Spring-Summer 26 Denim Preview: Aged to Perfection The - Spring-Summer 26 - Denim - Denim Première Vision
With its workwear roots, denim serves as a true marker of the effects of wear and time on fabric, manifested in the iconic fading of its indigo blue. For the Spring-Summer 2026 season, the worn aesthetic plays out in two directions, with a variety of creative reinterpretations of ageing effects and a greater emphasis on recycled denim options.
Aged to Perfection
Since denim moved beyond its workwear origins to assert itself as a fashion staple,
these signs of wear have been embraced as distinctive visual elements. This season, weathered aspects dominate surfaces once again, displaying enhanced sophistication and an array of new treatments.
Color layering effects — created with underlayers, coatings, or gradual exposures — are combined with surfaces marked by erosion and intentional wear, while techniques like resist-dyeing, pleating, and stenciling are used to create contrasting color-effects. Worn effects play out in the form of abrasions, discolorations, oxidations, and tears.
Eco Focus: Recycled Fibers
The rising popularity of second-hand fashion and the growing focus on fabrics derived from recycled materials are also influencing new approaches to the worn aesthetic that blend traces of time with sustainable innovation.
Among the exhibitors at Première Vision Denim we find fabrics made with mechanically-recycled cotton sourced from pre-consumer (Pre-Industrial Waste) or post-consumer (Post-Consumer Waste) fibers, a method that enables the use of up to 40% recycled cotton, while still requiring a blend with virgin fibers to ensure optimal yarn quality.
Linen, another natural fiber, also plays a leading role, notably Smart Linen from The Flax Company, which is mechanically recycled from pre-consumer waste and certified GRS.
Driven by the ambition to increase recycled fiber content to 100%, chemically recycled cellulosic fibers, such as viscose and lyocell, are also increasingly popular as fabrics suitable for the soft, fluid and voluminous silhouettes of Spring-Summer 2026.
These new circular fabrics have prompted a rethinking of the entire garment-design process, factoring in a product’s end-of-life from the design stage.
Join us in Milan on 4 and 5 December 2024 to discover all the denim trends and innovations of the season at the Denim Première Vision Forum
And don’t miss the Denim Seminar SS 26! A seminar presenting the key highlights and creative directions for the season, along with advancements in technology, fibres, yarns, and sustainable development in the jeanswear sector. A detailed and comprehensive presentation, created by our expert teams.
30-minute talk in English with Julieta Mercerat, December 4th at 11am, and the 5th at 2pm.
