If I say ‘blue jeans,’ what do you think of?
Well, it’s obvious that you immediately think of those particular pants that characterized the rebellious years of the global protest during the student riots of 1968 but also of the Seventies and Eighties. When we think of cinema, then, we cannot help but think of James Dean in ‘Rebel without a cause.’
Jeans are indeed somewhat the evergreen of clothing, that garment that everyone in the world has worn at least once in their life.
It is commonly believed that jeans, now also called denim, were invented by entrepreneurs Levi Strauss (by the way, Italian readers, it is  pronounced ‘Livai’) and Jacob Davis. The reality, however, is very different and – indeed – it knocks right at our door.
Yes, because the history of the distinctive fabric of jeans begins in Genoa, Italy, over 500 years ago: during that time, the dockworkers of Genoa used a sturdy fabric called Geanes fustian, made of Arabian cotton, for work clothes and sails. The fabric, dyed blue with indigo, was durable and suitable for work pants for the complex port and maritime works.
During the Italian Renaissance, more and more pants made of Arabian fiber were manufactured and exported through the port of Genoa until they were noticed by the Genoese Navy, which required sturdy, long-lasting, and above all, inexpensive pants for its sailors. Moreover, due to the nature of their work, the garments had to be wearable even when wet, which is why these special pants turned out to be perfect.
The fabric immediately became a huge success, so successfull that it was in demand in many parts of the world. From Genoa, therefore, for logistical and port-related reasons, it arrived at the port of the picturesque French city of Nimes, from where it was then shipped overseas to be sold.
So, thanks to this commercial triangulation, over time, the term denim was born. It was used to identify – precisely – that specific product coming from Nimes (“de Nimes” in French). Over time, that “de Nimes” transformed into Denim, becoming the word by which the durable fabric is still referred to today.
Pants, jackets, and shirts: everything produced with the fortunate fabric is now indicated by the term denim.
But not only!
Indeed, more commonly, this garment is identified with the word blue jeans because the trousers of the Genoese sailors were indeed blue and the fabric was called- by the French- bleu de Gênes, which literally means ‘blue of Genoa.’
Since the main buyers of this fabric were Americans, the French terminology gradually lost its significance over time, becoming even more American and transforming into blue jeans.
It seems that Giuseppe Garibaldi himself, the hero of Italian Unification, during the Expedition of the Thousand at Marsala (named Sbarco dei Mille into Italian language), wore, like many of his followers, a pair of ‘Genoese.’
As you can see, therefore, their origin has nothing to do with America, as we are often led to believe.
However, the blue denim work pants, particularly widespread in Europe in the 19th century, differed from the modern American blue jeans: the transformation of this iconic garment was the result of the work of two enterprising immigrants.
In the 1950s, in California, Levi Strauss, a German merchant, offered blue denim work pants to locals working in mines, who needed comfortable yet durable clothing. One of his customers, Jacob Davis, a Latvian tailor, began regularly purchasing fabric wholesale from his company. Notwithstanding, one day, one of his customers complained about the fragility of the pants, claiming they weren’t as durable as advertised.
At that point, Davis had the idea to reinforce pockets and seams with copper rivets, but to patent the innovation, he needed a hefty $68 to cover patent expenses.
So Davis proposed a partnership to Strauss: with this financial support, on May 20, 1873, he obtained U.S. Patent 139,121, titled ‘Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings.’ Therefore, this date can be considered as the official ‘birthday’ of blue jeans.
The pants with rivets, initially called waist overalls, became an immediate success among workers, so Strauss hired Davis to oversee their production in his San Francisco factory.
With the patent secured, Levi Strauss & Co. monopolized the production of riveted clothing for nearly 20 years. When the patent expired, numerous manufacturers began to emulate their garments.
From that moment on, the American public commonly referred to blue jeans as Levi’s, a name that the company eventually registered as a trademark.
However, be aware that these wonderful garments, which are now produced worldwide in all colors, from white to black, are not called the same everywhere!
In Spain, for example, blue jeans are known as vaqueros (cowboys) or tejanos (Texans) precisely because, thanks to the durability of this garment, they were also worn by Texans who needed pants that could withstand the pulling of horses!
In short, whether you call them jeans, denim, Levi’s, or vaqueros, know that there is a bit of Italian blood and ingenuity in the world’s most beloved pants!
Ig – @fairness_mag
