Jean Splicing : No Matter How You Cut It, Color It, Trim It or Put It Together, Denim Always Works

These days, fashion designers have the blues--the denim blues.

Denim, that versatile, all-American fabric, is being painted and stitched, dyed and printed, washed and ripped. Some designers are serving up denim plain; others are lavishing it with lace, tapestries, rhinestones, metal studs--the works.

In spring, denim turned up everywhere, from women’s cocktail suits to babies’ overalls. And judging from the fall collections, denim is showing no signs of fading.

We’re forever in blue jeans.

Americans’ love affair with denim is woven into our heritage. San Francisco overalls manufacturer Levi Strauss’ reinforced heavy blue denim with copper rivets struck gold with miners during the California Gold Rush, and cowboys were at home on the range in dungarees. Today, jeans are the perfect armor on city streets, which have become as wild as any untamed territory of the past.

Emporio Armani at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa has unveiled its new denim line under its Armani Jeans label that includes all of the classics such as jackets, jeans, shirts and parkas for men and women. Off-white and deep navy will join faded blue as the primary denim colors for fall.

Donna Karan also launched a denim collection under her moderately priced DKNY label. DKNY Jeans includes a line of denim essentials in “dirt washed” denim jeans (“the kind your mother kept telling you to wash but you were too busy wearing” goes the company promotion) and bleached natural jeans (“for the fresh appeal of winter white”).

DKNY Jeans’ fall lineup features a tea-length denim dress that snaps down the front--a denim version of the Katharine Hepburn look, says Gioia Bianchi, spokeswoman for DKNY in New York City. There’s also a denim shirt that zips up the front, a short sarong and a collegiate vest with DKNY patches.

“Donna feels denim is seasonless. It’s a modern fabric that hasn’t been utilized to its full potential,” Bianchi says.

Using it, in many cases, means ripping it. DKNY’s most popular look is jeans shredded at the thighs and knees paired with a black stretch lace bodysuit.

“The whole ripped-jeans look is a major trend,” Bianchi says.

Denim silhouettes range from skintight to tent-like proportions. There are denim shorts by Irvine-based Gotcha Sportswear that aren’t merely baggy--”they’re huge,” says Gotcha spokeswoman Lucy Hamilton.

“Go down to Laguna and you’ll see kids playing on the beach in huge shorts,” Hamilton says. “If they have 30-inch waists, they buy 38-inch waist shorts. The shorts go way below the knee, and they’re ultra baggy.”

Gotcha decided to jump on the trend by offering boys and young men huge shorts in denim dyed red, black and green held up by a drawstring waist.

Also hot for young men: dyed denim from Cross Colours in bright colors such as red and green, available at Bullock’s Men’s Store at South Coast Plaza. The actors on “A Different World” wear Cross Colours’ streetwise jeans all the time.

Jakeez’ in Fashion Island in Newport Beach carries denim separates for women that may qualify as works of art. New York artist/designer Christine Schukow treats denim as canvas, painting detailed street scenes on jeans, jackets and shirts.

“You can either wear them or frame them,” says Cynthia Degen, Jakeez’ spokeswoman.

One pair of jeans has paintings of alley cats rummaging through trash cans on the back pockets, complete with miniature candy wrappers, spilled milk and other trash. Customers, eager for one-of-a-kind clothing, snap up new shipments as soon as they hit the floor, Degen says.

“We had one woman from Beverly Hills who saw the collection in the window after we had closed. She stayed at the Four Seasons an extra night to be first in line to buy one of the pieces,” Degen says.

“This is one of the most unique ways of wearing denim.”

Jakeez’ has another denim line by fashion designer Leslie Hamel (Suzanne Somers’ stepdaughter) that also qualifies as pop art to wear. Hamel’s campy jeans come festooned with hearts, daisies, Andy Warhol portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s soup cans. Madonna favors Hamel jeans covered with ‘60s-era peace signs, flowers and slogans.

Other jeans makers let the customer take the lead in expressing themselves through denim.

The Gap uses hot celebrities in its “Individuals of Style” ads to show how denim basics can be tailored to one’s personality. Sharon Stone, star of “Basic Instinct,” treated her classic jeans jacket as a sexy accessory--tearing off the sleeves and wearing it with black fishnet stockings.

GapKids stores offer miniature versions of the denim basics. Boys, girls and even toddlers now can wear cool-looking vests, shirts, jackets and jeans.

Thanks to the BabyGap line, there’s even denim for the smallest member of the family--a hip denim jacket for baby, without the rips.

From Emporio Armani, her black-and-cream tweed jacket ($650), his blue denim parka ($325).