Denim has many faces, but there‘s one thing it never is, and that‘s boring. This material is associated with many exciting stories. Initially, and for a very long time, it was a fabric for workers, and later became a symbol of protest against tradition and authority. Through idols such as James Dean and Marlon Brando, denim achieved cult status. It was not least used by cowboys as a symbol of their masculinity, its figure-hugging fit showing off their muscular legs in order to impress women. The Stones made use of its erotic character on the cover of their 1971 LP Sticky Fingers.

Jeans started life as cotton trousers which reached the USA by way of the Italian city of Genoa. The French name for this city, „Gênes“, became „jeans“ in American slang. Levi Strauss, who was born in Franconia and emigrated to San Francisco in 1847, manufactured robust work clothes for gold prospectors – these clothes were „Gênes“ made of the material „serge de Nîmes“ (a fabric from the city Nîmes): in short, denim jeans…