Woman Begging With Two Children, by an unknown artist, shows what appears to be a denim skirt in 17th-century Italy
The origin of the world’s most enduringly popular fabric is in dispute, as a new exhibition spotlights a claim that firmly links denim with 17th-century Italy and takes its history back 200 years.
Blue denim, that all-American symbol of informality and a life lived on the open range, is already also contentiously attributed to southern France, while modern jeans mythology still has it that Levi Strauss, a German immigrant, first came up with the idea of making workwear out of this sturdy cotton in San Francisco 150 years ago.
Continue reading…Woman Begging With Two Children, by an unknown artist, shows what appears to be a denim skirt in 17th-century ItalyThe origin of the world’s most enduringly popular fabric is in dispute, as a new exhibition spotlights a claim that firmly links denim with 17th-century Italy and takes its history back 200 years.Blue denim, that all-American symbol of informality and a life lived on the open range, is already also contentiously attributed to southern France, while modern jeans mythology still has it that Levi Strauss, a German immigrant, first came up with the idea of making workwear out of this sturdy cotton in San Francisco 150 years ago. Continue reading…