It really does. Indigo is made from the indigo tree. I can’t tell you much more than that but considering how denim has conquered the world, I think it’s kind of wonderful.
I went to this workshop in El Salvador. Perhaps more about that trip another time.
Denim jeans are very popular here in Colombia. And the tighter; the better (which makes me imagine that “jeggings” or “pajama jeans” must be popular here?)
Every time I see jeans, in all their glorious stone-washed, faded, painted, ripped, be-jeweled, and stretchiness, I think about when I visited a jeans factory in Bangladesh. There, I saw jeans in the thousands being processed for the textile market. There were work stations where sand paper was used on designated “worn” locations, other rooms with rows upon rows of workers spray painting jeans, or gluing bedazzle applique in rhinestone designs. In other rooms, razors were used to rip slashes, and stretch jeans were pre-stretched on balloon machines. In one room, jeans were wrinkled and pegged before traveling on a clothes line through a curing oven.
All for export. Because, denim, and stretch, was fairly uncommon on the local market in Bangladesh. Maybe it was all headed to Bogota?
As I explore Bogota, I’ve noticed an incredible number of “camiseta” shops. Oddly, I don’t notice an equal number of “pantalones” shops. I guess, if one has a clean new shirt, then one can conquer the world?