Author(s): Viktor Rickard + Fredback Eklund

Fashion & Textiles

They came from the most miserable and dangerous working environments to conquer the most famous catwalks in the world – advancing from functional and rustic work clothes to the hi-fashion status symbols worn today. The book, True Fit – A Collected History of Denim, is the story of jeans’ genesis and evolution. We are present at the birth of the garment in the mid-1870s and follow its evolution a hundred years forward in time. The account of the history of jeans also reveals that the garment makes up an integral part of American heritage. Viktor Fredbäck is a Swedish denim collector who travels to old silver mines in the Nevada desert in hopes of digging up historic jeans from the 1800’s. This is the story of his passion and how each garment fits into his great historical puzzle. Through this book, he shows for the first time his unique collection. Never before have vintage jeans been shown in this way. Using contemporary pictures of models in settings typical of the garments’ epochs, they live again. We also follow a series of exciting life-stories that accompany the garments through the decades. We meet the miner, the contractor, the rodeo clown, the sailor and many others who lend their voice and story to their own part of the garment’s multifaceted history.