Soaring tariffs on imported jeans. The steady decline of U.S. apparel manufacturing. Consumers’ renewed appreciation for craftsmanship and heritage. A growing desire to express patriotism. Together, these forces propelled denim and its American roots into the spotlight in 2025.
Buzz surrounding heritage denim—be it collected, auctioned or made anew by denim heads— swelled as more consumers discovered the fabric’s American lineage. Vintage festival organizers and retailers are helping bring selvedge and raw denim into the mainstream, while a passionate global community of collectors continues to snap up rare and historic pieces for their private archives. Some enthusiasts are launching their own heritage-inspired denim labels; others are meticulously documenting museum-worthy garments and moments in denim history.
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So when Vidalia Mills in Louisiana shut its doors earlier this year—a move few in the industry found surprising—the conversation quickly shifted to the fate of its 45 historic Draper X3 shuttle looms, a subject that captured widespread intrigue. All eyes are on Mount Vernon now to keep the story alive.
Look back at the stories that flung heritage denim back into the zeitgeist.
Denim Collectors are Scooping Up Rare Jeans at Auction
Collectors have long coveted certain fashion items such as Hermès Birkin bags or Nike Air Jordan shoes, but in more recent years, vintage jeans have become just as valuable if not more so than luxury pieces at auction. From celebrity connections to denim’s innate storytelling ability, find out what’s fueling the demand for rare denim pieces. Read more.
From Denimhunter to Denim Maker: Thomas Stege Bojer Launches Weirloom
Thomas Stege Bojer, the founder of the men’s wear and denim blog, Denimhunters, is putting his denim knowledge to the ultimate test with his own brand of jeans. In April, the Denmark-based denim consultant and author launched Weirloom, an online-first brand specializing in small batch, made in Europe jeans. Read more about the denim head’s foray into design. Read more.
Mount Vernon Mills’ Plan to Revive American Selvedge Denim
In October, U.S. textile manufacturer Mount Vernon announced it has entered a strategic partnership with KaKa Cotton, LLC to acquire and relocate 45 Draper X3 shuttle looms and 45 Picanol President shuttle looms to its Georgia production site to further expand its selvedge denim weaving capacity. “We want to keep them here forever and we have a good agreement that will also make it economically viable for the customers,” said Bill Rogers, Mount Vernon Mills president. SJ Denim caught up with Rogers to learn about the mill’s ambitions. Read more.
Time Capsules: Meet the Vintage Shop Owners Preserving American Fashion
In a fashion world increasingly dominated by fast trends and fleeting styles, vintage curators are pushing back—championing quality, history, and individuality. Across the U.S., a growing number of boutique owners and collectors are redefining what it means to dress with intention—one worn-in T-shirt, selvedge jean, and chainstitched jacket at a time.
From New York’s East Village to Seattle’s oldest neighborhood and New Orleans’ eclectic Bywater community, meet the vintage retailers aren’t just selling clothes—they’re preserving culture, telling stories, and encouraging consumers to slow down and value garments that were made to last. Read more.
Loom Lore: New Book Documents White Oak’s Final Days
“American Denim: The Supposed Final Days and Resurgence of a Manufacturing Icon” aims to preserve the legacy of Greensboro, N.C. White Oak, its employees, and a unique time in the history of American textiles. Photographed by Matt Sharkey, the 224-page hardback from Schiffer Publishing tells the final chapter of the plant’s story through 200 color photos curated into three parts: White Oak’s final days of operation, its closure, and its revival making selvedge denim again under the care of the White Oak Legacy Foundation and Proximity Manufacturing Company. Read more about Sharkey’s experience at the plant.
From Blacksmith to Denim Designer: How Iron Shop Provisions Is Reviving Heritage Workwear Style
It was 2010 and denim head culture was thriving across social media apps like Instagram. Josh Guillory’s “went down that rabbit hole” and began following and searching denim-related hashtags, learning about shrink-to-fit denim, the history of Japanese denim and which brands were leading the heritage revival.
By 2018, the front showroom of his Lake Charles, La. welding workshop was Iron Shop Provisions, a curated selection of niche men’s denim, tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories—many from brands limited distribution in the U.S. like Freenote Cloth, Indigofera, Japan Blue and Iron Heart, which continues to be a bestseller. Read more.
How Vintage Fashion Festivals Reveal Today’s Consumer Mindset
Once a niche pursuit for collectors and creative outliers, vintage fashion has exploded into the mainstream—driven by new festivals and markets that showcase secondhand style and promote sustainable consumption.
“Vintage used to be this very eclectic, off-the-beaten-path interest like folk art and craft. And now we’re seeing young bro types who would have been into sneakers five or 10 years ago now getting into vintage,” said Abe Lange, founder of Distressed Fest.
Find out how events like Distressed Fest, Manhattan Vintage, Time Travelers Vintage Expo, Pensacola Vintage Collective and Threadbare are tapping into this thirsty market. Read more.
A Tombstone In Tokyo
Mohsin Sajid, a U.K.-based denim designer, lecturer, historian and publisher, recounts his meeting with the Tombstone, a duck canvas pant that many believe to be the oldest found garment by Levi’s. His brief encounter with the rare piece stirred up more questions than answers. Read more.
Imogene + Willie Bows ‘Made in USA’ Natural Indigo Jeans
Through the Cotton Project, Imogene + Willie aims to reignite growing, processing and manufacturing cotton onshore in the Southeast U.S. Starting with cotton tees and expanding to denim, the brand released its first collection of jeans in June, made with single-origin sources within a 400-mile radius of the brand’s Nashville headquarters.
The regeneratively-farmed cotton comes from Martin Farms in Courtland, Ala.; the natural indigo is from Stony Creek Colors, a regenerative farm that grows plant-based dyes including natural indigo in Springfield, Tenn. Mount Vernon Mills in Trion, Ga., the largest denim manufacturer and the only remaining rope dye range in the U.S., produced the fabric. Read more.
Greensboro’s Denim Tradition Lives on Through Proximity Manufacturing Company
Two Draper X3 looms are still chattering in Greensboro, N.C. Since 2021, Proximity Manufacturing Company has produced limited runs of selvedge denim made on a pair of White Oak’s historic looms inside what was once the plant’s archive room.
Proximity is the for-profit textile manufacturing subsidiary of the White Oak Legacy Foundation (WOLF), a non-profit organization with the mission to preserve the city’s history and heritage of denim and jean manufacturing. Established in 2020, two years after White Oak shut down, the foundation serves as a steward of history and an educational resource for denim professionals. SJ Denim caught up with Evan Morrison, the operations manager of Proximity Mfg., about the brand’s mission. Read more.