Denim - Fabric Of Our Lives Explored At The Hub

Tag : Fabric Is

Alongside the garments the curators have chosen films, televisionrecordings and advertising to put the history of denim into asocial context.
This is particularly the case when the focus shifts to how therebels of the 50s, with or without causes, embraced the fabric inhomage to the denim-clad cowboys of the movies. Footage of JamesDean, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley demonstrates how denim plussubversive attitudes equals the image of the Wild One or the Rebel.
Meanwhile, tribes as diverse as Rockers and Beatniks have worndenim out of non-conformity. However, the exhibition shows howdenim clothing was as recognisable as the three-piece suit when itcame to signalling the attitudes of the wearer.
Denim – The Fabric of Our Lives does not take its titlelightly. While the items on display illustrate how pervasive denimhas become, the relationship between it and the people who wear itis at the heart of the exhibition. Visitors are therefore asked toprovide further evidence of this iconic fabric’s centralplace not only in our wardrobes but in our lives.
An interactive element collects dialogue from visitors. Theirconversations reveal memories and stories proving that denim is notyet a museum piece but a part of everyday experience. Visitors arealso contributing objects and photographs to add to the exhibitionand are therefore helping with further research into the subject.
While denim has a long world-wide history and seems now animmoveable place in our lives, current global issues relating tocheap labour and pollution in fabric production cannot be ignored.Consequently, this exhibition includes an exploration of how denimis a fabric of other people's lives too and so brings the denimstory into the twenty-first century.