Our students recently had a class tour to Denim Premiere Vision in London. A roving event, having previously been showcased in Turkey and Barcelona, it has the sole purpose of bringing exclusive and inspiring denim designs to brands and consumers.
Being associated with the Academy, we were lucky enough to be invited along free of entry and the show was a real treat. The students were delighted to receive a denim goodie bag with press information, swatches and food and a drink to snack on during the show.
The evolution of denim
There was so much we learned about denim and the role it currently has in the fashion industry.
- Denim has come a long way from its historic vintage origin. It is now firmly fixed in the fashion industry in terms of creation and product development.
- Fashion labels, including high end labels, and retailers have integrated denim into all their creative collections by exploring the new facets of this material.
- Denim now has a shorter time to market and a continual development process keeping it aligned with other fabrics in the fashion industry.
The denim journey
One of the most enriching aspects of this visit was discovering the process involved in making denim.
- Cotton is harvested by hand or by machine.
- A cotton gin separates the cotton fibre from the seeds.
- The fibre is then put into bales.
- The cotton fibre is spun into a yarn.
- The yarn is dyed giving it colour such as the classic blue.
- The yarn is then woven in a shuttle loom or projectile loom into denim.
Students' reactions
The students all agreed that they learnt a lot from the visit, “a great programme featuring the best denim mills, fashion trends and forecasts, exclusive collaborations, eco-friendly innovations, workshops and talks on hot topics and happenings”.
Getting close to the industry
A trade show is an amazing opportunity to get to know the fashion industry. It is possible to browse, feel and choose which fabrics you like. You can also request swatches which help you to understand different specifications when thinking about producing your own garment.
As well as innovative fabrics, trend boards and lots of specialised publications are on offer too, so these events are a wealth of information.
Denim Première Vision is making its way to Milan next and we’d highly recommend putting it on your list of trade shows to visit.
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