ART OF DENIM

beatriceezdakova
Jun 21, 2023
4 min read

Everyone knows denim and everyone loves it, it's one of the most worn fabrics and can be used in clothing to make outfits urban and trendy but also stylish and laid back. This article was made in honor of the latest trend of denim on denim seen from influencers and recent runways including designers like: Givenchy (as seen in the picture below), Burberry, Alexander Mcqueen and more.

Denim dates back to the 17th century, originating from Nîmes, France. Serge de Nîmes was a cotton twill cloth made of wool and silk, then later known as denim, invented by Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss. Even though denim is incredibly popular now, if we go back to the 1950s, where denim was the most popular, we see old stars like Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, James Dean and more showing how its done by starting the, at the time, new craze of denim. With the denim zipper being invented in 1954, this popularized denim trousers became leisurewear and started the new fashion era of denim becoming a part of not only labour workers (farmers, miners ect) but most of the globes population.

We love denim because of its stylish power of staying in trend for centuries and the different and unique ways people have incorporated denim into their outfits which proves our point of 'THE ART OF DENIM'. But what I really think is the most powerful factor of denim is how this urban fabric can be made into countless fashion items like: shirts, skirts, boots, bags and so on. Carry on reading to see all the favourite iconic denim pieces which style icons and designers from different important fashion years have effortlessly rocked, how you can style denim in the most voguish and trendy way and lastly the new sexy trend of denim on denim which we've seen from FW23 done by some of the best designers.

DENIM MOMENTS WE LOVE

ree — Vivienne Westwood 'Always on camera' lips corset, FW 1992.

Westwood will always be remembered for her stunning corsets and this piece is truly unforgettable, with it being designed to cinch the waist and lift the breasts up, it gives a beautiful silhouette look. Alongside the light hues of different denim colours and Marlene Dietrich's lips printed on, the visuals of the corset make it a wearable work of art.

Princess Diana was the one of many who managed to perfect every denim outfit she had. Her signature look when it came to denim, was the high waist mom jeans with light coloured blouse or T-shirt, sometimes adding an oversized blazer for that elegant finishing touch. With this outfit in particular, she added the American Western style cowboy boots which give the outfit a more fun and easy-going look contrasting with the smart, black blazer.

When you think of genuine Y2K style, Destiny's Child were the OG's of low rise jeans and any of the sort of 2000s fashion. Their ability to make such risk-taking jeans so glamorous was and still is loved by everyone, with this outfit seen above being an example.This outfit is a favourite with its excessive bling belts to match the sexy rhinestone imbedded jeans + matching kitten heels. Low rise jeans were the staple piece back in the 2000s and have made a huge comeback to present times not just being bootcut/ flared like it used to be, but loose, baggy, boyfriend slim and so on.

ree — Jean Paul Gaultier S/S 1993 Renegade Dress

Jean Paul Gaultier is the man when it comes to wacky and creative pieces, proving my point with this outstanding maxi denim dress with the peacock feathers which add the ingenious taste of Gaultier . Gaultier's signature style is Haute Couture mixed with street style which we can clearly see in this piece. With the light colors of the dress nearly ombre into each other and the drastic transition of fabric change from denim to feathers make this dress truly eye-catching and memorable.

DENIM ON DENIM- THE NEVER ENDING FASHION TREND

We see many trends coming in and out of fashion eras, but one we simply can't get rid of is double denim, its timeless. Most popular in the 90s and 80s, we've seen designers and stylists go from glamour and sequins on double denim in the past to present times where it is more minimalistic and sophisticated. This year the most popular denim on denim trend has been jeans with denim tops like button ups or corset style topped of with a oversized or cropped denim jacket, both baggy and figure hugging style has been popular on runways.

SOME TOP PICKS OF MINE

ALL FROM FASHION WEEK 2023

Ahluwalia
Labrum
Alaïa
Bally
Bluramine
Dion Lee
Tomorrow Denim

HOW YOU CAN ROCK THE TREND

MAXI SKIRT + DENIM TOP

We love the denim maxi skirt at the moment as it takes us back to the 2000s Christina Aguilera/ Britney Spears MTV award era. But not to forget its elegant and classy but so chic and high fashion. Styling it with a denim crop top or even a corset or blouse if you wish, really gives it that mature but unique and cool feel to an outfit

WHAT TO BUY!

Skirt from stradivarius.com for £29.99
Top from reformation.com £128
Belt from UrbanOutfitters.com £22
Boots from Pullandbear.com for £59.99

CROPPED DENIM JACKET + JEANS

And yet again we're talking about cropped denim, we just can't get enough of it, its sexy, bold and so in right now. What I've been seeing a lot, which I love, is the denim jacket but with a high collar, making the jacket figure hugging around the torso,. To pair a jacket like this, with denim jeans in the fit of boyfriend, baggy or even bootcut, it'll give you the ultimate off duty model look if you're going with more simple denim.

Jacket from Ego.com for £30
Jeans from Zalando.com for £50
Sandals from ssense.com for £156
Bag from tresor-vintage.com for £1,851

DENIM DRESS + DENIM BOOTS

I searched high and low for this vision I had of a mini or maxi denim dress with denim boots, which are either lighter or darker denim than the dress or the same. Is it because i have a boots obsession? Possibly but carrying on, this is my favourite look of all as it is fun and girly but edgy and slight tough and masculine look as well. Its a fav for all year round, summer, winter, autumn and spring!