Denim: The Fabric That Built America, 1935–1944

The legacy of denim in America, as seen through early FSA photographs of “blue collar” workers

Art Director/ Author: Graham Marsh Deputy Art Director: Me
Head of Copy: Alison Elangasinghe Editor: Tony Nourmand

There is perhaps no other fabric so inextricably associated with a country as is denim with the United States of America. First popularised by Levi’s iconic jean designs in the mid-1800s, denim quickly became the material of choice for working-class Americans, spurring an influx of other brands that made workwear with the durable and ubiquitous fabric — from Wrangler and Lee to OshKosh and Carhartt. In the 1950s, denim transitioned from a work fabric to a form of leisurewear. A large part of this transition was a new generation trying to connect with the rugged, patriotic spirit that the ordinary worker had come to symbolise after the onset of World War II.