Fugitive Denim: What’s in them pants?
Believe it or not I actually read the occasional book on real printed paper, just like in the old days. When I came across Rachel Louise Snyder’s recently published Fugitive Demin, and its obnoxiously long sub-title: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade, I knew this was a book for me. I don’t know when it happened (I’m guessing grad school), but the archaic and often impenetrable world of the international clothing trade fascinates me. While given the title, I certainly did not expect a scholarly review of the subject, Snyder’s snarky and irreverant tone throughout caught me a little off-guard. Starting from the obscure cotton fields of Azerbaijan Snyder takes the reader through the strangely convoluted journey of pant production across the globe. Despite some early stumbles on the difference between thread and yarn, and a foggy explanation of the quota system, Snyder paints a deeply personal portrait of a handful of characters involved in your pants from Italian fabric designers to Cambodian factory workers. At the core of Fugitive Denim, Snyder attempts to break-down and examine some of the many complex issues affecting the international garment industry, specifically unpacking the traditional causes of social and environmental problems associated with apparel manufacturing. While far from a corporate apologist, Snyder does not take the easy road of blind criticism and finger-pointing at industry giants like Gap or Wal-mart.Instead she does an excellent job of simplifying many of the complex factors involved such as international trade policy, fierce retail competition, and long political agendas. Fugitive Denim can be at times mildly annoying in its informality, but does provide a service in making an often dry and overlooked topic significantly more accessible to the general pants-wearing public.
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