Nîmes, a charming city located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Cévennes mountains, is often overshadowed by its more famous neighbors, Avignon and Arles. It has a unique place in textile history as the birthplace of “serge de Nîmes,” a tough cotton fabric that eventually became known as denim.
The Museum of Old Nîmes, located near the city’s cathedral, showcases this fabric’s origins, which date back to the 17th century. Originally, French weavers were trying to replicate a durable cotton fabric from Genoa, Italy, but they ended up creating a stronger, more resilient material.
In the late 1800s, Levi Strauss, an importer from Germany, brought “serge de Nîmes” to America. Tailor Jacob Davis, in Nevada, used it to create the first pair of reinforced trousers, adding rivets to the pockets for durability. These trousers, designed for laborers, became hugely popular, and Davis is credited as the inventor of blue jeans.
The museum traces the evolution of denim, from its early designs to its modern-day mass production, highlighting its global ubiquity in wardrobes everywhere.
