The Style Files - Distressed Denim 

Denim is blue, of course, and in every conceivable shade, so if you read my column last week you’ll know I have a particular affinity for the hue. I love denim, too, but I like my denim to be worn and faded, I cannot bear pristine looking jeans! For me, jeans must be trampled and beaten up, soaked, and cruelly ill-treated before wear (luckily you don’t need to do this yourself as there are countless brands that cater to the desire and have the look down perfect) and my most favourite jeans are of the ripped, torn, shredded variety – the ones that look like they’ve been re- appropriated from the trash! Jeans that I can wear with anything and dress up or down depending on my schedule. I do like the tattered but polished aesthetic that you can pull together with a pair of torn jeans, a smart shirt and pointed stilettos. 

The irony that so much care, detail and structure goes into engineering a pair of carelessly ripped jeans, doesn’t escape me! It’s that worn till it ripped natural carelessness that keeps it so prominently on the fashion radar, without waning in popularity. This year ripped or distressed jeans continue to evolve and can be worn in the most uuber casual or sophisticated chic of ways. The fact that I’m happy to pay for torn clothing is another irony. 

Fashion magazines and blogs are filled with celebrities in their shredded and distressed denim, yes skirts and cutoffs also make the list. The trend has gathered huge momentum as the pursuit of nonchalant edgy cool effortlessness perseveres. The trend of torn denim transitioned from a grungy aesthetic, to a chic one in a shift in style. Continuing in that vein this season, with it’s hyperbolic course, we witness the distressed denim trend expand into super-chic territory, continuing it’s fashion future with absolute certainty. 

Text by Minoli Ratnayake