Accepting Jeans A Search for the Understanding Of Jeans as Cultural Heritage

Abstract

This essay will determine through a qualitative study if jeans are understood as cultural heritage. The study will include a search of a selection of web sites managed by denim companies in USA and Sweden in addition there will also be two interviews with the owners of two smaller jeans retailers. The search is going to generate information about how the companies use their history and heritage on their web sites by comparing their written statements to six keywords that I interpret as included in UNESCO’s definition of heritage. To highlight my findings from the web sites I will also conduct two interviews one with Tellason, a company situated in California and one with Indigofera whom have their headquarters in Stockholm. These will create a personal input on their take on heritage and generate material for discussion. Through this essay I will only be studying jeans and no other denim apparel as the reason is to find if jeans are understood as heritage. There will be a detailed account for the history of jeans up to the 1960’s in the USA and Sweden as this will create an understanding on where the heritage first began, why and how. From the first pair of working denim riveted trousers to today’s fashion where innovative techniques have been used to mimic the past in present times. The questions that will be answered are if jeans be understood as cultural heritage and how jeans are linked to a historical and cultural perspective in respect to the companies. To answer these questions the empirical material and theories will be used in the final discussion and by doing so a conclusion has been made. Today there is an understanding in to the heritage of jeans used by the companies, more so in the USA than in Sweden. This is worth building on for a future essay with further research to include the jeans wearers and their understanding of cultural heritage in jeans.Bachelor’s programme in Leadership and Handicraft Graduating thesis 15 hp Department of Conservation University of Gothenburg 2015:3