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Garmento: Inside Denim Fabric Sourcing

Hanging DenimEveryone loves slipping into a great pair of jeans, and premium denim has achieved cult status as the must-have fabric of everyone from undergrads to top fashion editors. Considering its ubiquitous popularity, we thought exploring the wide ranging qualities of denim would be the perfect topic for Garmento.




Ever been disappointed by jeans that started wearing out after only a year? While that $50 pair of Uniqlos might be a great deal now, they are affordable because mass-produced, imported denim is not designed to last. For trendy styles and seasonal colors, cheap jeans might be the right choice, but spending extra cash pays off in the long run when looking for your new favorite pair.


We met up with Erica Brown and Kara Nicholas of Cone Denim to view their collection at the Manhattan showroom. Established in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1891 by brothers Moses and Ceasar Cone, Cone Denim has been a supplier of fabric to top denim apparel brands like Levi’s (their signature 501s are made exclusively from Cone) for over 100 years. They currently operate in the U.S., Mexico and Turkey, but their highest quality and most artisanal denim styles are still made in Greensboro, N.C. on original shuttle looms that have been in operation since the 1930’s.


As we all try to stretch our dollars during the current economic downturn, even dedicated shoppers might ask, “Why pay $200 for a pair of jeans?” While it’s true that brand recognition and design details are big pricing factors, the quality of the fabric has a huge impact on how a great pair of jeans will look and wear over time. True denim connoisseurs look for selvedge-edge styles, which mean that the fabric has a finished edge on both sides and is produced in short runs on vintage equipment, like the shuttle looms at Cone. While Japanese mills are still the top choice for this style, many American designers are becoming aware that there are competitively-priced domestic options. Other premium types of denim include organic, indigo-free and vintage-styled denim. Cone has experienced growing popularity in these types with their White Oak collection, inspired by original constructions of the early to mid 1900's and developed for the premium market of denim aficionados and vintage collectors. See below for our video interview, gallery of the studio, and more information.


Links:
Cone Denim
Garmento: Inside Leather Manufacturing at KnoxNY
Garmento: Inside the Screenprinter’s Studio


Video by Justin Perkinson








About Garmento: Garmento is a weekly feature on Coutorture devoted to giving you an inside look at the real fashion industry. Before the runway reviews and the photo shoots, before the ad campaigns and the Vogue editorials, an enormous network of fashion professionals are involved in the creation of every garment. Check us out every week for a new perspective on each step, from trend forecasting and design to manufacturing and sales. With every new profile, you’ll see that whether your fav outfit is from H&M or Hermes, the process is the same. Don’t become a fashion victim- inform yourself weekly with Garmento, and unleash the smart and savvy shopper within.


About Bob Bland: Bob Bland is a freelance writer and professional menswear designer with experience at Triple Five Soul, Rugby by Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Banana Republic. She is also the designer and founder of Brooklyn Royalty, a Williamsburg-based line of men’s and ladies’ apparel. Founded in 2006, the line combines timeless design principles, premium materials and hand-printed graphics for indispensible garments that are meant to look and wear better over time. For more on Bob Bland and Brooklyn Royalty, check out www.brooklynroyalty.com.

Made In Heaven Jeans

These might just be the most perfect 1970's inspired jeans on the market. And they've the tabloid shoutouts, editorial coverage, and rich historical background to justify the aesthetic. Made in Heaven jeans is run by the daughter of a gent who was partially responsible for bringing denim over to London in the early 1970's. Her father, The Blue Jean King, started his own high street chain when all of the boutiques refused to purchase his trunks of wholesale denim and the rest, so they say, is history. Made In Heaven, today, turns out classic denim silhouettes and crisp shirting in compliment. The daughter, a Central St Martins-trained designer, is pushing the company to make a comeback (so far, so good) with a fool-proof combination of experience and modernity. Below, the Spring 08 look book and a spread of online options from the London-based brand.






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Hardcore Finnish Design

Finnish designers had their own space during Meatpacking Design District 2008. Hardcore New Finnish Design showcased a wide variety of Finnish talent in industrial, furniture, graphic and even fashion design.

We gravitated towards Anna Ruohonen a Finnish fashion designer currently working in Paris. In her designs Ruohonen aspires to provide an alternative to the ever-changing fashions in clothing. For her a garment is not made just for one season, but rather it should be able to withstand time. Ruohonen’s philosophy is reflected in her work on show in HARDCORE, where she presents her designs under the title Black Classics a selection of the designer’s own favorites since the year 2000. Her emphasis on timelessness comes out in the quality of the construction and the fabrics

The Swedes aren't the only Scandanavians dedicated to denim. The Finns apparently have a yen for the top notch stuff as well. koneHELSINKI (the Finnish word ‘kone’ means ‘machine’ in English) is a design company founded by Finnish fashion designer Kalle Kuusela. The philosophy behind the line centers on the "sameness" of traditional denim. Jeans are often a piece of clothing that has a tendency to look like mere variations of the same theme - despite small changes in fashion, every pair looks basically the same. koneHelsinki’s jeans, on the contrary, show that even jeans can be uniquely captivating in their design. We aren't sure how well they succeed from the small set of samples we saw but we do like the philosophy nonetheless.

Our favorite piece however came from watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva. Son of the prominent Finnish jewellery designer Pentti Sarpaneva, he comes from a family with a long heritage of craftsmanship. He first graduated from The Finnish School of Watchmaking then moved to Switzerland to further his studies at WOSTEP. The Sarpaneva watch on show in HARDCORE is titled Time Tramp. It is a pocket watch made of the used kickstart pinion of an old Harley Davidson motorbike. "The idea was to make something simple and a bit brutal, but beautiful…like life in Finland.” said Stepan Sarpaneva in a QP magazine interview. We were certainly smitten, along with every man we have showed it to so far. Clearly a pocket watch is only appealing to a man if it strays as far away from its foppish history as possible. And it is pretty hard to get anymore "hardcore" than a kickstart pinion from a Harley.

For More Meatpacking Design District 2008.

Network Shoutout: A.P.C. Petit Standard Jeans

It's crazy how the smallest stitch or hemline can turn the denim world upside down. We thought A.P.C. denim news warranted a shoutout for this very reason. Our network partners, We Are The Market and Bored & Beautiful both gave a little nod to the newest jeans being turned out by the French brand. To put it in context, A.P.C.'s New Standard jeans, although there are more narrow cuts, are often thought of as hipster jeans. These jeans, so widely worn, so rarely washed, have become so notorious that the brand has decided to turn out a less trendy version, namely, the Petit Standard. In case you don't know French, that translates to "Mini Hipster" so now boys girls afraid of looking, as Bored & Beautiful puts it, “like fledgling rocker trendies from the 6th arrondissement of Paris, Harajuku or the Lower East Side” can walk in confidence.

Immaterial: Acid Trip

American Apparel Acid WashAmerican Apparel Acid WashAcid wash is back. That is right you heard it here first. Acid wash is making a comeback and we couldn't be more excited. We grant we aren't quite ready for an acid wash denim jacket with fringes and matching jeans, but like our community partner The Budget Fashionista, the pale end of the denim spectrum is beginning to look really appealing. And we can't stop the feeling. Corpus has some crazy colored acid wash jeans for fall which if you pair with American Apparel's Unisex Acid Wash Jersey Deep V-Neck Short just might make us plotz. But if you aren't quite as adventurous as the colored acid wash trend (that is right we are calling it a trend) there are still plenty of acid wash options that stay in light denim range from these Stella McCartney High Waisted Trouser Jeans to Ksubi Super Skinny Zip Jeans in Uzi Blue Vein. That's right we have got you covered from high waisted trousers to super skinny jeans. No excuses now huh?

For More Immaterial click here


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