Denim Archeologists on the Hunt and Fashion History
Denim has had a storied history in fashion, from its early days as workwear to its place as a closet staple today. And thanks to a number of hunters and collectors, we continue to learn more about the material through some early archival finds.
A Carved in Blue webinar on Oct. 7 brought together eight vintage denim enthusiasts to discuss their passion for the subject and their experiences searching for historic pieces. For the panelists, the process of digging up examples of early denim ranges from combing thrift stores to literally moving dirt in old mines. From hobbyists to designers, these individuals are united in a love for uncovering decades-old denim, dating as early as the 1800s.
Aside from being added to a private collection or a brand archive, historic denim can help to inform new designs. For instance, Levi’s 517 bootcut jeans that debuted first in 1969 were recently given a modern revamp for the Valentino runway collection. For future fashion lines, there is much to be gained by looking to the past.
Here are some highlights from the conversation.
On the hunt:
“I’ve sort of really never held onto stuff…What I always like is the hunt, and then finding a home for it,” said Sue Barrett of Denim Forum.
On sources for new vintage finds:
“It’s hard in Europe to find the really good stuff, so for me it was always eBay. But now these days, actually you get surprised at how many people are out there that have some really old stuff and they don’t know so much about it. In Sweden…I get emails, people calling me maybe two times, three times a month. But once a year, there is some quite good stuff that people actually have. So these days, I’m not hunting so much anymore; it’s mostly people who text me if they have something really interesting,” said Viktor Fredbäck, denim historian.
On building a collection:
“We have a lot of old projects scattered around, like old mining projects. And then the obscure thrift stores—that’s where I search mainly because it’s not every day you can get out to the mines and hunt for the 1800s stuff,” said Mike Harris, denim historian.
On the experience of digging for old jeans:
“When you’re in the ghost town, you can kind of feel what was going on there. You can visualize the people walking around. And that’s one of the reasons that I’m so much into the photography, is because I can collect pictures of old miners and imagine those guys walking in that town with those clothes on and seeing the evolution of the clothing that they’re wearing,” said denim collector Cory Piehowicz.
On a recent find:
“One of my latest treasures…is a pair of 501s from the early 1900s. It was recently found in a closed mine in Nevada. I always think when I get a piece in my hands about the people that were wearing the specific jeans, because it was made for workwear, so it’s totally different than nowadays. Nowadays it’s a fashion item, and it’s an everyday garment for everyone. It’s really amazing to go back to the specific mine where those people were working with those specific waist overalls on and to dream a little bit about that specific era of time,” said Wouter Munnichs of Long John Blog.
On the construction differences in vintage denim:
“I get inspired by really old pieces because they’re made a lot better. I always find pieces before 1920 are just made so much better in how they’re finished and everything. And after 1947, things got sped up, you have a lot of serger machines and stuff, so I get inspired by a lot from the 1890s to 1920s period, and that influences a lot of work that I do, even down to the machines that I use. Because half the machines that they were using back then we don’t use now,” said Mohsin Sajid, denim historian and designer.
On archival inspiration:
“For me, having an archive to start doing research for designing new product is always the starting point. So you look back, then you look now, and then you look forward, and there’s something in that equation that really helps the evolution of the garment, of the brand, of the identity move on…So if you go to an archive that’s super organized and it’s accessible, and you can get in and you can see the things firsthand, then it just blows your imagination with all the things you can do,” said Miles Johnson, denim historian and designer.
On the Covid impact to workflow:
“One initiative that I had when I joined Levi’s was to bring the archival collection into the 21st century, the digital age. And that meant that in my first year, we did a monthlong photoshoot photographing everything, all the vintage pieces in the archives. So that has been an important tool during this time when we can’t be in person at the archives,” said Tracey Panek, Levi’s historian.
Watch the full webinar below.