The goal of Denim Archive is to document peoples’ love for jeans.
Denim Archive was begun as a media studies project that builds upon ideas about typologies, and open access archives.
Media Studies
Media Studies is an interdisciplinary field, often conceptualized under the umbrella of communications studies. This page summarizes: “The term ‘media studies’ refers to the history, content and impact of various forms of widespread communication.”
Denim Archive situates clothing, specifically denim, as a form of communication (a medium), and examines denim’s history, content, and impact.
The history of denim:
Visually, the Denim Archive is grounded in photographic projects made over the past sixty or so years. This page contextualizes what I am referring to when I call this project a typology.
Open Access Archives
An archive can serve as a way to document a cultural pattern or event. Archives can also be striking examples of bias, prejudice, and elitism.
Open access archives maximize accessibility, approachability, and transparency. Here is an explanation of this concept.
Here are some examples.
The element of this project that addresses the history of denim--the state of denim culture* in past eras--is “Three Eras of American Denim”, which analyzes what Levi Strauss & Company’s Advertisements looked like across three distinct time periods.
Contemporary Denim:
The central archival element of this project lends insight into contemporary denim--the current state of denim culture.* This current state can be defined in different ways, though for the sake of this project it can be limited to the twenty-first century.
* Denim Culture = the discourse around buying, wearing, selling, repairing, and otherwise interacting with garments made of denim.