Competitions have existed since the beginning of time. Denim competitions haven’t existed quite as long, but they’ve been around for a while. For our purposes, I’ll discuss raw denim competitions. If you’ve never encountered the concept before, a raw denim competition (a.k.a. “denim comp”) is

A contest between two or more people wearing a new pair of raw denim over an agreed-upon period of time with a winner being chosen at the end.

There are plenty of variations to the competition, but that’s the simplest form. They emerged through people wanting to share in their enjoyment of denim and a competitive spirit. For those interested, here are some variations too:

• One brand, one style/cut: To compare and contrast how the same denim wears differently for each person.
• One brand, any style/cut: To compare and contrast the spectrum of wear exists within a brand.
• Any brand, any style/cut: To compare and contrast the wear of different brands, styles and cuts.

All of them are exciting in their own ways. It’s fun to be an observer, but it’s even more fun being a participant. For the participant, it’s great to meet and compete against other denimheads in your community or around the world. By participating and documenting your journey, you also get to contribute your experience and knowledge to the denim community.

Competitions are typically done online because it reaches a wider audience, but my hope is to have more local competitions going on (you’ll see what I mean later below). Introductions aside, here are our top 3 denim competitions from around the world (part 1 of 2).

1. Warehouse & Blue in Green 660 Worldwide

• Description: Hosted online by Blue in Green in 2008/2009 with an exclusive denim to Blue in Green for the competition.
• Host: Blue in Green
• Denim: Warehouse Jeans – 660 Blue in Green / 1000XX Denim – a modified pair of Dubbleworks 660 using 100% Memphis USA Cotton weighing in at 14 oz.
• Duration: 1 Year – March 2, 2008 to March 2, 2009
• Winner: Name unknown
• More Info: Fade Friday – Warehouse x Blue In Green x SuFu 660 Contest

BEFORE

AFTER

2. Roy x Cone Contest

• Description: A competition to celebrate two denim powerhouses, CONE and ROY, that was unique in term of the denim used –  a completely new, custom design ROY jean with K87211, a one-off denim exclusively produced by CONE for this contest. Boasting 30 extremely dedicated participants, this is one very exciting contest to track. If you have time, you would have fun flipping through all 577 pages of this thread (photos start to emerge at page #127).
• Host: Paul T from SuperFuture
• Denim: CONE denim K87211, a vintage-style fabric but in a heavier weight – 14 oz. after washing – with a Black Seed (Pima/Sea Island/ G.Barbadense) cotton fill. Completely loom-state – no singeing, extra starch or sizing or skewing – and pure indigo-dyed.
• Duration: 1 year – January 1, 2011 to January 2, 2012
• Winner: Ongoing – to be determined
• More Info: SuperFuture Thread

BEFORE

CURRENT (notable)

3. Dry vs. Dry 2011

• Description: Open to all denim lovers everywhere in the world who have beautifully aged raw denim. Any brand, any age and any amount of washes.
• Host: Hall of Fade
• Denim: Any
• Duration: Ended on September 1, 2011
• Winners: MartinC for Self Edge, ProfessorOak for Cultizm and Saintkeat for Pronto
• More Info: Hall of Fade

BEFORE – Iron Heart IH634SR

AFTER – Winner for Self Edge, MartinC

BEFORE – A.P.C. x Supreme Petite Standards

AFTER – Winner for Cultizm, Dan/ProfessorOak Saintkeat

BEFORE – Strike Gold SG1105

AFTER – Winner from Pronto, Saintkeat ProfessorOak

Enjoy the jeans and stay tuned for more competitions next week in Part 2 of the Denim Competitions.

Stay raw!

– Josh
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