From classic blue jeans to denim jackets, skirts, and dresses, designers around the world are constantly reinventing denim, and pushing the boundaries of style. The beauty of denim lies in its ability to adapt to various treatments and finishes: whether you’re creating distressed, faded, or even an embellished aesthetic, the versatility of denim as a fabric allows designers, including IGC, to stretch their imagination while delivering clothing that is comfortable and durable.
When you mention the word ‘denim’, people almost immediately think: jeans, shorts and jackets. IGC’s approach is markedly different. Tell us why you love this fabric and if there are any particular challenges in working with it.
Sven: Every fabric has its own personality. Denim, in a way, is unique because unlike any other fabric it is able to transform itself completely with the different weight and washes to various uses and specific seasonality. Our initial challenge was to gain a good understanding of how to select and handle the fabric as the fabric is completely different before and after washing. It can be a steep learning curve just to get the right weight and wash, but through the years, we’ve gotten it right and have become somewhat experts at manipulating the fabric to get the look that we want.
“Aesthetically, we wanted a very different approach to how other contemporary brands would treat it and that it maintains IGC's design ethos of modern cut and drapes for a unique appeal and yet also easy to wear.”
Tell us about your design process when creating denim pieces.
Sven: We wanted it to be an important category of our collection because of its wide appeal and versatility so it was important to first obtain the various weights and washes we could apply for Singapore’s all-year tropical climate. Aesthetically, we wanted a very different approach to how other contemporary brands would treat denim and ensure that it maintains IGC's design ethos of modern cuts and draping for a unique appeal that remains easy to wear.
We noticed different types of denim being used across IGC pieces. We’ve seen Japanese denim, linen denim, and more. Can you tell us the unique characteristics of some of these denim blends you use, and your process in selecting the appropriate fabric?
Sven: We introduced about 4-5 varieties of denim for each collection. Each of them comes with different weights and washes and are used in different categories. For example, our classic 12 oz raw Japanese denim has dye and starches that makes them stiff and are used on trousers like the NASRY Japanese Denim Pants in our menswear collection, and jackets such as the HIRO Japanese Denim Jacket, that require the material to hold its structure well.
A popular denim of our recent collections is our 7.5 oz linen denim, which is considered very lightweight and breathable. They hang particularly well so they are treated with draped tops and dresses, like our HITARI Linen Denim Dress or the NINA Linen Denim Top, which are great for a tropical climate. Aside from indigo dyed, there are also washed bleach white and black denim that gives an alternative, cleaner look.
