As I mentioned in my previous post, we are starting a new feature whereby various enquiries to buy denim fabrics and garments across the web shall be compiled and posted for the benefit of our readers. This post is the first in that series.You will find two headers below – one is for ‘Buyer Enquiries for Denim Jeans’ and second one is for ‘Buyer Enquiries for Fabrics’ and they respectively show links to the enquiries alongwith some details (as mentioned on respective sites).
Disclaimer: These enquiries are posted on other sites and on which Denimsandjeans.com have no control. The enquiries are just reproduced here for the benefit of the visitors . Denimsandjeans.com shall not be in any way responsible for these enquiries.
I am happy to announce that we are starting some new weekly reports which shall be made regularly so that you get updated information on Denim Topics every week. The details are as below:
Report on buyers of Denim Fabric and Jeans– This weekly report shall be providing list of some new buyer requirements for Denim Fabrics and Jeans across various places on the web. Our members can then visit the related links to see if they are of interest to them to pursue.
Report on New Denim Collections – This report shall provide a summary of new Denim Collections witnessed across the world .Keep yourselves in with the trend.
Denim Videos – Videos are an important source of information and getting to see the latest videos related to denim is an easy way to keep oneself updated on denim trends. This report shall enable you to do the same.
Weekly detailed denim report on production, consumption , export and import of Denim . This report I am not very sure we will be able to provide every week, but that shall be the endeavour.
I am just putting up this post so that our readers may not be surprised due to the sudden jump in posts. Hope you like the reports. I would really like to have your comments on the same once you receive them so that we can improve them further.
The premium line from Diesel – The Diesel Black Gold – seems to have inspired from the Great Depression era of the early 20s .
In men’s wear, the collection included impoverished looking men with their wrinkled and mended suits .Wilbert Das ,however, said that one of his influences for this FW09 collection was a return to the origins of jazz.
The denim had basically more of black patches or smoky grey effects and some of them were baggies. Are the grey and the black more suitable colors for the economically challenged periods ? Maybe.. But we have been hearing of smoked blackish denim coming back for a long time but haven’t yet seen it make an impact .
Just released ‘The Denim Book‘ by Lightning is a great read with the who’s who of Japanese denim industry being profiled. This book follows in the series of journals that started with The Boots Book a few months ago.Over 70 Japanese denim brands, retailers and managers are interviewed ,giving a great insight into how the Japanese Denim Industry works.
Here are some photographs of the book :
This trend started late last year when some celebrities like Katie Holmes started to put on the jeans of their boyfriend (Tom Cruise). Others like Victoria Beckham were not to be left behind and followed up by wearing the jeans of their own boyfriends/hubbies.
The trend does not necessarily mean that girls should wear the jeans of their boyfriends . But the jeans have some characteristics which set them apart from other jeans like Skinny,Wide legged etc.
1. The jeans are loose and baggy – but not ill fitting.
2.They are ususally distressed but not necessarily so.
3.They are rolled up at the helms so that the feet are visible .
4.Usually worn with fancy high heeled sandals .
5. The jeans are usually worn by young girls.
Here are photographs of some celebrities wearing Boyfriend Jeans:
X large of Japan and Levi’s have colloborated to bring out a Spring/Summer 2009 collection of Jeans. It will be released on 28th Feb 2009. It is basically based on Levi’s yellow stitch 502 denim and has the crotch a little lower.
Striped print has been added on front and back pockets and contrasts with the raw dark indigo denim – a little too much .
We all remember the Acid Washed jeans from the 80s ( the older ones among us !) . We remember the craze that followed the jeans as well the total withdrawal of the trend.
It seems that acid washed jeans in surfacing on the lower half of a number of celebrities signalling the that the trend may catch up this year.
Here are some photographs of some celebrities Like Ashley Tisdale, Rihanna wearing acid washed jeans/jackets.
Also check out this short video following the trend of Acid washed denim.
In last couple of years Evisu seemed to have been losing some reputation among international denim buyers because of too many flashy artifacts on the back pockets and for lacking subtelity. However, there is still lot of love among its dedicated consumers in Japan and Evisu seems determined to get much more of international attention and customers with its new heritage releases. Also it has to be remembered that Evisu is still one the best producers of Selvedge denim in the world.
Evisu is releasing a set of 5 Heritage Denims for Spring and Fall 2009 . Each of them stays true to the traditional Japanese denim dyeing methods . The set includes both green cast and Red Cast denim.
NO.1 SPECIAL
No1Special is unsanforized japanese selvage denim woven by Kaihara Corps Ltd. Unsanforized denim is the most authentic cloth, as used on the very earliest jeans. It has a slightly hairy surface and the warp and weft yarns are quite loose. When washed for the first time, the denim will shrink because it is not sanforized. Another effect would be that the legs would skew. Though highly undesirable to many users, skewing is a sign of Vintage Jeans (remember they did not have sanforizing facilities in the 19th century. The process was invented in 1933 by Sanford Cluett). Buyer has to hot soak the jeans before wearing and they will get to the size he is looking for .
NO. 2
This denim is identical to No1Special, but sanforized – which means that the jeans will not shrink unduly and will hardly have any hair on the surface.Woven in Osaka Japan on half-width shuttle looms with signature pink selvage. No2 is a mid-to heavy-weight 13.7 oz denim and has a deep blue tone with a very slight red cast. NO. 3
No3 is the original famous Evisu Heritage selvage denim, previously known as D85. It is rope dyed with indigo to an extremely deep blue, almost black tone. No3 can be recognized by the unusual ‘rising’ sun red and white selvage NO. 4
No4 is something different developed for the Evisu Heritage Spring 2009 collection. The denim is woven from open-end yarn, as against Ring spun traditionally used by Evisu. Open-end yarn denim has a smoother, flatter surface than ring-spun denim. Like all Evisu Heritage denim, No.4 is woven on half-width shuttle looms. NO13
And if you are looking for softer denim, then No13Left is the one to go for because of its Left hand twill weave . It is a close reproduction of the early denim used by Lee from the 1910s onwards. Left hand twill denim has a twill direction opposite to the right hand twill and is softer because the direction of the fibres aligns with the direction of the twill. No13Left is green caste indigo, and has mismatched selvage: one side is plain white, and the other side has a single warp thread of indigo woven into it, staying true to the specifications of the original Lee version.
A report by CottonInc brings out the latest facts and trends in the jeans consumption in the US. It corroborates our previous report that the consumption and imports of Jeans in the US in 2008 was about 5% more than that in 2007.
Here are some interesting facts from the report:
a) US consumers:Own about 15 denim garments each on an average.
Out of these are 7 pairs of jeans.
Of all apparel purchased , denim formed 17% ( remember ,denim is the highest selling
clothing item in the world.
Are buying more of denim especially now since denim is more value for money.
b)Brand loyalty: Brand loyalty is quite high across genders,income levels and age groups.
73% of the consumers preferred to buy the same brand of jeans they owned.
64% of men and 45% of women preferred the same brand of jeans for 6 years.
What is interesting to note is that brand loyalty has been generated due to product
features rather than brand name. 66% consumers listed fit as the most important factor
for buying a jeans rather than its name (1%)
c)Price sensitivity:Price senstivity is going to increase in the year 2009. Though only 9% respondents
mentioned price as the reason to buy a brand, over 26% mention price will be the most
imp factor in the next purchase. With the economy slowing down, we should not be
surprised if this figure increases further.
Average price that a consumers were willing to pay for a good fitting jeans fell down from
$36.10 in January 2008 to $ 32.13 in October 2008.
d) Denim Imports:Mexico , China and Bangladesh remained the top three exporters of jeans to US in
2008.They exported (till September 2009) the following million units of jeans : Mexico – 92.8 million units China – 55.6 million units Bangladesh – 39.1 million units Egypt – 23.4 million units Hongkong – 23.2 million units
Out of these, Bangaldesh had the lowest average price of jeans exported – $5.07 against
a world average export price of $ 7.45
Going by these figures and previous reports coming in regarding denim consumption in the US, we get the indications that the consumption of denim/jeans would perhaps not experience the serious fall in consumption as expected in other clothing (esp fashion products) items. The reason is clear – consumers want to invest in jeans as – it lasts longer, can be worn at wide variety of occasions, offers wide price ranges and remains its fashion appeal. Will we see the market share of some clothing items cannabalised by
Jeans ?.
Another lesson , oft repeated, for jeans producers is that FIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT factor consumers . Identify your target consumers and give them the best fits possible.Though quality of denim, wash, brand name all are important, they are secondary to THE FIT ..
Denim has always been greedily targeted by manufacturers/producers of fibres other than cotton simply for the reason that it is the highest selling clothing item in the world. There have been experiments to make denim from wool,silk,tencel and other fibres and each of them has had limited amount of success. We now have a new fibre seeking to enter the world of denim – The Alpaca Fiber .
Paca blue denim
The fiber comes from a camelid (whatever it means!) reared at and is used for making knitted and woven items, much as sheep’s wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors.
The American Alpaca Federation has taken up the task of promoting this fibre and launched the denims made from Alpaca fibre at ‘Denim by Premier Vision‘. The denim was made in cooperation with the the denim group GFM Telas Parras The reviews have been encouraging and the federation seems to have evinced interest from a number of buyers including retailers like Gap.
The denim fabric made from Alpaca Fiber has some unique qualities and is very soft and has warmth,strenght and is wrinkle free. While similar to sheep’s wool in that it is a natural fiber, it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin which makes it hypoallergenic and wrinkle free. However, it is somewhat weaker and coarser than most wool fibers making it stand out while dying. Dyeing may thus be an issue with this fibre. But there is no doubt that the hand feel of denim made from this fibre would be superior to that made from wool or tencel.
But like all other natural (animal based ) fibres, the major limitaion comes with the cost .Alpaca fibers fall in the same league as the the fibre tops cost in the range of USD 10-USD 24 per kg and even with a usage of 20% mix, it would add substantial cost to the fabric and garment . It remains to be seen whether the eco friendliness, handfeel and performance of the fabric made from this fiber can outweigh the costs or not.
Has the impending recession affected the imports of Denim into USA? Apparently no – if we go by the figures that have come. The imports of jeans into US has increased by 5% for the three quarters ended September 2008 as compared to the same period last year. It is also interesting to note that the increase has been uniform in both the Mens/Boys and Womens/Girls Jeans.
Figures of Imports of Jeans into USA in 2007 and 2008
Particulars
2007(million pcs)
2008(million pcs)
Men’s/Boys Jeans
1st qtr
49.38
43.99
2nd qtr
68.55
73.60
3rd qtr
84.62
94.58
Total (3 qtrs)
202.55
212.17 (+5%)
4th qtr
71.44
Grand Total
273.99
Women’s/Girls Jeans
1st qtr
46.27
42.78
2nd qtr
66.52
62.46
3rd qr
76.99
92.7
Total (3 qtrs)
189.78
197.94 (+5%)
4th qtr
59.98
Grand Total
249.76
Source:US customs
These figures seem to defy logic as we get continuous reports of falling consumption levels in US esp since the first quarter of 2008 showed reduced imports and we have seen the growth come only in 2nd and 3rd quarters. But we still have one quarter left in 2008 and we might see some fall here. Another possibilty is that the imports of cheaper denims might be slowly replacing that of more expensive ones and it might be causing some shift in volumes to the former category and affecting overall volumes positively. But I am sure that in the coming quarters we will see some impact of the recession on the imports of Jeans into US..
Want your jeans to reflect your unique personality ? For those denim maniacs who want their jeans to look their second persona, check out these tips from Fashion Idie
Avoid washing your jeans – jeans should not be washed too much- it washes away the unique patterns that are being developed on the jeans.
Don’t be scared to get dirty
Sleep in your jeans! – Though not very comfortable , it will result in forming stronger creases on the jeans.
Sweat is good– let the sweat loosen the fabric of your jeans.
Basic dark colored and unwashed jeans – It would be better if you take darker indigo denim with little or no wash so that there is a plenty of room for denim effects to take place.
Let defects happen naturally – don’t create cuts or defects yourself. Let them happen as you wear the jeans..Trekking, playing football etc might be good ideas to expedite the defects on your jeans.
Wear them in the shower– or even swim in them .. Lets jeans resize more to your shape.
Dry them in shade and turned inside out – prevents undue color loss.
Wear them as often as possible-The more you wear, the faster the effects get ingrained onto your jeans.
And if you still don’t get the desired results in a year (yes, it takes that much time), just distress them!
