The Denimhunters Podcast

In this episode of the Denimhunters Podcast, Thomas talks about a tough decision you need to make before you start wearing your new raw denim jeans; whether to soak them or not.

You'll learn the three approaches you can take, and when you want to use each of them. And, of course, Thomas also talks about the scenario where you don’t soak the jeans.

IMPORTANT: If you're signed up for the Indigo Invitational, remember that you must NOT soak or wash your jeans before you've submitted your 'raw proof' photos on October 1, 2020. Visit indigoinvitational.com to register and stay up-to-date!

This is the episode last of season 1 of the Denimhunters Podcast. If you’ve listened to any of the previous episodes, you might have noticed that I've implemented a few changes. Let me know what you think of them; any feedback that helps me make you enjoy this podcast more is always welcome!

ATTENTION FUTURE SPONSORS: For season 2, we will be taking on sponsors for the podcast. If you want to get into the heads of your target audience—quite literally—and have YOUR BRAND recommended by someone they know and trust, send us an inquiry at [email protected] and we'll be in touch.

If you know Rudy Budhdeo, you probably know him for his store. That’s where I met him the first time, more than a decade ago when I visited London for the first time—before I’d even started Denimhunters.

But the London-based denimhead not only retails jeans and other essentials for us blue bloods; he also distributes and even helps manufacture it. In fact, Rudy works with the entire value chain of blue jeans. That’s the topic of our talk.

Imagine if you could win prizes worth thousands of dollars just for doing something you surely truly love. I’m talking about fading jeans, of course. Well, in case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard, you can!

All you need is a pair of fresh raw jeans ready to go and register for the year 2 of Indigo Invitational by October 1 (2020).

Co-founder of the year-long fade competition, Bryan Szabo, is the first guest to get a second appearance here on the Denimhunters Podcast.

When Bryan was first on the show in episode 2, we talked about his story, how we got into the denim scene, a bit about ballroom dancing, and, most importantly, how he got the idea to start a fade competition and how it all came about.

That episode came out just a week after year 1 of the competition had ended. Now we’re only two weeks away for the starting line of year 2, so in this episode, Bryan lays out the rules and presents his most compelling argument for why you should register.

Register for the competition here: http://indigoinvitational.com/

Listen to Bryan's first interview here: https://denimhunters.com/bryan-szabo-podcast/

On March 11, the Danish prime minister went on national TV to make an announcement that would change the daily lives of every person in Denmark. In the weeks before and after, similar announcements were made by leaders across the globe. We were in lockdown.

A couple of months later, Alex aka @yorkshire_denimal on Instagram had organised a ‘hang’ in Sheffield to bring together like-minded denim lovers. He’d attended the hangs at Ben Woodhouse’s Clobber Calm store and was picking up the baton as Ben was focusing on other projects.

When COVID-19 made Alex’ plans impossible, he got the idea to a global denim day to bring the community together. This gave Ben the idea to arrange a 24-hour virtual hang. Amanda Barnes had already joined the team when Ben asked for help in a post on Instagram. That’s when I got involved. The first Global Denim Hang took place on May 31, 2020.

Fast forward three months to this week and the second Global Denim Hang is about to happen. Continuing to support this unifying and fun initiative the best I can, I invited Ben on the podcast to give an update on how the second hang will be an improvement over the first and generally just what to expect.

The second hang is scheduled for September 12, starting at noon UK time, with 24 consecutive 1-hour sessions. And the line-up is pretty spectacular! Check out the full programme on the GDH Instagram.

Taking part of this hang will be (a lot) easier compared to the first one. You can still join via Zoom and interact, but you can also watch it on the official YouTube channel or on the Global Denim Hang website. No need to log in our anything.

And don’t forget the auctions for charity that the team is organising alongside it. All money goes straight to Save the Children's global division.

This week, Tilmann Wröbel from Monsieur-T. design studio joins Thomas on the podcast to share his story and his opinions on how COVID-19 is affecting the denim industry, particularly the trade show business.

As Tilmann and Thomas discuss, one of the key reasons people go to trade shows is to meet other people. To create relationships and get new ideas through interactions with others.

Trade shows bring people together. Ideally a lot of people! And that's a big 'no go' for health authorities these days. So most showrunners have gone virtual. But not Munich Fabric Start, Bluezone's parent show that was established in the mid-90s. Renamed 'Fabric Days' for this autumn edition, the show is happening.

Do you know what selvedge is? Rivets? Roping? If you're into raw denim, and you probably are since you're listening to this podcast, you've surely read or heard about terms like these. And chances are you already know what they mean.

In this episode of the Denimhunters Podcast, Thomas discusses 18 common must-know terms from the denim vocabulary. This should be a good place to start if you're new to raw denim (and denim in general). But it's also relevant if you already consider yourself a denimhead but you're looking to brush up on your vocabulary.

The episode is part of the series where we dive into the Denimhunters content archives and our Denim Encyclopedia to discuss some of the essential and most frequently debated topics of raw denim.

You can learn more about the 18 terms (and many more) in the Denim Encyclopedia: https://denimhunters.com/denim-wiki/

In this episode of the podcast, Thomas answers seven of the most frequently asked questions about buying raw denim jeans. The questions and answers are pulled straight from a previously published blog post that he wrote together with Bryan Szabo from the Indigo Invitational, and published on Denimhunters.

The goal of this episode is to help you make a more informed raw denim purchase. And while the questions are most commonly asked when you’re starting out in this scene, the answers (should be) equally relevant whether you’re about to buy your first or your fiftieth pair.

In this episode, Thomas is joined by Palle Stenberg, one of the three owners of Nudie Jeans, to talk about his story and, of course, the story of Nudie Jeans.

We talk about the origins of the brand, about what makes it different from other denim brands; we talk about organic cotton, about repairing jeans, and the brand took raw denim mainstream and beyond.

This episode of the Denimhunters Podcast is the second instalment in my ongoing series where I tackle some of denim’s big questions and discuss the most frequently debated topics.

In a previous episode, I talked about the three key elements of quality jeans: denim, fit and details. In this one, we dive deeper into that second key element, the fit.

In this episode, Thomas talks about the three key elements that all quality raw denim jeans share: Denim that fades well, great fit, and details that're made with attention to detail.

If you want to learn more about everything Thomas talks about in this episode, check out the Denim Encyclopedia on Denimhunters. It has answers to all of the most frequently asked questions about denim and jeans, as well as explanations about how denim and jeans are made.