Denim from Netherlands – the first recall from  these words is “ G-Star” the mega brand from Netherlands. There are a lot other denim brands which are closely associated with Netherlands including Pepe , Tommy and others. While these are mega retail brands, we also have some niche small brands in Netherlands who try to explore the heritage denim roots through their jeans. Most of them start with humble one man origins and develop  a fan base based on their quality perfected with passion. One such label is Benzak Denim Developers. Created and designed by Lennaert Nijgh, the brand attempts to recreate the magic of Original dry denim. We had a conversation with Lennaert and he exchanged his views on how he views the denim world and his own brand’s place in it.

1.Tell us something on how you created your brand BDD ..

BDD was born from the passion for jeans and the unique fading capability of denim. I have been working in the denim industry for a couple of years now, and I was already highly interested in denim since the age of 16. Then, 5 years ago I started my own company, alongside working for other denim brands, to develop my own collection of items I wanted to wear. I do not do any concessions regarding anything when

it comes to my products; with BDD I strive to create a product that is perfect in my eyes. With the years and experience coming along the way my products have grown into something that I now fully stand behind. Although as a perfectionist I can always find small things to improve, which keeps me going forward with development all the time.

2.What makes you a denim aficionado and enables you to go deep down into denim DNA?

I’m not sure how to express what makes me a denim aficionado with words, as this has so much to do with emotion. Maybe it’s the fading capability of indigo, that makes every pair of jeans a unique item by wear and wash. Maybe it’s the rich history of jeans, that has roots in many layers of our society, and has it’s very interesting evolution from workwear to a symbol of rebelliousness to fashion and that any day garment of which most people in the Western world own at least 1 example of. There are just so many interesting facts about denim and jeans, and I am still learning every day as well. Up till today working in this field has never bored me.

3.You do mainly raw denim in your collection. What makes working with raw denim a fun and a challenge ?

I prefer to refer to unwashed jeans as ‘dry’, from the term ‘dry goods’. I love dry denim as I want to create my own fading pattern, to reflect your every day of life. It is beautiful to see how 2 of the same pairs of jeans can turn out so different on 2 different people. It is really a blank canvas when you start, painting your experiences on it along the way. There are not many chances to catch me wearing a pre-washed pair of jeans.

4.Netherlands is increasingly becoming a denim hub. From the times when G-Star took off, we have seen denim roots growing . What  do you think has helped denim brands to grow out of Netherlands.

There are a couple of reasons. First of all the Netherlands has a very healthy climate for big companies, regarding taxes and such. International companies like Tommy Hilfiger and Pepe Jeans are based here for (not limited to) this reason. Secondly the Dutch wear a lot of denim; young and old, rich and poor, everyone wears jeans. It might be the casual, no-nonsense attitude of the Dutch that goes perfectly well together with a pair of jeans. Also, because there are so many denim companies based in the Netherlands, for many years now, we have a high amount of experts in the field. This results in many new brands popping up, like BDD as a niche brand, but also more mass-market focused brands like KOI (Kings of Indigo) and Denham. By the way, both their founders used to work for Pepe Jeans and some other influential brands in the past, so this is a good example of what denim in the Netherlands has created over the past decades.

5.You have created a famous ‘sixth pocket’ on the jeans. What was the concept and idea behind it ?

The idea about the 6th pocket comes from the idea of staying true to the past, but at the same time evolving with time. Jeans used to have 4 pockets (2 front pockets, 1 backpocket and 1 coinpocket); a 2nd backpocket was added later to create the now famous 5-pocket jeans. This extra pocket was introduced as the miner, railroad worker and later cowboy needed more space to carry stuff around. Today we don’t use our jeans as workwear anymore, but I still consider us denim lovers as the ‘modern day cowboys’. And we carry a bit more with us every day (such as a phone, wallet, keys and other loads of other small objects – you name it). So I created a hidden 6th pocket as products need to evolve with the changes of society, just like it did from 4 to 5 pockets. I purposely made it hidden, only with the selvage exposed at the top (to create a thin layer) which will be covered by your belt, as I don’t like these ‘in your face’ details, and maintain the look of a pair of 5-pocket jeans.

6.Your pieces are timeless and not season specific. What makes them so ? Do you think the timelessness is an inherent character of raw denim?

They are timeless because I do not look at fashion, but I follow a lifestyle that has been going on for years, with only minor changes applied over the years. My jeans could have been worn 5 years ago, and can still be worn in 5 years. It is about quality, about the fabric and construction, not what is the trend at the moment.

I don’t think the two (dry denim and timelessness) go together hand in hand: most timeless denim (but not all) is dry, but there are so many non-timeless dry jeans out there, as their main focus is not on the dry aspect.

7.When and how much to wash the raw denim? There are lots of debates on this subject with experts advocating minimum 1 year of wear without wash . What do you feel is the best period for the dry jeans  to be washed ?

Ah, the endless debate of whether to wash or not to wash. There is simply no single correct answer, as it all comes to preferences. If you want to create super high contrast jeans, then delaying the first wash as long as possible is a good idea. If you want to have a more vintage and subtle worn in pair of jeans, you don’t have to wait too long. If you don’t like contrast, you should wash frequently, but then you should also think for yourself why you picked a pair of dry denim jeans ;-).

It also really depends on the quality of the fabric. Good quality denim can be washed much more frequently without losing it’s faded pattern. And don’t forget the temperature: wash at 60 degrees for more contrast (and shrinkage), or 30 degrees or even cold, to loose a less indigo as possible.

I prefer to have a very pronounced fading pattern (my personal wearing pattern), but without the super high contrast. So, I usually wash my jeans after between 6-9 months, depending on the evolution. But after that first wash I wash them much more frequently, like once every 3-4 months.

Washing is also good for the fabric: it stabilises the fibres from within. Without washing, the dirt will weaken the fibres and create rips and tears much too soon.

In the end, it all comes down to preference, but picking a pair of high quality jeans is always something I’d recommend.

8. According to you what are the most important characteristics of a denim fabric which make it special ?

Construction and cast are the 2 most important characteristics of a denim fabric in my opinion. I really love left hand twill denim because of the more subtle, low-contrast fading and it’s soft touch. The BDD-710 is a LHT denim, and so is the very first pair I did, the BDD-001. I’m always looking for special casts, such as green cast or grey cast, to create a ‘colour palet’, despite only using shades of indigo. The current pairs, BDD-006 and BDD-710, are now respectively a pure indigo and a green cast, which makes both of them stand out as they look very different. I also like a subtle slub in denim, not too much though. Weight is something that is a secondary priority to me. Selvedge too actually, although the nicest fabrics I have found are usually selvedge denim as well. But I can fall in love with a non-selvedge fabric just as easy — I have seen quite some really nice projectile loom fabrics over time.

8.Do you want BDD to continue to be  niche brand or do you want to grow in volumes and take your denim to other segments too?

Like I explained before, for BDD I do not do any concessions, which means it will be very unlikely my brand can grow into big volumes. I pick quality over quantity. I simply love my product and enjoy working on it every day too much this way. But this is how I feel about it now; you should ask me the same question in 5 years again! 🙂

10.Can you take us through your latest collection?

The latest collection (and actually first ‘true’ collection of BDD) contains of 6 items: 2 jeans, 2 t-shirts and 2 accessories. The jeans are made in Japan, the indigo dyed t-shirts in Portugal, the belt in Singapore and the baseball cap in the USA; all area’s known for high quality products with their own speciality. For a detailed explanation of the products, please go to the website  or check out the collection book

And by the way, if you are looking to get a chain stitch hem done on your jeans, BDD provides the service of doing so on a Union Special machine !

s.Oliver is a German lifestyle company which manufactures fashion apparel, accessories, and lifestyle products for men, women, boys, girls, and children. With over $1.2 billion Euro in sales and presence in over 25 countries in Asia , Western and Eastern Europe,  the company has  some of the coolest collection of denim in Europe . I thought that it might be good idea to speak to Florian Schneider -  the head of Product Development Denim at s.Oliver Asia – and find out what makes the company so cool and to learn from him about  the latest in denim developments .

Hi Florian. Tell us something about s.Oliver ..

s.Oliver is one of the most successful fashion and lifestyle companies in Europe, and was founded by Bernd Freier in Würzburg, Germany, in 1969. The company’s head office is still in Rottendorf in Franconia today. s.Oliver now employs over 7000 people worldwide, and is represented by 240 of its own stores, 300 franchise stores, 2559 shop-in-shops, and on 3281 areas all over the world.

b) Which are your best denim products?

Our best selling product over the years is a 5-pocket NOS jean for our Casual Women segment. Great fit, classic denim and subtle but perfected vintage wash. Even though we have fantastic products with stunning washes, which range from traditional authentic –e.g. railroad worker inspired jeans – to modern interpretations such as leather-like coatings and washes with a new richness of color, I think it is commercial products with well balanced wash where we are at our absolute best.

b) How do you think is the demand for denim in Europe currently?

Germany is our main market and its economy is recovering at a surprisingly good rate, so does private consumption. The trend towards Chinos and garment-dyed 5-pockets for sure has hurt denim demand a bit, but the impact for us is rather small.

However, the signals I am getting from mills show a trend to an overall slowdown in Europe.

c) Do you think the consumption is on the rise even with the economy being not so good?

In my opinion, consumption in Europe or the US will stay flat for the next couple of years and then eventually pick up speed. In general, rising consumption in developing countries should make up for slow sales elsewhere. This is quite interesting, as the cause for the rising consumption, which is increased salaries and higher living standard, is also the cause why factories struggle to find workers, and brands have difficulties to source for the low prices they are used too.

d) What do you think are the latest trends in denim?

Besides the usual periodical changes in leg shape, clean look vs. vintage wash, and a few longer lasting trends like jeggings, there are two major developments: diversification of garment styles and diversification of denim fabrics.

Denim is expanding far into foreign territory with products such as jeggings, denim down jackets, fully lined denim blazers, knit denim sweat pants, fluid lyocell dresses, and denim chinos. Material variety is leading the pace and getting more diverse to the extent that the line between denim and other products is blurring. Can knit denim be considered denim? What about indigo yarn dyed chambray, indigo over-dyed linen herringbone, jacquard woven denim, indigo corduroy?

Overall there is a lot of excitement and I think we are just at the beginning of a big development.

Now, to give you a more traditional answer, I’d say that 70’s styling is catching on, vintage effects will be overall reduced and denim with wool content or heather weft will be an important novelty. Metallic and leather like coatings have a come-back. Slim fits for men are getting more important, so does cotton/elastane denim for men, and high stretch denims with novelty yarns.

e) Comfort is becoming an increasingly important word in denim which has enabled trends like jegging to be very strong. We have also seen brands like Diesel launching special comfort wear jeans like “Jogg Jeans”. Do you think this is a long term trend?

Europe has been slower than the US in embracing the soft & comfortable trend. However, the super-trend “jeggings” and the success of smaller brands like Current/Elliott that had super soft denim in their collections changed that.

In addition to that, since nowadays denim products include much more than traditional work wear or work wear inspired fashion and can come in the form of any type of garment, hand feel and comfort requirements vary a lot, and tend to go to the soft side.

The trend is here to stay, once the consumer is used to comfort, he or she will not like to go back to less comfortable products. An exemption to that are of course people who have a soft (no pun intended) spot for traditional denim and for that reason of course prefer stiff raw denim jeans.

f)What kind of washes and treatments on denim  do you think are popular ? Which is your personal favourite ?

Vintage washing has come a long way, and s.Oliver is very successful with authentic washes. 3D whiskers are a must on most of our washes. Subtle color spray or rubbed-on color is important to add additional depth to the fabric surface and increase richness of color. Dark finishes are getting more popular as are grayish tones.

My favorite wash is a vintage wash that is hand sanded – not sandblasted, washed down with water, enzymes and stones only – without the use of bleach, is not resin treated, and has broken edges not from grinding but from natural formation during washing.

g) China is getting expensive. Do you see shifting of denim production capacities from China to other countries due to this?

The main production area for denim in China is Guangdong Province in the South. Costs are rising in Southern China and labor is increasingly hard to find, so there is indeed a trend to source from other countries like Vietnam or Bangladesh – but also from other provinces in China. Some provinces especially in the North and West still have favorable regulations and low labor cost.

Recently, high cotton prices put even more pressure on brands to compensate rising material costs by lower cm and washing costs.

It is important, though, to keep in mind that other countries have limited work force supply as well, and living standards are on the rise in most developing countries. Considering that the pool of workers in these countries is far smaller than in China, the work force supply can run dry very fast and salaries go up quickly as a result. Therefore it remains to be seen how much of production capacity can be shifted away from China.

h) What do you think about India as a denim sourcing hub?

India has a large cotton production, very good mills and plays a center role for denim fabric sourcing. It is close to production places like Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Since rules have changed and Bangladesh can enjoy the GSP+ benefit even if material origin is in a third country, Indian mills should be able to benefit. In terms of jeans garment manufacturing, I am not sure how big a role India is playing for the European market at this moment, but there is definitely a potential.

i) On a personal note, how many jeans do you have in your wardrobe? How many times do you wear them before you wash them??

I own around 25 pairs, mostly collector’s items and s.Oliver jeans, but currently I wear only two – a Filippa K raw selvedge jeans which I have not washed yet but plan to wash after 8-10 months of wear, and my favorite s.Oliver vintage jeans, which I usually wash after three to four times wearing.

k) Thanks for being on Denimsandjeans.com Any guidance for our readers who are great denim enthusiasts?

Always go for quality instead of quantity!

About Florian : Florian studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Hamburg before deciding to change his major and follow his passion for design. He then continued to pursue his dream outside his birth country in the Big Apple, where he ended up as a designer with DDCLAB.  Inspired by Roberto Crivello of DDCLAB and the brand’s undying commitment to technology and design, he got hooked on denim, continuing to work in the field as a designer, wet processing manager and product developer.