Day three of our trip to Amsterdam: We visited the Jean School! This is where a group of 45 students are learning every aspect of the business, from cutting and sewing, to washing and retail. We got to meet a handful of the guys attending the three-year program, a division of the Regional Community College of Amsterdam, and who love denim as much as you can imagine. These are the designers of the future, the people who will probably be responsible for some of the industry’s best-looking jeans some day. And – sorry we have to say it – in their own selvedge (much of it self-made) these promising students and their wares were pretty easy on the eyes, adorable even! Check out Mike van der Zanden and his line of selvedge denim and leather bags, Dyemond Goods, and Jazz Aughton (@mraughton on Instagram), who calls himself the dynamic denim developer of his new venture, Jazz Jeans. But all cuteness aside…
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…they are serious about jeans and they’re part of something really unique. Currently, the Jean School is the only college like it in the world. Pretty crazy when you think about how important jeans are to the fashion industry (are you reading this, Parsons? S.C.A.D.?). The program opened its doors in fall 2012, as part of House of Denim, an initiative founded by two major players in Amsterdam fashion, Mariette Hoitink (founder of the HTNK fashion recruitment agency) and James Veenhoff (former director of Amsterdam International Fashion Week) to serve as a platform for innovation and craftsmanship in the denim industry. The goal here at the Jean School is to not only provide Amsterdam’s denim companies with highly trained jean experts, but to have them move the industry in a greener direction, with more sustainable production and washing methods. Their motto? “Towards a brighter blue.” They certainly brightened our day.
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To learn more about House of Denim and the Jean School visit houseofdenim.org.
