Conference in Amsterdam

Denim on stage: university meets industry at Denim City in Amsterdam

The Erasmus team, consisting of Principal Investigator Ben Wubs and Postdoctoral Fellow Thierry Maillet, organised this one-day public conference in collaboration with the Leeds team.

Taking place at Denim City in Amsterdam on 30 October 2015, this international conference explored the evolution of denim from its origins in the French town of Nîmes, through the American invention of modern blue jeans, to the contemporary global manufacturing and marketing of denim and jeans.

The objective was to explore the history and future of denim and to examine the role of clusters and geography in the formation of ‘gatekeeping’ functions, as represented by the denim incubator, Denim City, in Amsterdam. Although denim is often perceived as a symbol of American culture, denim fabric originated in Europe and has a long history. Yet it was only when denim trousers were riveted that the first modern pair of jeans were created in the late-nineteenth century. Since that time, jeans have been transformed from the worker’s humble garment into a symbol of non-conformity and youth protest and then into a fashion item of high social status. Meanwhile, the manufacturing of denim and jeans has relocated from the USA to Japan, China, Brazil and Turkey. Recently, the Netherlands has become an international marketing cluster for the global denim industry.

The conference explored this history and culture with a roster of international speakers.

Speakers included: researchers such as Ben Wubs (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Regina Lee Blaszczyk (Leeds), Giorgio Riello (Warwick), Pim Jensen (Rotterdam), Paul Jobling (Brighton) and Rika Fujioka (Japan); museum curators like Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros (Paris) and Sonnet Stanfill (London); fashion industry professionals such as Mariette Hoitink (HTNK), James Veenhof (House of Denim), Amy Leverton (Denim Dudes); and distinguished representatives, founders and CEOs of denim companies in Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA, including Andrew Olah (Kingpins), Hisao Manabe (Japan Blue), Simon Giuliani (Candiani Denim), Thecla Schaeffer (G-Star) and Adriano Goldschmied (known as the 'godfather of denim').

A roundtable discussion considered the future of denim and, in a twist on the gatekeeping theme, opened the floor to debate. The day ended with the official launch of the Indigo Archive, a new archive at Denim City which will house 501 denim garments contributed by brands, industry leaders and iconic denim tastemakers. Items from Adriano Goldschmied, Hisao Manabe and Simon Guiliani were officially received into the archive.

The conference attracted fashion researchers, professionals from the fashion industry, curators, archivists, academics, students and wider public audiences. More than 160 people registered for this very successful and well received event.

See here for full details of the conference including programme and speakers.