Amongst the many shades you’ll find today, the blue jean remains a timeless vision in the fashion landscape. A ubiquitous material, denim has emerged from a workwear staple; to a signifier of rebellion and social justice; to now holding pride of place in designer runways season after season. It’s become so entrenched in the world of fashion, it’s now gone beyond tangible denim. Now, rather than the material itself, it’s the appearance of denim that designers are weaving into their collections. 

Like most things, menswear has been a little late to catch on. The great deception began on the circuits some months ago. At Matthieu Blazy’s spring/summer 2023 presentation for Bottega Veneta, supermodel Kate Moss wore a simple flannel with a set of jeans. Or so you would think, the real outfit was a shirt made entirely of leather, printed to look like a flannel. The same went for the “jeans,” which were also made with leather, photorealistic down to every pull and the wash of the real thing. Now released, you can own them for several thousand dollars. 

Image credit: Patek Philippe 

Fast forward to now, and the trompe l’oeil tactic is in more places. In the horological world, the recent Watches & Wonders saw this treatment feature on one of the world’s most sought-after watches. For Patek Philippe’s latest novelty, and there is truly no better word for it, the Swiss brand had a little fun with a white gold model of its Nautilus. The band appears to be made from a small cutting of denim, pre-washed in a sandy blue to match the shade of the dial. But, yet again, it’s actually made from calfskin leather printed to resemble denim. And again, with a price tag of over $125,000, the hardest-working material in fashion has been given unexpected elegance.

Image credit: Patek Philippe 

Not only will you find lookalike denim in the world of horological luxury. Premium French activewear label Satisfy also had its turn with denim. For a recent capsule collection, the brand took its signature PeaceShell material—a synthetic material woven in Japan designed to replicate the feeling of silk—and digitally printed it to resemble a pair of vintage Levi’s Orange Tab 517 jeans. The pockets on the front, printed on and offering no function, all the patina and wear on the jeans digitally added to the material. And they were a smash hit, selling out immediately with a price tag of $350, over double the price of a pair of Levi’s 517 jeans today.

Given Satisfy’s “punk” approach to running—years ago, the brand featured an image of The Clash frontman Joe Strummer running the London Marathon printed on an exercise singlet—it’s unsurprising the choice to tap into the more “rebellious” history of denim. The rebellious individualism of blue jeans, applied to the humble long run. Denim’s cultural significance and social status is far from what it once was. Where it once was associated with affordability and the everyman, it’s been elevated to one of fashion’s most desirable fabrics. Treated as a luxury fabric, with another luxury fabric—whether leather, or another technical material.

Image credit: Satisfy

Denim has always been a topic of conversation. In recent years, it’s revolved around width, whether we’re in a skinny or a wide-legged cycle, other times, it’s been about the appropriateness of the fabric. Bing Crosby was famously rejected from the Vancouver Hotel while in his Levi’s. Denim was long the material of choice for jackets and jeans by the counterculture movement, current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wore a denim jacket to meet then-Prime Minister Bob Hawke as a member of the Australian Young Labor in the ’80s. Today however, denim has been co-opted by the fashion set away from cowboys and miners, the socially conscious, and now in a complete overhaul, as an embellished trick in the fashion arsenal.

Image credit: Satisfy

From a purely aesthetic perspective, it’s easy to understand why denim is so popular for these visual gimmicks. Jeans are something designed to be worn every day, absorbing wear and tear and reflecting the personality of the wearer. Fading around the phone pocket, a knee rip, or worn-down hems. When you’re buying into the denim look that has all of these stories printed on, it’s certainly a departure from these everyman roots. And now it’s landed on our accessories, beyond the denim we wear on our legs.

The proliferation of things that look like denim has an unsettling feeling, particularly for wearers that still see denim as a hardy, affordable material, well-suited to its current use. Why take the look without the function? Isn’t that missing half the point? Clearly, we’re beyond function. Now that you can buy a solid pair of denim for $100-odd (like the ones Post Malone performed at the Super Bowl in), how can you compete with that? Looking back at older pairs of jeans, take the set of Levis 501XX from the 1920s that streetwear legend Nigo sold for US$56,250 on Pharrell’s auction site Joopiter, the formula for construction and cut hasn’t changed much. It’s now about creating that look, and applying it beyond just jeans.

A$AP Rocky and Rihanna on date night, Rocky’s jeans are, yep, you guessed it, fully leather. Image credit: Getty Images

So where are we now? By turning the timeless trend of denim into one—that is, denim that isn’t denim—wearers have the association of dressing-down, without actually needing to. You’re buying into very visible details, and not on denim trousers, but in watches and running shorts. There’s nothing perplexing about the persistence of denim, only now, we’re not sure if it even is denim. On any given day you’ll go out and see it almost everywhere, on the legs of everyone from politicians to labourers, influencers to office workers.

It’s not so much that denim is losing its original meaning, the material entrenched enough without losing its stylish reputation. Rather now, there’s a trend created out of its appearance, as a flex of technical acumen, or just because you can. And it’s changing what we think about denim once again. Far from a symbol of counterculture, or labour work, the favourable visuals of denim are now something so easily created with a printer. A canvas for designers to flex craftsmanship on fashion’s most relatable material. Or, in its simplest form, it’s a fun “Gotcha!” in the realm of fashion humour. 

Our response to this impersonation of denim highlights our own relationship with it. Evolving from washes, or studs, and bleaching effects, it’s now about playing on the timeless appeal of the look. Unfortunately, in most cases, it comes at a price. The portrait we know of denim is expanding, you can buy into the look, or you can buy into the denim. They’re here to stay. 

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