Light washes and lighter shades of indigo have found it difficult to achieve the same level of interest as their darker cousins and have not stood the "being loved for long" test. Things have now changed. We no longer just use bleach to lighten we have many more tricks to create edgy pale hued denim jeans.
The shade starts dark so with chemicals and tints we carve out exciting new lighter shades leaving 3D highs and lows at the seams and focus areas; we use sulphur tints to change the cast of the shade; we heavily wear out areas of interest in the garment as well as ripping and repairing to add dimension; with paler shades we naturally have the impression of wearing an "old friend" so ripping with no repairing even leaving giant holes looks real. All of this is laundry work but the start denim must be substantial enough to withstand the artificial wear and tear as well as be made in 100% indigo shade such that the result is clean, clear, almost pretty.