Denim (serge de Nîmes)
Denim (sarga de Nîmes)
- Date
- c. 1700 · confidence low
- Place
- Nîmes, Occitania, France
- Credited to
- Weavers of Nîmes (with a related cloth from Genoa)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A hard-wearing cotton twill with an indigo-dyed warp and a white weft that originated in Nîmes as 'serge de Nîmes', hence the name denim. It was a cheap and durable work fabric.
Origin is disputed between Nîmes (serge de Nîmes) and Genoa (jean, bleu de Gênes); the two fabrics were different and only later merged. The first secure mentions of 'denim' date from the late 17th century.
What it led to
- workwear for miners, sailors and labourers
- riveted jeans and the jean fashion
- worldwide indigo and dyed-cotton industry