Denim Workers

NEW DELHI: Denim is always in fashion. A tough cotton twill fabric, traditionally woven with indigo dyed warp and white filling yarns, even today it enjoys an undisputed position in the fashion industry for its ability to adapt creatively to fashion trends. It has been in use for over a century, especially in the manufacture of durable clothes for hard labour.

Recently when Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat remarked that frayed jeans equal frayed morals, women and men from all walks of life posted pictures of themselves in ripped jeans with the hashtag #FattiHuiJeans in response to Rawat’s statement.

The photographs below are of workers in Karol Bagh, a hub for manufacturing and processing denims. They show the effort that goes into making this hard worn material, symbol of rebellion.

The process begins with segregating the denim fabric from the batch and marking it with patterns. It is then spread and cut into different sizes. The cuts are then sewed together or joined, and washed in an enzyme wash, stone wash, bleached wash etc. Finally, after a thorough inspection they are folded and packed into boxes, ready for delivery.








Photographs: Komal Wadhwa