Let loose

From skinny to baggy, the vintage to upcycled—denim has a long and chequered history. Now, a small crew of homegrown inter-generational designers is making purani jeans feel fresh and personal

Sure, you are already tuned into stories of American denim cycle, writing off skinny jeans since 2019. Followed by its quick and painless demise when sweatpants and shorts became the heroes of the wardrobe since the lockdown of 2020. Today is the first day of August in 2021, and the loose style of jeans is already enjoying atmospheric clout after being given its place in the London sun by movie star and producer Anushka Sharma.

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For many of us, how we look at and think about clothes has changed, in both minor (fit-and-flair of jeans) and major ways. And it has nothing to do with trends or marketing. It has to do with who we want to show the world we are. Or, sometimes, who we want to convince ourselves we can be. “My brand is not for everyone,” says Kanika Goyal of the six-year-old namesake label. “My clothes verbalise a personal space, and are not really for those who seek ‘look at me’ validation. Fashion for us is about kicking in a positive, happy vibe.”

Anushka Sharma shares a snapshot on social media from her UK holiday 

This assertion puts Goyal in good company. Some of India’s young, digitally forward designers are invoking in their latest “drops”, updated subcultural meanings behind denim trousers, with classic-with-a-twist as the new watchword fused with traditional handcrafting. Denim has certainly come a long way since a Bavarian immigrant named Levi Strauss first used it in 1850 to sew sturdy trousers for California miners.

Goyal, 31, is inspired by the Bauhaus design, and says she is endlessly intrigued by the idea of applying elements of tailoring in denim; to loosen the metaphorical edges around couture. “We’ve used denim in almost every season, and along the way, experimented with different techniques of cutting, weaving, stitching, washing to varying weights and styles. The goal is to break the rigid technical connotations around tailoring; it’s denim after all, why not have fun?” says the graduate from Parsons The New School of Design.

Model Phalguni Barua wears a pair of comfort fit, unisex jeans featuring the Huemn gorilla insignia. Pic courtesy/Ananth Kumar; (right) Model Divyam Bidhuri in low-rise (also called bumsters) jeans with oversized patch pockets crafted by Huemn in handmade selvedge denim. Pic courtesy/Sherwin Court

Take, for instance, Craving Confetti—Goyal’s latest collection rooted in the eclecticism and power drama of the 1990s. It includes the joggers with inflated gusset pockets and multiple zippers on the front panel or a hand-shredded pair in relaxed fit—both available with stretchable waistband (insert a waving-hand goodbye emoji to loungewear). Then there’s a duo of floral appliqué denim dresses styled with coloured slacks; a sassy approach to the cult Mary Quant jersey dress. It is as if she has absorbed our collective existential dread and tossed a momentary sartorial utopia our way.

Early last month, Huemn—a homegrown ready-to-wear unisex brand by Pranav Misra and Shyma Shetty—launched a capsule range of Gorilla insignia jeans; 100 per cent cotton, selvedge (translates to self-edge way of finishing fabric) denim. The pair of models, male and female, was photographed topless in low-rider jeans. Which prods the inevitable question: What were they thinking? Have the brightest minds of Indian fashion failed to recognise that they are addressing a nation where inherent misogyny stifles the female form to suit the male gaze? “That was our intent,” Shetty, 35, says with a laugh. “Isn’t it the male gaze that makes women dress in a certain way? Once we developed these questions, we worked out a new way of telling the story apropos female body and consent, using imagery that inculcates a culture of fearlessness.”

Shyma Shetty

The logic is plain as day. “We are promoting the aesthetic of unisex fashion; the male and female models are wearing identical sample size pair of jeans. So, why should they be photographed differently? We want the focus to stay squarely on the jeans, and the only thing we are interested in inciting is confidence.” The bare female torso sees the nipples masked by a marker, because of Instagram’s notoriously strict policy on female nudity. 
Rules don’t apply for men.

Ultimately, the brand is interested in human expression and evolution. The latter is translated literally via the Gorilla insignia, which has a large black-coloured face of the anthropoid ape created in a handcrafted 3D embossed insignia. “Yes, it has a primal, animalistic quality but also signifies how Huemn is constantly evolving.”

Craving Confetti from Kanika Goyal features relaxed denim styles

Picture blue jeans where the drop of the crotch is highlighted by V-shaped patchwork. Likewise, a basic-fit that’s not high rise, not low rise, but somewhere in between and  called the Half-n-Half trousers. Here, a pair of shorts in suiting fabric is patched onto jeans. Now take a moment to consider its provocations, ranging from curiosity and pleasure to bewilderment. It is this compilation of lessons, fears and wishes that Surmai Jain, 26, of Polite Society (PS) wants to understand as she draws the eye to the female anatomy that designers otherwise conceal. To tease the perception of highs and lows in fashion, Jain crafts her jeans by mixing formal suiting fabric with rugged and casual denim to accomplish her goal of non-conformist power dressing.

It’s the young risk-takers like her who in deference perhaps to a growing disenchantment with the culture of propriety are exploring vast experiential differences between sexy and vulgar, and questioning gender roles. “But it’s never done in a clichéd, raising-a-rebellious-hell kind of way. It’s methodical and organic,” Jain reasons.

Kanika Goyal

Working with denim is personal for Jain. “It’s not an indigenous Indian product; we got it from the West. That we don’t share the same American cultural stories about it, makes it exciting for me. It is one of the first ‘fashion’ pieces you own, and with multiple wears they become like a second skin. I can’t think of any other garment quite like it.” 

How to buy and care for denim sustainably 

. Look for brands that use recycled fibres like recycled cotton or other post-consumer waste; replacing 20 per cent of the cotton in denim with recycled materials can save up to 500 litres of water per garment in the production phase.

. Why buy new ripped jeans if you can own the real thing. Use old jeans.

. Denim lends itself to all transformative processes. Why buy denim shorts when you can cut jeans you already own?

. Keep your old jeans to patch your new ones. The robust material also comes handy in household chores like polishing silver and brass.

. Washing a pair of jeans every 10 times you wear them instead of every other time reduces energy waste use, climate-change impact and water intake by up to 80 per cent.  

Courtesy/Loved Clothes Last: How the Joy of Rewearing and Repairing Your Clothes Can Be a Revolutionary Act by Orsola de Castro

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