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BOOK OF DENIM VOLUME 2 PREVIEW With the recent launch of Denim: Street Style, Vintage, Obsession by Amy Leverton and with Book of Denim Vol. 2 due out in June, 2018 looks like a great year for denim books. Denim Digest met up Book of Denim’s founder and creative director Peter van Rhoon for a quick update on all things indigo. You launched the first Book of Denim in 2016. What’s different for Volume 2? In the preface of Volume 1, one of the observations I shared was: “The soul of anything is to be found at the heart of the body. And at the heart of denim are the manufacturers. The craftspeople. The scientists. Those who invent and innovate, but hardly ever find the limelight. Those who sow, weave, wash, dye and destroy.” I still think that’s true, but for the second volume we wanted to put more focus on designers – behind-the-scenes people working at brands – and also bring in some directional stories. Why is there only one Book of Denim every two years? We’re aiming to make something special and lasting. Every story is done exclusively for this book and some of these take months of research and preparation. And most of the longer features take up to a week to photograph – if not longer. It’s a slow way of working but we want to get it all just right.
Image courtesy of Danny North
The first Book seemed focused on men’s denim. Will things be more balanced in the second edition? I’m afraid not. It’s clear there would be no denim industry without great female brand owners, designers, buyers, developers, etcetera. But since we also intend to tell a story about style, we choose to focus on men’s denim. Amy did a great job with her book on denim dudettes. And I truly hope in the near future, we will do a publication on the most exciting contemporary women’s denim. Check bookofdenim.com for the special pre-order offer.