Jeans Have Had A Cosy, Comfy Makeover – Welcome To The Era Of Non-Denim Denim

But fashion has an endless capacity to surprise. And so I present to you non-denim-denim that doesn’t need a trigger warning and makes a compelling case for adding to basket.

Shop Non-Denim Denim

Barrie Denim Regular Cashmere And Cotton Jacket

Good American Jeanius Good Skate Sweatpants

Good American Jeanius Bustier Vest

Barrie Denim Cashmere And Cotton Trousers

First up, how about cashmere denim? That is the proposal from the very chic, very luxurious, over-100-year-old Barrie, the Scottish cashmere knit manufacturers who are one of Chanel’s Métiers d’Art houses (a Barrie Denim pop-up store is currently open in Paris, on rue Cambon, until the end of November). The trompe l’oeil denim jacket is already a house icon and now there is an accompanying capsule including cut-off shorts, skirts and shirts alongside additional styles of the jacket.

Showcasing the house’s savoir faire, each jacket requires nine different processes and with the stitching, distressed details and so on, not embroidered in a separate process but knitted into the design. Barrie’s couture-grade craft means, understandably, their pieces don’t come cheap – but the intention is you wear the denim collection much like, well, denim: i.e. on repeat.

Looking for something more laidback (read: affordable)? Good American have recently introduced their ‘Jeanius Sweats’ collection. ‘Looks Like Denim, Feels Like Sweats,’ the brand promises. ‘Sleek Enough for the Streets, Soft Enough for the Couch’.

So, you have loose-fit cotton sweatpants with fading, rivets, stitching and so on, or a terrycloth vest that passes as a denim corset (but, I am sure, feels a hell of a lot more comfortable). The fact that one of the world’s favourite jeans brands is getting in on the non-denim denim act suggests there’s mileage beyond the moment.

Alas, should the jeggings origin story still put you off, let’s rewrite it: could we instead say that it is a natural evolution of the ultra-luxe Bottega Veneta trompe l’oeil leather ‘jeans’ which the formidably talented Matthieu Blazy launched his tenure at the house with? There you go, suddenly seems much more appealing.

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