so current and timeless.

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