This series investigates the intricate and evolving relationship between denim and indigo dye. The first exploration is a look that focuses on indigo-dyed textile experimentation, examining how the colour expresses itself and interacts with different fabric types and their individual histories.

Indigo’s main characteristic is its distinctive blue, an spectrum of shades from deep and dark to bright, vibrant blues; and retaining its colour even after being washed down and faded over time. The visible marks denim accumulates with wear are intrinsically linked to both the indigo dye and the fabric’s weave construction. Denim aesthetics and collective associations make visible the physical crafting process: the stitching, the fabric manipulations, and the various treatments. These marks document gestures, habits, and movements of the wearer, creating unique textile narratives through time and wear. As Townsend (2011) notes, such narrative traces map connections from fibre to dye, to fabric, construction and finishing, and reveal how “colour change, textile change, worn patterns, and technical or artisanal construction” contribute to reading and understanding denim’s material story (p. 91).


¹ Townsend, K. (2011). The Denim Garment as Canvas: Exploring the Notion of Wear as a Fashion and Textile Narrative. Textile : The Journal of Cloth and Culture, 9(1), 90–107.






Indigo dyed velvet jeans, contrasting top stitching. Raw selvedge denim and velvet top.  Indigo dyed cotton gauze oversize t-shirt

Images by Carmen Zammit, Talent Bridie Goold