Ripped Denim: fashion trend 2009, 2010

Ripped denim hasn't really been big since the grunge days of the 90s... so it may come as a surprise that it is back as a fashion trend for women in Spring-Summer 2008. Kate Moss wore ripped denim shorts in a shoot for April 2008's Vogue Paris, and then we spotted these shots of Gisele Bundchen on set with Mario Testino in a rather revealing torn denim outfit.

On the runways, Christopher Kane's Spring/Summer 2008 collection brought faded and torn skinny jeans back onto the agenda. Maison Martin Margiela's collection was also littered with shredded up denim pieces (below, right) that took ripped denim to the extreme.

From jeans to skirts to shorts, torn denim is also being embraced by certain members of the celebrity world, including Lily Allen and Lindsay Lohan, below.

So how does the 2008 take on ripped jeans differ from its past incarnations? The short answer is, it doesn't really. Well not much anyway - it's more about how it's worn than the pieces themselves. Unlike from the rebellious heavy metal torn denim of the 80s, or the loose grungy jeans of the 90s, the 08-09 ripped denim trend is all about being sexy and revealing. So will you be wearing ripped denim this year?

How to Rip Your Own Jeans

Acquiring an awesome pair of ripped jeans can be expensive - unless you know how to make them yourself. It may require a little patience, but it's quite simple:

1. Do some research. Look online and in fashion magazines for the best-looking rips. Most jean companies seem to place them in areas that you wouldn't naturally tear.
2. Decide upon the jeans. Use old or new. Try jeans from a thrift shop for practice.
3. Decide upon the size of the rip. It may enlarge each time you wash your jeans.
4. Decide upon the shape of the rip. You may wish to extend a rip in several different directions.
5. Decide which techniques to use. You may wish to let the fabric become thin on its own. A few techniques, to begin the process, may be all that's needed.
6. Gather your jeans, coarse sandpaper, pumice stone, wood file, grater, utility knife, scissors and a small, flat block of wood.
7. Draw a cutting line or pattern on your jeans with a pencil.
8. Place a block of wood "inside" the pant leg beneath the area.
9. Rub and scrape the fabric in several different directions. Use sandpaper, a pumice stone, wood file and grater. These will fray the fabric.
10. Loosen fibers by scraping with the blade of a utility knife.
11. Using the scissors, cut a hole through the loosened fibers.
12. Retain all of the loose fibers. They will progressively fray each time you wash your jeans. Use a dryer for fluffier fray.
13. Wear colored nylons or stockings beneath your ripped jeans.

Tips
For exact rips, use a sewing needle to pull out individual stitches from the fabric.
Use scissors to increase fraying. Cut small snips into the edges of the rip.
Add stitching along the edges of a rip to keep it from fraying or ripping more.
Repair a rip with a colorful fabric patch.
Be more active. Sooner or later, your jeans will rip on their own.

Warnings
Use caution with sharp tools.

Things You'll Need
Jeans
Coarse sandpaper
Pumice stone
Wood file
Grater
Utility knife
Scissors
Small, flat block of wood

Ripped off!!

What are your thoughts?

Here are some off the Runway......

And of course the Celebs....

Not to sure about the big gapping holes!?