If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
November is when I pull out the three pairs of jeans I own, and I can’t wait to put on my flattering, lengthening, goes-with-everything denims.
Denim trends are controversial, they come and go so often no one seems to care. Some days we are told to wear skinny jeans, another day we must wear cropped jeans and some days we must wear our boyfriend’s jeans. All of these make ordinary folk wear anything at all, and just buck the trend altogether.
I think in nearly 25 years of writing on fashion, I have never seen such an amazing comeback of denim like it is enjoying this year. Denim twill, this season, isn’t just relegated to jeans and jackets any more. It is hugely borrowing from styles of couture and turning into an investment piece with high quality tailoring and elegant styles.
The Denim Edit by Dhruv Kapoor at Lakme Fashion Week | Instagram@fdciofficial
International fall-winter runways are paying such a luxurious homage to denim with almost every major fashion label, including Chanel and Fendi, putting out some stylish staples in twill. Stella Mccartney and Diesel have announced that puddle jeans, or long wide-legged jeans, are the new must-haves. I also love the tailored trouser look that jeans from Toteme, J. Crew, Citizens of Humanity, Massimo Dutti and Gap have shown. They’ve successfully inched out the baggy and the boyfriend silhouette.
The bomber jacket has made way for non-traditional denim jackets with details in tailoring. Red September’s faded denim jacket is extraordinary. Fendi, Zimmermann, J. Crew, Gap, Zara and H&M have turned jackets into extraordinary blazers, jackets with belts and long coats. Many are collarless, too, and I can’t remember where but I even saw a peplum denim jacket.
Casual denim minis and shorts are gone. Maxi skirts and pencil silhouettes are so chic right now. Just look at how Bally, Chanel and Michael Kors have done them.
At New Delhi’s Lakme Fashion Week last month, a denim edit put all my current favourite labels together and sent out some gorgeous styles. Dhruv Kapoor, who shows in Milan every year, had an excellent presentation in denim. One male model wore a collarless jeans jacket, knee-length skirt and unshaved legs.
Kanika Goyal’s collection was edgy. Pero collaborated with Hello Kitty for their line. Pranav Mishra of HUEMN lined his denim with mud and sent out classic, distressed, embellished and embroidered pieces. Payal Pratap used denim for the first time this season. I’m always loyal to 11.11 and their denim line has handspun and handwoven denim using natural dyes. Menswear label Countrymade used upcycled denim to make camouflages and patchworks.
Working with denim isn’t as easy as one would think. For one, the twill suffers from a bad reputation where environmental and livelihood sustainability is concerned. The cotton farmers who grow cotton for denim are paid just a few rupees for every pair of jeans that’s sold for Rs1,500. Moreover, denim is among the most thirstiest cottons in the world.
The denim business is also notoriously competitive. Everyone owns jeans and owns multiple pairs of them. Too many brands have cropped up in the last 10-15 years that make denim. It is also very technical as cotton twill is rather thick and requires specialised machinery, which is a major capital cost.
But it looks like denim clothes are going nowhere, only getting an upgrade.
X@namratazakaria