Denim came, denim saw, denim conquered and it conquered again and again and again. Since the creation of the fabric, denim and man have always had a recurring love relation. Stop for a moment and think about life without denim. That's like music without Beethoven, Hawaii without bikini babes and the inter net without e-mail.

Little did the people, who stumbled across denim during the gold rush, know that they were creating an indispensable part of fashion history. The day Levi Strauss put out the first pair of rivet jeans for sale, he created a multi-billion dollar industry and at the same time revolutionized future lifestyles.

 

Right from James "The Rebel Without a Cause" Dean to John Travolta in Grease, denim and jeans have been a virtual philosophy of life to the young, anti- conformist, hyper- stylized generation. And today, the new age designers are in the process of giving the indigo fabric a new look and feel. Faded, sexy and durable, they are upgrading denim from classic construction worker's wear to Haute Couture.

The mantra is let it be short, let it be long, let it be retro or let it be casual but it must be denim. The Denim philosophy is available in various shapes and forms. Cropped denim pants with utility pockets from Benetton worn with easy urban sports top or even denim skirts, which are de rigeur right now.

Tom Ford at Gucci created a stir of sorts when he brought out the studded denims of the 60's and turned it into a fashion essential for all of last year. Inspired by rock chic, he adorned his denims with feathers, stones, studs, sequins making them an interesting option for evening wear.

Our own homeboy Manish Malhotra is doing some really funky stuff integrating oriental ethnicity with a hard wearing rough material like denim. "Denim is really "in" right now all over the world," says Manish. "It's interesting to see how a few Swaroski crystals can change the look of denim, transforming it from a basically casual garment to an formal one. Besides, I love using unusual fabrics," he adds, informing that he's just stitched a crystal encrusted denim sari blouse for socialite Meera Zaveri.

Thumbs up for the blues. Rough was never so smooth!

Courtesy:rediff.com