What Instagrammer @denimdreamer Actually Dreams Of
When it comes to finding inspiration for denim, denim specialist and the creative mind behind the @denimdreamer Instragram page, Lucrezia Pasqualetto, looks all over the world—but not at denim.
She finds her inspiration for the indigo stuff in other categories, taking a nod from outside innovations to bring something new and different to the denim space.
The denim savant has worked for Diesel, Jeans Market, Inditex, and now Beximco, running now a Design Studio in Barcelona considers herself a designer and product developer, bringing both technical and creative knowledge to the companies she works with.
In an interview with Carved in Blue, Lucrezia dished on her dreams for denim and what she loves most about the blues.
Carved in Blue: Why did you decide to start Instagramming?
Lucrezia: Because I like to share my creative instincts—and it’s nice to see that some people interact also thanks to the posted images. Instagram is a nice platform where I can easily display my mood. I love creative people who inspire and who look for inspiration. I can definitely say it is a good tool to see the world through the others’ eyes, to share common passions and interests and to keep an eye on the new trends. People now interact more and more through their devices and social networks. Instagramming is a daily activity – it’s entertaining. Actually, it would be nice to blog properly with articles or videos rich in content, explaining what’s behind an image or a product as there would be a lot of stories to tell.
Carved in Blue: What is your take on denim both in your personal life and in business?
Lucrezia: Denim is a way of expressing myself, it is iconic and it is represented in each decade of my life. It also reminds me of my favorite designers, singers and actors and each one with its own recognizable style. From the streets to the catwalks, you can see it everywhere. It is so versatile, it can go with a clean smart look and at the same time with a distressed and super casual one. Denim has, of course, a key role both in my business and personal life. My professional experience and my passion gave me the big opportunity to know much more about the technical aspects, all the more fascinating details about this product and also the dark side of it. I couldn’t image 10 years ago, that this product would have brought me so far, letting me meet amazing people and travel around the world. Denim is really able to collect so many passionate, dedicated and creative people who really made history.
I always thought that denim was magical, able to change and be adapted to the intuition and creativity of its developer and consumer. Denim is sexy, romantic, melancholic, funny, boring, crazy, destroyed, raw, strong, practical, uncomfortable, super soft. Denim goes with your mood, denim always works. If you are in doubt, wear denim. In my personal life, sustainability became more and more important and it is reflected also in denim. I upcycle, recycle, work on new sustainable denim collections and support all those brands and suppliers who are really making a good job on it. Even if I see it’s tough and it will take time, I start to see some good results also in the business field. More and more buyers are asking for denim production made with better cotton or organic cotton, recycled fibers, sustainable wash treatment and sustainable accessories too. Hope it’s not just a trend or a simple marketing action, but a real change of the full system that hopefully will be understood and supported by the final customer as well.
Carved in Blue: What is your motto/style angle?
Lucrezia: I would mention my own neologism “denimaginable.” It’s a new word that I created and added to my personal vocabulary. It’s an “indigo state of mind” that makes me look at the world through the special lenses of passion, creation, mutability, patience, innovation and above all imagination as my denim experience taught me. I’m a denim dreamer, it may sound naïve, but I always want to feel the emotion of having a dream and the enthusiasm to make and see the dreams come true. When normal people imagine, I can Denimagine 😉
Carved in Blue: What was your first pair of jeans?
Lucrezia: Due to my Italian origins, for sure one of my first pairs of jeans—of course second hand inherited from my older sisters—were Americanino and Rifle. The first pair of jeans I bought by myself was Diesel….who would have said that years later I would have worked for Renzo Rosso! One of those dreams that came true. Now I can wear the jeans that I personally design and develop and this makes me feel so proud.
Carved in Blue: What would you say is missing from the denim market today?
Lucrezia: It is missing real traceability of garments to prove different levels of sustainability of each item. It is missing a real commitment from buyers who expect high performance and perfect production from suppliers but without adapting the buying price which keeps on being very low. Everything has a price and a value and the commitment has to come from everybody.
It is missing the acceptance of imperfection, which is uniqueness. The denim production has usually low consistency due to wash or fabric tone. The random wash or other manual treatments cannot be the same in each production piece. I would love one day to enter a shop and check so many different shades or effects on the same pants style without considering it weird or coming from bad flaws in production pieces. The fit is always important to be covered in all body shapes and sizes and it has to be comfortable without affecting the body health. This should be never missing. Denim has to be for everybody, in all countries.
Carved in Blue: Which brand is your favorite right now?
Lucrezia: When I enter “Johnbull” shops in Japan I cannot go out without buying some pieces from their collection of jeans and overalls. I really love the fabric quality used, and their wide and comfortable fit. I can also mention among my favorite brands Kapital and Greg Lauren. I like the vintage look and Japanese DNA of the first and the nice way to assemble different garments together + the American DNA of the second. I also like Bonum. This brand gives a new birth to old garments and its collection is inspiring with unique pieces, I recommend to visit its shop if you go to Tokyo. I really have many more favorite brands a
nd each one for a specific characteristic—the list would be too long!
Carved in Blue: Where do you shop for your denim?
Lucrezia: Tokyo and Los Angeles are my favorite cities to buy denim garments that I cannot find in Europe. Also, Bangkok is a place that a friend
suggested me to go with a big empty baggage ready to fill! In general, I love limited edition pieces or emergent creative brands and of course the vintage markets from every city. The past is always teaching and telling me something interesting, all the vintage pieces are full of information and I never stop learning something new. I also design and develop my own collection for different brands and it is so special the emotion that I feel when I see people wearing the garments I denimagined.
Carved in Blue: Who do you look for denim inspiration?
Lucrezia: Actually, everything that is not denim. I look for all the woven, knit, outwear and accessory collections from all over the world. The technologies are also inspiring me a lot and all the arts, from painting to architecture, are helping me to think out of the box. There are still so many things that have not been done in denim so far, not only in design, but also in pattern and fabric that I cannot even imagine. There is a huge inspiration out there and the future generations will show us.
Carved in Blue: What does “carved in blue” mean to you?
Lucrezia: Probably same as “Denimaginable” means to me.