Have you ever wondered what goes into creating a perfect denim wash? It turns out to be quite interesting and takes a great attention to detail.
We sat down with our Product Manager, Lucia, the true denim wash expert to find out more about our Performance Denim wash process. Lucia has been working with denim for over twenty years, so if there’s anyone that understands denim washes, it’s her.
Let’s take a deeper look into the process with (3) easy steps:
1. Choosing a Fabric
When nailing down the perfect wash, one of the most important components is the fabric. Performance attributes like Coolmax, stretch, and anti-bacterial applications can have an effect on the appearance of the wash. For that reason, it’s crucial to choose a fabric that’s dark and rich in colour to get the maximum amount of wash range.
2. Testing Washes for Inspiration
Once we’ve chosen a denim fabric, we work with the laundry also known as ‘wash house’ to develop a base wash colour palette. Building out a wash palette provides us with reference when gathering inspiration for future denim washes - and to keep ahead of the trends.
Choosing a wash palette is done by putting the fabric through wash cycles with enzymes, washing agents, and lava stones. This breaks down the denim and creates unique washes to alter the dark blue colour in the original fabric.
3. Styling the wash
This is the most important step in the denim washing process as it determines the style of the denim wash. For instance, you can whisker the denim, or hand sand the denim. Whiskering creates the light markings across the thighs, whereas hand sanding creates the washed out look usually around the pocket and knee areas. Both these processes give the denim a worn out or vintage look.
Just like that, you now know most of the story behind our washing process for Performance Denim. Shop our Performance Denim washing for men and for women.