Happy Birthday, Jean School is 10 today

A joyous occasion to lift the spirit of industry optimists: Jean School celebrates its 10th birthday today. Congratulations to all our students, team and partners for making this extraordinary place a reality - and keeping going through COVID. In fact, Amsterdam has more to celebrate this week. As Kingpins & the Denim Days festival bring the global denim avant garde to ‘Europe’s Denim Capital’ for a week of business and innovation, we have three reasons to party.

As well as a rare moment for self-congratulation (not really part of Dutch culture), we thought it might be a good time for a brief retrospective and update on what’s what. So here’s a mini history of Amsterdam as a denim hub (if you are interested, read my essay on www.denim-days.com).

1995 - 2000 : the birth of an Ecosystem:

Levis Vintage sets up an R&D unit in Amsterdam. Gstar becomes independent and starts its rise to fame as a global jeans brand. Pepe Jeans moves its HQ from London to Amsterdam. The birth of an ambitious denim ecosystem.?

2000 - 2008: the Boom Years:

A string of new denim brands are born or move to Amsterdam, many with a strong high-end or sustainable signature: Evisu, Blue Blood, Kuyichi, Kings of Indigo, Amsterdams Blauw by Scotch & Soda, Butcher of Blue, Karl Lagerfeld. Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger choose Amsterdam as their (European) home base. Denham the Jeanmaker is founded in 2008. All these brands attract the top mills and industry players to Amsterdam. In the words of Karl-Heinz Müller: ‘Everybody is here’. Business is booming.

2008: Something has to change.

Shock: Greenpeace puts denim pollution and exploitation in everybody’s face. Sustainability becomes an unavoidable part of our industry’s dialogue. Key players in Amsterdam’s denim community start to talk about collaboration and change, higher standards and transparency.

After receiving an award from Amsterdam’s mayor for ‘putting Amsterdam on the map as an innovative destination for the global fashion industry’, Mariette and James decide that ‘something has to change’ and agree: ‘why not start in Amsterdam?’.

2010: House of Denim

Following a collaborative strategy session, the House of Denim foundation - a not for profit foundation - is formed, to act on behalf of Amsterdam’s denim community: to connect and inspire denim’s avant garde to collaboratively take the industry towards a brighter blue. The team is formed, builds a network of international kindred spirits. At a breakfast at the Mayor’s residence, Amsterdam’s denim leaders commit to a shared agenda.?

2012: Jean School

In a partnership with local and global industry leaders, ROCvA and House of Denim realise one of the first dreams: the worlds first school for denim. A three-year, state accredited and -funded course to train a bright blue generation of denim developers who understand sustainability and strive for progress.

2014: Kingpins and Denim Days Amsterdam

The next dream is realised: Kingpins chooses Amsterdam as the venue for their European event, connecting Amsterdam’s brands to the international denim community twice a year. Coinciding with the trade event, Denim Days festival is born to connect our business and brands to denim lovers - and vice versa.

2015: Denim City

In a remarkable feat of collaboration (and fund raising), Denim City is realised: a home and innovation campus for the international denim community, Jean School and all its sustainability projects. Complete with a clean laundry, fabric library, workshop, store, classrooms, archive and meeting facilities. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan cuts the ribbon and raises the glass to the international denim community. The opening of denim city completes the fase of ‘realising the dream’: a new school, an innovation campus, events & communities and a lively dialogue about ‘how to lead the industry forward in transition’.

2016-2022: Make it Happen

With ups and downs - COVID being the most notable - we rolled up our sleeves (and selvedges) to realise our shared dreams through hard work, tremendous joy, passion, pride and perseverance. The word sustainability becomes one of the central concepts of our industry, with efforts to reduce emissions, resource usage and improve work standards our key topics of debate, as well as new inspiration, innovation and style. A new generation of bright blue talent leaves Jean School to help put the industry on a cleaner course. Kingpins, Global Denim Awards, Denim Days and a string of other cool events make Amsterdam truly the heart of the global denim industry for two weeks every year, allowing our industry’s brightest lights to collaborate. Clean laundry turns from dream to reality, with many remarkable innovations coming to market. Circularity and digitisation grow from theory to practice, with breakthroughs in engineering and technology offering new opportunities to ‘close the loop’, and the Denim Deal bringing together global partners to build new business models and action throughout the value chain.?

Denim City’s concept of collaboration travels the world; is adopted by a team of Brazilian denim ‘kindred spirits’, and an absolutely staggering 4000 square meter sister facility is opened in Sao Paulo’s garment district Braz: Denim City Sao Paulo. Then COVID locks down the industry and other global crises shake our industry’s very foundations, leading all of us to realise like never before: we will need to collaborate to make progress.

October 2022 : Together towards a brighter blue

12,5 years of collaboration for progress under House of Denim, 10 years of Jean School, 7,5 years of Denim City. To our delight, travel restrictions are lifted for almost all of us so Kingpins has managed to bring the denim family back to Amsterdam for a well-deserved celebration. During COVID, House of Denim has prioritised education, Jean School now being the centre focus of Denim City and most of our collaboration projects. Every day, Denim City is buzzing with the ideas and education of new talent, in a variety of programmes but all focusing on craftsmanship and sustainability.?Industry experts inspire students both as teachers, guest lecturers in master classes or during our vibrant Friday Talks.

For the years ahead, the development of new (online) education and talent development programmes are at the top of our priorities, so that we can share the work, solutions and thinking of our industry’s best, with as many people as possible.

We would like to sincerely thank all of our friends and partners for their continued inspiration, encouragement and (financial) support. Without you, there would be no Denim City, no Denim Days, no Jean School. Please do join our mission to realise the United Nations sustainable development goals through collaboration in the Denim Industry, keep pushing towards a brighter blue!

For now though, enough words. Let’s raise our glasses to what we have achieved: Let’s Dance!