Amanda Barnes: Denim Hang is a global celebration of our community
Amanda Barnes, a co-founder of the Global Denim Hang with Clobbercalm’s Ben Woodhouse, tells us how the event showed the generosity, spirit and creativity of the denim community, and expresses her thoughts on how 2020 must be a wake-up call to those companies using greenwashing to entice customers into fast-fashion purchases.
What was the inspiration behind the Global Denim Hang, and how did it go?
The Global Denim Hang was inspired by a local denim hang meet up, arranged by our fellow denim friend Alex, that had to be cancelled due to coronavirus lockdown. From this an idea began to form that grew into a global-scale gathering to be held online. We wanted to create a day for all, something we would enjoy taking part in and watching and inclusive for everyone throughout the denim community: an opportunity to join together virtually for a 24hr denim festival: 24 hours, 24 speaker slots, free and live on Zoom.
For the first hang we set a date and the challenge was on… with limited technical skills, no budget and wanting to keep it free we did the only thing we could do: reached out to our denim community and were not disappointed. So many jumped on board and we were thrilled with the final line up. ?We are now on our second hang we are so grateful for the support that have we have received and very thankful to all the speakers that have agreed to be involved giving their time to share their experiences and knowledge with the denim community.
What were your highlights?
There were so many highlights from the day. Bahzad from Naked & Famous shared some great stories, Samurai Jeans showed us around their store in Japan, makers from Viapiana and Encampment Co gave us a look behind the scenes of running their brands, TBC finished making a pair of jeans live, Amy from Denim Dudes spoke about the post-covid consumer, there was retail, brand and podcast chat and even denim bingo. The main highlight was the amazing community that tuned in, with a special shout out to a couple of denim fans calling themselves ‘The Swedes’ who enjoyed most of the day with us on Zoom.
How do you choose the speakers?
The denim community is made up of so many brilliant and talented people so we always have a long wish list of potential guests at the planning stage that we think would be interesting to us and the audience. Many speakers become involved through reaching out to us or recommendations that we might not know of, which is what the event is all about - connecting with the wider community and hopefully giving a platform and celebrating people doing great things.
Can you tell us about the charity raffle?
The whole event is volunteer-based so all speakers and organisers give their time and expertise for free and the event is free to watch so we thought why not use this opportunity to raise money for people less fortunate. Having looked at many charities, Save the Children seemed to resonate the most and can really make a difference globally. Once Ben put the word out that we were looking for donations to raffle off for charity we were inundated with brands that wanted to help and support. We even had a collaboration bandana produced by Akka especially to be given away as prizes for the raffle. We are so grateful to all who supported by donating and those who bought tickets, we were able to raise over £2,500 which will make a massive difference in a lot of children’s lives.
What are your plans for the hang?
Having learnt a lot from the most recent hang we are aiming to keep improving and expanding. There are many plans that we are going to take time develop and we are always keen to hear from the community if they have ideas or would like to get involved as we want to keep it an online festival made by denim people for all people. While we work on the next hang, Ben has been working hard on our 'Global Denim Hang Gold’ YouTube channel with a series of chats with various members of the denim community, which we will be releasing regularly.
Having learnt a lot from the most recent hang we are aiming to keep improving and expanding. There are many plans that we are going to take time develop and we are always keen to hear from the community if they have ideas or would like to get involved as we want to keep it an online festival made by denim people for all people. While we work on the next hang, Ben has been working hard on our 'Global Denim Hang Gold’ YouTube channel with a series of chats with various members of the denim community, which we will be releasing regularly.?
What are your feelings about how the industry has changed over 2020, and what are your hopes going forward?
The industry has had to adapt. Companies are running on smaller teams with people working from home, which may continue permanently, and this has made working online a priority, forcing businesses to look at ways to future-proof by using technology that has been around for a while but not fully adopted such as 3D design and fitting, seasonless products and online communication.
Brands are having to look more deeply and adapt to their customers’ wants, needs and aspirations and how these have changed in 2020. Having had time to pause, think and reflect, the demand for products to ‘cause no harm’ has definitely risen with an increased use of recycled and hemp products.
The public are joining the call to demand companies to pay up on factory orders for goods unpaid during the pandemic, which shows there is a shift in consumer mentality and that transparency is needed. There are still, however, many companies that have continued to push forward with the old norm with many still creating high volumes of quick-turn fashion items and using greenwashing to entice consumers. Without transparency and clear guidelines for customers, especially in uncertain times, it’s not easy to know who to trust.
With more interest in vintage, pre-worn and reworked garments reducing the amount of new garments being bought and needed, designers will need to be more considerate and thoughtful with how they design for the future, using either circular model principles or creating long-lasting items that can be repaired and become the next generation’s investment vintage pieces.
The Global Denim Hang took place on 12 and 13 September, 2020, via Zoom, YouTube and GDH’s website. It featured a 24-hour line-up of speakers and included a raffle with a multitude of prizes donated by the denim community to raise money for Save the Children. A recording of the event will be available on Global Denim Hang’s YouTube channel and website www.globaldenimhang.com.
Amanda Barnes is a denim designer and consultant based in Manchester. She has worked within the commercial denim industry for over 10 years. She describes herself as an “appreciator of all things denim with a keen interest in the culture and community that surrounds denim and its processes”. She is passionate about sustainability and has a love for making, reworking and creating.
