The fashion industry is one that is hardly predictable. A fashion style starts to trend from ‘nowhere’ and everyone is dancing to the tune. Sometimes a trend may seem ridiculous to an average person but it trends anyway.
A good example is the current and consistent obsession with ripped jeans, also called ‘crazy jeans’ is baffling.
You can barely walk down any street in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcout, Owerri among others without being assailed by bare knees, calves and thighs — all protruding through swatches of tattered denim.
Even celebrities, it seems, can’t get enough of it.
The denim market is worth an estimated £1.5 billion annually in the UK alone — and ‘controversial’ styles make up a huge part of that, with prices ranging from Gucci designs at £725 a pair to Lidl’s at just £7.99.
The question then becomes what is driving the sales and ‘crazy jeans’?
In an article by Daily Mail Online, it disclosed that the first pair of jeans were designed in the late 1870s by Loeb Strauss, a German businessman who changed his name to Levi and founded the denim brand.
Using twilled cotton cloth, he created a durable trouser that would suit the working man. Indigo — a dye extracted from an Indian plant — was used to turn them a dark blue, which was thought to be more practical for the working environment.
The ‘ripped’ trend came later, emerging in the cultural punk movement of the Seventies.
The rips, according to Daily Mail Online signified rebellion: early punks tore apart consumer goods as an expression of their anger towards society, and denim became a key part of this political statement.
Celebrity devotees included The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop and Bros, while stars such as Bananarama and Madonna helped popularise the trend for women. Fans began to copy the look by ripping their own jeans at home, and denim manufacturers soon c
Read also: In race to close knowledge gap, Mykmary unveils fashion business school
In 2010, ripped jeans made a comeback — rebranded as ‘distressed’ denim. Designers such as Diesel and Balmain (who sold pairs for £1,800 in 2011) showed the look on the catwalk, and high-end stores such as Harrods and Fenwick started stocking them.
Experts say this coincided with an Eighties fashion revival, marked by the return of jumpsuits, high-waisted trousers and culottes. Today, ripped jeans have become so ubiquitous that even M&S stocks them (including some with patches under the rips so the wearer doesn’t get chilly knees).
In an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a retired public servant named Henry Oyediran was scathing in his opinion.
He said: “Of course, the craze for crazy jeans is a glaring debasement of culture, the act of poor socialisation and development brought about by foreign culture. But then, it’s not strange among the youth, because they are quick at copying attitudes and characters without reasoning.”
Some see the jean as evolving from youth exuberance and trying something totally new and different.
Princess Okorocha, a fashion lover said she loves to wear ripped jeans because it makes her appear trendy and attractive.
“No matter what people feel about this fashion trend, it has come to stay. Whenever I wear my ripped jeans, I feel very trendy on them and it makes me look totally different,” Okorocha said.
She said she feels great when people turn around to look at her when she is on her ripped jeans.
Udoka Favour, an undergraduate of University of Nigeria told BDSunday that she loves to wear ripped jeans because they go along with her trainers, heels or sandals.
“Most of my foot wears can go perfectly with my ripped jeans. Never seen a wear that goes with almost anything; it’s a perfect outing wear for me,” Favour said.
Oge Stanley, a fashion designer said she naturally loves dresses that expose some part of her body and ripped jeans fits this purpose.
“While I can speak for myself, I know a lot of people love to wear the ripped jeans because it exposes some skin even though they may not love to admit this,” Stanley.
She said exposed skin wears sell in the market faster than wears that cover the body.
However, as with every fashion fad, early adopters are already growing bored of the ripped jeans trend, fuelling demand for weird and wonderful alternatives.
