Denim: Fashion's Frontier | An Exhibition in Manhattan, NYC

‘Denim: Fashion’s Frontier’ traces the innovation and cultural influence of a simple woven textile through a timeline of American history from the 1800s to the beginning of the 21^st century. Opening the exhibition in a dimmed room is an introductory pair of Levi Strauss & Co.’s 501 jeans, strung up from the ceiling, stood tall and alone under spotlights. Text on the wall states “on any given day, more than half the world’s population is wearing jeans”, suddenly invoking a sense of colossal significance into those trousers which now function quite symbolically in the story of denim throughout history.

Given this slight hint of the predominant role that denim plays in all of our lives, it seemed like a natural choice that the exhibition would be organised in chronological order, with garments lined up against the walls of the next room in the order of their production. This worked well because it allowed for a much more distinct awareness of the development of denim garments throughout the past two centuries. In many ways, the earliest pieces were the most astounding to me, despite their weary appearance. A selection consisting of men’s hand sewn work trousers and prison and naval uniforms (dating back to approximately 1840) initially establish what is often the misconception of denim as a male-dominated fabric. It has been noted that the history of denim in women’s wear has often been disregarded, so there has definitely been a clear attempt to reconcile this with the inclusion of an early woman’s suit, dress and jacket dating just up to 1910. The fact that these garments actually predate the distinctive Levi 501s gives the exhibition overall a strong sense of authenticity and American history.

America’s national roots are essentially embedded into ‘Denim: Fashion’s Frontier’. This recurring theme can be applied to each collection of garments, regardless of their origin period in time. For example, American spirit is captured in the Western style denim shirts which emerged as a result of the rising popularity in ‘cowboy’ films, while women’s clothing during the period of World War II was distinctly practical but stylish, characterised by the denim overalls of a working woman. Two pieces that were quite notable for me personally, grew out of the emergence of the 1950s Rockabilly subculture, when denim first seemed to earn a bad reputation starkly different to its previously practical and long-withstanding character. I had been completely unaware that at one point in the 50s, jeans were actually banned in many US schools due to their association with bikers and rebellion. At this point, it became clear to me that throughout time, denim has signified many drastically different things to different genders, classes, careers and subcultures and its representation has altered many attitudes. While I had previously questioned whether an exhibition dedicated to denim could have much value or substance, the rows of garments which held so many stories really redefined my perception of it and its influence on the world.

The influence of denim became a lot more integrated into style, rather than society, as it began to be adopted to fashion trends. Today, able to look back at the decades through the eyes of this denim archive, the seventies and eighties are clearly synonymous with flared denim jeans, denim jackets and ‘Western’ style denim shirts, reintroduced by esteemed designers inspired by the past. What I found most interesting about denim from this period onwards is the way in which denim began to blossom in the luxury market. One visitor told me that what really appealed to her about a pair of striking 1999 Gucci by Tom Ford jeans, embellished with feathers and Aztec print patchwork, was that they really summarised the way that ‘fashion has followed the function’ of denim, unlike other synthetic materials.

For the remainder of my trip in New York, I began for the first time, to notice the sheer number of people wearing denim, from the jackets embellished in studs and patches, to the button-down miniskirts, to the high-waist jeans ripped at the knees and I was much more appreciative of the journey that denim has taken to reach the present day.

‘Denim: Fashion’s Frontier’ is situated in the heart of Manhattan, New York at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Admission to the exhibition is free and it will remain open to the public from 1^st of December 2015 to 7^th May 2016.

Exploring Kraków

I've decided to skip any formalities and avoid that daunting introductory post that makes me feel like I'm writing a personal statement or prepping for a job interview and instead, jump straight into a topic that I love: travelling. In August of this year, I spent a week in Poland with my family. It was the kind of holiday that makes me so giddy with excitement that I would (and did) willingly wake up at 6am to stretch the day out for as long as possible. Exploring an unfamiliar city makes me feel both like I'm stood at the centre of the universe and at the very edge of it, if that makes any sense at all. And there was so much exploring to be done in Kraków. 

Each back-street offered something new: another tuk-tuk speeding over cobbles, or a quaint little restaurant so cheap that I would be blinded by gluttony, or a café with the most intricately decorated cakes and pastries. The food was something else. For the equivalent of about £20, the four of us could eat until we could barely move (with portion sizes rivaling America) and wash it down with a drink or two each. I often enjoyed the street-food more than a sit-down meal, sampling delicious cheese, breads and chocolates. The streets were a constant bustle of cultures and languages. It was actually so refreshing to hear so little English spoken by tourists and natives. I was wrong to think my ability to speak German would help me somewhat - the Polish language is quite bewildering! As well as exploring solo, I thought it would also be worthwhile to visit the key tourist locations in order to see as many sides to the city in what little time we had. The Wieliczka salt mines were truly mind-blowing, although I have to admit that the awe began to wear thin because the tour was so long, I was so hungry and there was a lot of walking involved - like we hadn't walked enough already so far! The Main Square, Rynek Główny, was possibly one of my favourite parts at the heart of the city, with a gorgeous indoor market selling an abundance of amber, china and trinkets, horse and carriages trotting through and the beautiful Town Hall Tower standing above the crowds. With the end of our visit drawing close, we decided to save time by hiring a tuk-tuk driver to take us round the Jewish Ghetto district where we saw a mix of very decrepit buildings, historic synagogues and some cool student areas. A visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau seemed almost mandatory, knowing the experience would be so valuable, despite having to leave many more streets left unexplored in the city centre. The piles upon piles of shoes, hair, suitcases, silverware... I'm not sure I will ever be able to express what I saw and learnt on that day in that god-awful place without it turning into one big messy stream of consciousness. It left me feeling very hollow, although the stories of survivors were incredibly empowering.

I went a little Instagram-crazy on my trip there (@l.towns) and I've included some of the snaps I love most here for you all to see. These photos now take pride of place on my walls at university. I couldn't recommend a visit to Kraków enough, whether you're looking for a short city break or the next location on your summer tour of Europe. I'm very excited to discover the hidden beauties in many more European cities. In fact, the anticipation is killing me. Summer 2016 is all I can think about. To tide me over until then, I'm heading to New York in January for my very first trip to America. Today, I spent a small fortune on disposable cameras so that I can capture my adventures in a really cool and personal way!