Denimandjeans | Global Trends, News and Reports | Worldwide

Category: Jeans

  • Denim dos and don’ts – check before buying jeans

    Do questions like these come in your mind while buying jeans

    Can everyone wear Skinny Jeans?

    How low should be low rise jeans?

    Should I buy high-waisted jeans as it seems to be coming in trend?

    Is there a style of jeans that is universally flattering?

    How can I pull off a dress and jeans look?

    Is grey denim a do or don’t?

    Then check out this video and see what Jess Zaino- style expert has to say about these
    and more of such questions.

    Visit this video link     http://www.videojug.com/interview/dos-and-donts-for-denim

  • Self Edge – the cool denim store in San Francisco


    Though most of the denim afficionados might be aware of this store, I think its worth a post on this blog because of its importance to denim lovers.
    Self Edge is a store in San Francisco and is not the typical retail store where one goes and buys out the apparel. As you enter, you can feel that it has that ‘air of denim’ which is full of passion and history.As New York Times mentions
    ,Self Edge is “something between a premium specialty shop and a museum dedicated to a yearning for past quality — a sentiment easily detected in the antique wooden furniture and Persian rugs that decorate the shop”.
    Most of the denim labels found here are of Japanese origin made with Selvedge denim, though some other brands are also found.Brands like Iron Heart,Sugarcane,Nudie Jeans,The Flat head are found here(some of them exclusively).It becomes difficult for newcomers to understand why these brands here are retailed for prices like USD 200 and going up to USD 500 and sometimes more. But, the passion that goes into the building of these jeans also goes into retailing of these brands at stores like Self Edge..
    Keep Going Self Edge………..

  • Victoria Beckham sues Rock and Republic – lessons for Celebrity denim labels

    The trendy posh spice Victoria Beckham, has sued the denim brand Rock & Republic for USD 100 million.
    Victoria was engaged by Rock and Republic in 2004 to endorse their denim brand. Subsequently, she broke with them and started her own label – DvB denim . However, the label has not been faring too well recently . On the other hand, the Rock and Republic line that she had endorsed seems to have done very well. And, Victoria feels that Rock and Republic should pay her USD 100 million for additional profits earned(which seems quite ridiculous)..
    Here is a lesson to be learned by the celebrities the world over – who are following this trend of launching their denim label to encash their celebrity status. The celebrities have to understand that Denim is a specialised product and those who do not understand it , should not jump into it. Their hundreds and thousands of labels available and the customers need a very strong reason ,besides their name, to buy the label. Initial crowds can be drawn on the basis of celebrity image but sales cannot be sustained on the same.
    Another example of Paige Premium Denim would be very appropriate here. Adams Geller was a famous model who endorsed denim labels like 7 for all Mankind, True Religion and made them popular . She then launched her own label – Paige Premium – and made it successful. The reason was that Adams Geller thoroughly understood denim,its customers requirements,fit issues and most of all SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH DENIM. Her celebrity status must have made initial things easier for her,but it was her passion about Denim which made the label successful.
    So, all the celebrities out there- I hope you are listening. Don’t just follow the herd and launch a Denim label.

  • What do owners of famous Japanese brands wear?

    Would’nt it be interesting to know what kind of Jeans the owners of famous Japanese denim brands like Sugarcane,Flat head, Iron Heart etc wear ?

    Well just came across this video on youtube which shows the jeans worn by the owners of these brands and the length for which they wore it..Though the video does not give very good closeup of the jeans, one can just have a feel of the jeans.
    Another interesting thing to note is the average period in which they washed their jeans.. It differs -From 15 days for Iron Heart owner to more than 2 months for Flat Head owner..Goes on to show that there are no set rules when it comes to washing ones jeans..
    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WB6BTuuIQw&rel=1]

  • Want to Join the Tommy Hilfiger ‘Hall of fame’?

    hilscreencarnabyst4.jpgStarting from today, customers in certain cities around the world can add their photographs to the Hilfiger ‘Hall of fame’. Some of the Hilfiger stores in London, Amsterdam, Cologne, Antwerp and Dublin will feature through window Touch Screens and camera which will enable the casual passers by to capture their images and submit to the Hilfiger Hall of fame. What it means is that the user submitted images will be shown on the Digital Screens inside the stores.
    At the end of the campaign, the customers can go to the stores and get T-shirts printed with images they submitted.
    I feel that it is a very intelligent marketing campaign.It has been finely crafted and needs to be praised.

    On the one hand Lot of Media hype will be created around the campaign – drawing lot of customers to the stores. Secondly, the casual passers by have been given the freedom to play around without any pressure of buying any product . Thirdly, with the time and effort put in creating own images, many customers will return to the store to get their T-shirts (and pay!).

    I don’t know how much Tommy Hilfiger has invested in this campaign, but it looks sure to make much more than it invested…

  • Effect of rupee appreciation on exports of Mens,Boys jeans to USA in 2007

    The appreciation of the Rupee against the USD has taken its toll on the exports of all textile and apparel products from India. There has been a general fall in exports of apparel items across the board..
    Lets have a look at how the rupee appreciation has affected the exports of Mens and Boys jeans from India to USA.. I have also taken comparative figures from Bangladesh to see how it fares vis-a-vis India..

    Exports of Mens/Boys jeans from India and Bangladesh to USA in 2006 and 2007

    2006(doz pcs) 2007(doz pcs) Change(%)
    India
    Ist quarter 24000 22000 -8
    2nd quarter 24000 33000 37
    3rd quarter 55000 63000 14
    4th quarter 33000
    Bangladesh
    1st quarter 205000 312000 52
    2nd quarter 390000 454000 16
    3rd quarter 599000 739000 23
    4th quarter 570000

    Source :US customs

    From the figures given above , we can see that the exports of jeans from India registered a fall of 8% in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the first quarter of 2006. However, the second and the third quarter have seen a steady increase in exports of jeans to US inspite of the appreciation of rupee.
    On the other hand, the exports from Bangladesh continue to register a robust increase in all the three quarters of 2007..Bangladesh,in any case, has a huge lead over India in exports of Jeans and it seems to be increasing the gap further.
    What is interesting is that the exports from India have not registered a fall despite the huge appreciation of rupee. This signifies that the additional capacities of jeans manufacturing have been created in India and the increase in exports would have been very significant, had the rupee not appreciated so much.
    However, the next 2 quarters would show whether the Indian companies can sustain the growth in exports despite rupee appreciation or not – though i believe that the exports may grow stably given the excess capacities available in the industry..

  • Jeans dyed 48 times in Natural Indigo

    Can you believe that Denim can be dyed 48 TIMES ??

    Well, seeing is believing. Here are some snaps from Kappa Jeans which claims to dye their Denims 48 times in NATURAL INDIGO..See here

    kappa-jeans-48-times-dyed-natural-indigo3.jpeg

    kappa-jeans-48-times-dyed-natural-indigo.jpeg

    and here
    kappa-jeans-48-times-dyed-natural-indigo2.jpeg

    But whatever may be the actual number of dips in Indigo, the Denim is Really Cool..

    Related Posts:
    Natural Indigo Dye Extraction Process

  • Evisu DD +1 Jeans project

    Evisu has launched a new Denim Project called Dirty Dozen + 1 (DD+1) in association with Superfuture and the Blue in Green store in NY . 13 people are wearing a pair each of special customized jeans from Evisu – hand painted by a famous Japanese artist. The jeans shall be worn for a period of 13 months and evaluated….

    dd1-jeans-of-evisu.jpg

    I like the way Evisu spends time and energy in getting out products which will have ‘TIME APPEAL’ – ie they will be become better with time and age like OLD WINE… I would have liked to know the kind of fabric they are using in this project .. Will post when available….

    Want to see how the jeans has been hand painted ? See here

  • Grungy Denim . A new trend for 2008?

    There have been some forecasts that a new trend for Spring/Summer 2008 may be the GRUNGY DENIM..….
    These Jeans basically have a patchy high contrast bleached look – the 80s punk look.
    Though this washing style has not been noticed in many brands, there are some points that merit attention:
    a)The current trends in denim looks the world over follow from the Premium Denim brands. These brands are basically encashing their expertise in providing a high quality fabric, washed and sanded nicely(many times hand sanded) and with some standout embellishments like Pocket designing etc. Of course the importance of FIT can never be forgotten as one of their primary strengths.
    b)These trends are being followed in some measure by other manufacturers around the world – who are also trying to provide the similar jeans at a lower cost.
    c)In the last 1-2 years there has been no distinctive denim look which has come in and the current washes and looks are getting somewhat jaded and there is a need for something fresh.

    Thus there IS A NEED for some FRESH LOOK IN DENIMS. However, whether that will be GRUNGY LOOK or something else remains to be seen..I feel that a look similar to GRUNGY may come in provided it is MORE ELEGANT looking and does not give the PUNKISH or a CHEAP look. Designed Patchiness or GRUNGINESS (nice terminology i think !) may be considered an option for the next year.
    Some Grungy Jeans from Cheap Monday ….
    cheap-monday-grungy-denim.jpggrungy-denim.jpggrungy-denim1.jpg

  • Daniel Hirst designed Levi’s

    As I mentioned before, the world’s most expensive artist (so he is called) – Daniel Hirst – is designing a new collection for Levi’s Warhol Factory X.
    Here is a visual of the same..
    Seems to have lot of Crystal Work on it inspired by the ‘Jewelled Skull’ ?

    daniel-hirst-levis.jpg

  • Fall 2007 Denim trends – Wide legged and Skinny Jeans

    Denim for fall 2007 is going to be a story of two extreme styles – Skinny and Wide Legged . Skinny jeans has been in for quite some time with various celebrities including Kate Moss endorsing the same. Now Kate Moss , Lindsay Lohan, Naomi Campbell, Angela Basset and others have been seen in Wide Legged Jeans(see my previous post).
    However, wide legged jeans is going to have more appeal as it can fit a larger range of bodies and is a fresh look since it has not been around quite a while. It is also expected that both the trends will go on simultaneously and skinny jeans is not going to fade away so easily.

    Among the Wide legged Jeans there can be a simple Casual style and a Trouser style. Both are same silhouette but with different details. Trouser style has slash pockets and trouser style waistband and crease whereas the Casual will be much more casual.
    Wide legged jeans are not and neither expected to be Distressed. They are very clean and flat – an indication of influence of 70s……
    The CLEAN and FLAT look required for Wide Legged Jeans may create further demand for the already popular FLAT FINISH DENIMS (mercerised).. Washing treatments may be less rigorous thus saving the manufacturers some bucks ( which they will spend on the extra fabric they use !)
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    Related Posts:
    Skinny Jeans from Topman
    Skinny Jeans coming back?[ad#for-post-top-1]

  • US Imports of Mens/Boys Jeans & Breeches 2000-2006

    US is the most important market for the Jeans. US imports huge quantities of denimwear from around the world.
    The following figures will reveal how big this market is really. I am giving herebelow the figures of only the Mens/Boys Jeans and Breeches into the US from the year 2000 to 2006.

    New Page 1

    Year Qty (Million pieces) Value (USD Billion) Average Price(USD/pc)
    2000 194.19 1.41 7.28
    2001 196.86 1.46 7.42
    2002 235.69 1.73 7.36
    2003 249.31 1.87 7.50
    2004 259.74 1.93 7.45
    2005 295.02 2.16 7.33
    2006 293.62 2.10 7.15

    Source : US Customs

    We can see that the market is really huge with almost 300 million jeans imported only for Mens/Boys in 2006 .
    The average price figures are though a little odd. It was expected that the average prices of jeans imported into US would have fallen significantly after quota removal. However, the figures do not reveal such a story. The prices are more or less stagnant around USD 7 – though a fall of about 5% is visible from 2004 to 2006.

    But we must not forget that the character of jeans imported into US has changed a little over a period of time. Previously the majority of jeans imported were made of Basic denims and in basic styles. However, slowly the composition of fabrics have changed and more value added – like rings, slubs ,multicounts etc – are being used. These have contributed in increasing the average prices of jeans sold to US. However, it still needs to be remembered that a huge quantity of jeans are still exported to US at prices of USD 4-6 on one hand and on the other ,jeans of USD 10-15and above are also imported in sizeable numbers. Thus bringing average prices to these levels