A Complete Visual Guide for the Denim Industry
Last month The Denim Manual was launched, claiming to be one of the world’s most comprehensive denim book covering every aspect of denim. Let's take a look.
The book itself looks amazing. The book (hard) cover is made with a reactive dyed denim fabric and the edge of the book is foiled with copper.
The book is divided into 6 chapters which are covering many aspects of denim:
CHAPTER 1
Denim throughout the decades (history of denim)
A visual representation of denim from the beginning to modern times. A timeline from the beginning of denim with all the milestones, styles and famous moments. Here you can learn when the side-zip jeans was introduced, or black denim. You want to know more about the 'The John Hughes effect? Or maybe you don't know what that effect is? All there.
CHAPTER 2
Denim the fabric
All about fibers, yarns, spinning and dyeing. Traditional denim & variations. Raw denim, coatings and finishing. Just a selections of all the topics covered. Again, all done in a very nice visual way. Some simple technical information to give you some more insight.
CHAPTER 3
Denim design
This chapter gives you an overview of design elements and styles. Also the components of denim garments are explained. Want to know what the difference between a Railroad Jacket and a Trucker Jacket is? Or what about an 'inverted pleat' pocket style? You can find it here.
CHAPTER 4
The complete denim wash library
In this chapter all the denim processes are described in a very clear way. The dry process, whiskering, tacking & sanding to name just a few. With every subject you get informed about the machines & tools used, what the effect will be and when it is commonly used. Next to that there a handful of useful tips, again with clear visuals.
CHAPTER 5
Denim Garment Dyeing
It's all about the variations in dyeing. Shibori, Tie-dye, dip dye and a lot more. How and when it is used. Beautiful examples give a clear image of the results and all the processes are described.
CHAPTER 6
The denim maintenance guide
Denim clothing has a tendency to fade, but the proper washing methods can prevent shrinkage and unintended fading. In this chapter, the book suggest methods for cleaning and storing your denim to give it a long life.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a book that gives you a comprehensive overview of denim, look no further, this is it. It feels and reads like the encyclopedia for denim. The book feels like a carefully crafted book and is very easy to understand.
However, the environmental issues that comes with the industry (yes I am also looking at you 'PP spray') are barely mentioned. Not only the bad news but also all the good steps already taken.
Apart from that, if you are interested in denim, want to know more about it, refresh your knowledge or just would like to have a beautiful reference book on your shelf, this is really a no brainer.
At the time of writing, the book is sold for $ 39,90.
The publisher is Fashionary, which is founded in 2008. Fashionary creates tools for fashion industry professionals.
More information about the book you can find here.
