Denim is a twill constructed cotton fabric woven with a dyed warp and white filling threads. It comes from the phrase Serge de Nimes or serge from Nimes, a city in France that first reproduced this textile. Denim has been around for so many years, but it only became popular when the fabric was reinforced with rivets into sturdy work wear. Businessman Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis were behind this innovation.
In 1873, Strauss and Davis got the patent for the jeans we know today. The patent was then called Improvement for Fastening Pocket-Openings, a straightforward way to name Davis’s design.