Not fade away

Just one year ago, a national newspaper ran a feature proclaiming denim was past its sell-by-date; out of fashion, out of style, out of popularity and, perhaps, out of our lives forever. Having been in denim fabric and garment manufacturing for many years I thought this was an uninformed comment. I have seen at least two "denim depressions" during the past decade and here again was denim merely undergoing one of its downturns. As on previous occasions, all that was required to bring the material back into fashion was a little innovative thinking. It has been satisfying to see a resurgence of denim fashion during the early weeks of March this year, and there is every indication that this is just the start of a sustained revival.

Marble washes Where does this leave launderers who are still geared up to wash denim garments? The first denim depression happened not long after I joined a clothing manufacturer whose production for a major chain store included around 40% denim garments. This was in 1987, and after having a long run of success, the bottom suddenly dropped out of the market.

The problem was due, in part, to complacency. Denim had been selling so well that there appeared no need to refresh or stimulate the market. But the public stopped buying, and a whole industry suffered. The expansion plans of my own company were shelved and a round of 'economy' measures followed. That was a time when every manufacturer and laundry operator wondered if denim would ever make a come back. In the latter part of 1987 the solution emerged, and it not only kick-started the market back into action, it actually led to a bout of hysteria among the laundry fraternity.

The solution involved new wash procedures, producing a totally new look to denim. It made every pair of jeans unique. There were no two garments that looked exactly alike. A variety of names such as "marble" washes,"snow" washes, "old timer", "antique" and many more appeared. The technique used to produce these washes involved stone washing garments with pumice stones that had been impregnated with bleach, either hypochlorite or permanganate.

The treatment was carried out in a washer for 10 - 20 minutes without any water present, and the effects produced were totally random and erratic designs. The treatment was applied to both blue and black denim jackets and jeans, and it became a craze overnight. Demand exceeded capacity. The laundry industry was not prepared for such an onslaught. It did not possess machinery best suited for such a hazardous process, nor sufficient expertise. They could only adapt the machines in existence at that time, and since the process was severe on machinery, there was a tendency to use old, second hand machines. The Planet 501b and 100lb machines were the work horses of the trade during the initial stages. They were strong, rugged machines, and expendable, but they had small capacity and garment loads were a fraction of those normally used. Consequently the process was expensive. Laundries were charging between £3 - £4 per pair for some washes, and they obtained it, as the demand was so great.

On the washing machinery front, there was a scamper to produce new machines designed for the process and in the hurry to be first, some pretty Heath-Robinson efforts resulted. One outfit tried to adapt a cement mixer for the job. By the start of 1989 the Barrel machines were appearing which were specifically designed to provide these new wash finishes, and they were produced in a range of sizes that enabled much greater loads to be handled.

Unfortunately these revolutionary washes only lasted two fashion seasons and the main reason was due to the fact that too many "cowboys" got into the act. Lacking expertise and proper equipment they produced poor quality washes which killed the market off. Fashion also dictated other directions to proceed to.

Abraded finishes

1989 saw a switch to more abraded finishes and paler shades of denim. Enzyme products appeared that could be used instead of pumice stone to give satisfactorily abraded appearances. Heavier bleach treatments were required for pale shades of blue. Subsequent to this change in fashion there was a demand for very severe abraded finishes which led to washes combining pumice stones with enzymes, but once this had dominated the market for a couple of seasons, another recession set in.

Somewhere around 1993 coloured denim began to appear and once again the industry leapt back into life. You could get denim in any colour you liked from cream to black. Denim overdyed with black or blue also became popular and between these changes the denim garment industry revitalised itself yet again. It has had a pretty good run since then without having to make any major changes in design or washes, but during 1998 and 1999 there has been a steady decline.

But the comeback is underway. New styles in figure-hugging designs and dark blue colours predominate. Overdyes are back, and styles with a variety of embroidered effects are getting the market active again.

UK laundries can process such work but are these sustainable without a new look at laundry techniques? I fear not! In common with many types of fabric, denim has fashion cycles which repeat themselves at regular intervals. Another change in washes will be due in the not too distant future to refresh the market. I dare to stick my neck out and suggest that a return to marble washing cannot be ruled out. If this were the case, could UK laundries benefit? I have to express doubts. The circumstances would be a repetition of the 1987/88 period. Most laundries have rid themselves of the Barrel machines that proved best suited for the job, and machinery manufacturers have ceased to make them. There are newer low-extraction machines that can do a dry-stone and an aqueous wash, but these are expensive and few laundries have invested in them. A lot of denim washing capacity has been lost. Many of the small laundries that flourished in the 1980's have closed down, and others have diversified into different classifications. The expertise required for quality washes is certainly gone, and the restrictions imposed by environmental authorities are more stringent than they were originally.

How could denim garment makers deal with the situation? The answer lies overseas. For almost a decade now, the large clothing manufacturers have been setting up off-shore operations, not only in make up, but also in laundries.

Many are established in Morocco, Turkey, the Far East and Shri-Lanka.

The restrictions on hazardous washes are fewer and older machinery still exists that could handle these washes. Labour is plentiful and accepts such washes with less reservations than UK laundry labour, and there is plenty of capacity. Wash costs are more favourable in both labour and materials. The expertise exists because stone washing has never been superseded by enzymes in most of these countries, and has always been the main ingredient in abrasion washes.

Should the next fashion change demand going back to the marble, snow and other washes which require the dry-stone technique, denim will still survive.

Whatever happens, denim will always bounce back. It may fade a little, but then that is a natural characteristic of this most ubiquitous of fabrics.