Back to Basics with Blue Denim

Blue jeans have gone through many shapes and styles. Patching bottoms and knees became a statement in originality.

The ubiquitous blue jean has become an American staple. Almost every person has a pair or has worn a pair at sometime in their life. The original blue jean, invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873, was meant to be used as heavy duty work attire. Eventually they became a fashion phenomenon. 

 

I love making these improvisational fabric constructions because it gives me a chance to explore different pattern and color combinations.

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This is one of my constructions made from recycled blue jeans. They have a soft feel from wear and I like that they have a chance to come to life again in a new form. 

The Japanese Boro was born of forgotten values of "mottainai" or "too good to waste" — an idea lacking in modern consumer lifestyle.

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Boro is the clothing worn by Japanese peasants, a less expensive fabric than the lavish silk kimono worn by the aristocracy. Literally translated as rags or scraps of cloth, the term "boro" is also used to describe cloths and household items which have been patched up and repaired many times, bringing a worn patina to the piece. Now Boro is valued as an art and has become highly collectible.

My husband, Tommy, back in the '70s and the chair which is now covered with parts of his old jacket and the "Fishhead" name.

The denim on this chair goes back to Chicago, where my husband Tommy was part of an "art gang," called  "The Fishheads," derived from the fish market which sat below their loft spaces. Art gangs were know to play pranks on each other in the form of performance pieces.

One of Tommy's best friends, Sandy Simon, now owner of the TRAX Gallery in Berkeley, embroidered  "Fishhead" on the back his favorite denim jacket and Tommy wore it until there was more holes than cloth.  I salvaged the embroidery and used it it to cover the back of the chair, so the Fishhead story lives on.