Denimandjeans | Global Trends, News and Reports | Worldwide

Category: denim

  • 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.

  • Cone Denim opens manufacturing plant in Nicaragua

    Cone Denim of the ITG Group has formally opened its Nicaragua plant for the manufacturing of 28 million metres of denim. Employing about 850 people, it is their first venture in the Central Americas.
    Cone denim already has manufacturing facilities in the US,Mexico and China and partnerships in India(recently with LNJ Denim) and Turkey.
    At a time when Denim is going through a downturn, it is surprising to see the confidence with which Cone Denim is not only expanding operations but entering into various partnerships around the world. The previous record of Cone, however, related to partnerships has not been very good .Its previous partnership with the Indian company Ashima Denims (which was entered into late 1990s) did not proceed very well and broke early.

  • ‘Denim’,’Premium Denim’ search trend on Google

    Google Trends is a very interesting service from Google which enables us to find what is the trend for search on particular keywords.
    I checked the trends for search on two keywords – Denim and Premium Denim..
    The results are interesting:

    1)Search trend for ‘Denim’:

    a)The search volume for the keyword ‘Denim’ is almost the same since 2004. However, it peaked in the
    year 2005 (when Denim was on a high).
    b)The country from where the highest search for ‘Denim’ originated was , understandably, USA.
    But it was surprising to see Australia coming at number 2 position in ALL TIME Search for ‘Denim’.
    Wow, I did’nt realize that Australians were so fond of Denims.
    2)Search Trend for ‘Premium Denim’

    a)Before the year 2007 , there was hardly any volume of search for ‘Premium Denim’. Though the Premium Denim trend had started in 2004 or before, the general public really got sucked in the trend as late as 2007 only.Hence we can also see a large number of new Premium Denim labels spring up in the last 2 years..
    b)Again, its the USA which tops the list for the search.However,the second place is taken by CANADA . No doubt, we can see a lot of Canadian Premium Labels springing up !! .. Austalia is again third indicating its strong affiliation to Denim..

  • Organic Denim trend picking up?

    Organic is in..
    Organic clothes is getting more and more popular as environmental conciousness is increasing and the ‘return to nature’ sentiment gets stronger.I think its a very healthy direction for the fashion to take..
    Organic denim is not to be left behind – in fact with denim consuming almost 17% of world cotton, it is imperative that a part of denim production moves on the Organic route.I had mentioned in my previous post regarding organic denims..
    Just giving herebelow links to some of the good organic denim jeans produced worldwide:

    Nudie Jeans: Besides organic cottons, they are using potato starch,natural indigo etc to make their Organic Denims. It was good to get some figures from them about damage by normal cotton “Denim is made of cotton, which causes great damage to our environment both in terms of water consumption (7000 to 29.000 litres of water for each kilogram of ready garment) and in terms of poisonous substances and insecticides. Cotton fields stand for 25% of all insecticides worldwide!”

    Loomstate::Loomstate is a brand that is proud of its Organic roots . They use only organic cotton and show here how they do their organic cotton:.
    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTw5bfT-hXg&rel=1]

    Levi’s Eco: Levi’s also started its Eco line in the Fall 2006 and seems to be getting a good response to its Organic denims. They are primarily using Organic Cotton for these denims and this is what they have to say about the organic cotton used in these jeans”Organic farming practices can be used to grow natural fibers including cotton as well as food. Organic cotton farming starts with seeds that have not been genetically modified or treated with pesticides or fungicides. During the growth phase, weed control is achieved through hand hoeing or physical removal and pest control is accomplished through the use of natural predators, trap crops and other biological and cultural practices. Farmers rely on natural processes such as seasonal freezes, rather than the application of chemical defoliants, to prompt the opening of the cotton boll and allow the cotton bud to be picked by hand or machine”

    7forallmankind : Sevens has just launched its Yosemite collection of Organic denims.7 For all Mankind’s first organic denim, the Yosemite is a non-stretch fabrication with subtle indigo fading weaved throughout the front and rear..Looks cool..

    Sharkah Chakra : Though a relatively less known brand and available in London (Harvey Nicolas) and Paris,they take the concept of ‘organic’ a step further. They make a complete Organic Jeans ie everything from Cotton to dyes to weaving(on handlooms) . The process of producing one jeans is quite long – but the results are good..Worth checking out..

    Sling & Stones : This Japanese brand uses Peruvian handpicked organic cotton – converted to Japanese Supima Denim,Dyed with natural Indigo and washed in environment friendly ozone washes.And thrown in the package are 24carat gold rivets and embroidery..Whew!

  • 30 years ‘AG-ed’ Jeans?

    AG – Andriano Goldschmied has launched a new jean label called ‘AG-ed’ Denim’..
    They claim to produce a TRUE VINTAGE 3- dimensional washed look on these jeans.Currently ‘AG-ed’ is offered in 3 years,6 years,16 years and 25 years ‘AG-ed’. Slowly they will be offering in 1 to 30 years ‘AG-ed’.
    The prices range from USD 205 and above.
    Here is a snap of Jessica Alba and Vanessa Minnilio wearing one of the ‘AG-ed’ jeans..
    jessicaalbaag-ed.jpg

    Though I like the washed look on the Jeans – they are nicely washed – but there does not seem to something very extraordinary about the same..But let me lay my hands on one of them and come back with more comments.
    .vanessaminillo2.jpg

    Source:Denimblog

  • Natural Indigo Dye Extraction Process

    Natural Indigo Dyeing is a tedious process and it takes a long time to extract the dye from the leaves . This is a nice video from Go Indigo Jeans giving a detailed process of Natural Indigo extraction..

  • Denim photos from TIME Magazine

    jeans_09.jpgTime Magazine has brought out a photo essay on Denim- “From the sweatshops of Asia to the runways of New York, denim is bigger than ever”. Check it out for some great photographs on denim production around the world.

  • 21oz denim from Samurai- is it the heaviest denim?

    Samurai is a famous Japanese brand and known for its innovative jeans.
    One of their great jeans which came out last year was the 21oz denim…
    21 oz???????
    Yes, whole of 21 oz !
    bubble.jpg
    The S510XX21 model of Samurai ,with 21oz denim fabric made on Japanese wooden looms, has bettered their own previous record of 19oz denim.
    This is a truly amazing denim and inspite of being so heavy, it is soft in feel because of very coarse yarns used and unique weaving methods applied. Samurai, rightly calls it the ‘Cloth of Super Excellence’. As most of their collection, this is also Selvedge denim with Red and Gold strands .
    21oz_vedged.jpg
    It took a lot of patience on the part of the highly skilled craftsmen to produce this fabric on the powerlooms.
    The Japanese denim brands continue to amaze with their products . And I think the most important ingredient in their denim is the PASSION with which they work on their denims.Its NOT A COMMODITY for them..
    And the PRICE – A COOL USD 330/–. Click here to buy.
    torn_vedge.jpg

    Update- as dj correctly mentions, Iron Heart Jeans uses 22oz denim in some of its styles

  • 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…

  • Levi’s India changes marketing and pricing strategies

    [ad#for-post-top]
    Levi’s India is changing the marketing strategies for its Denims and Non-Denim brands. On the one hand it is seeking to expand its presence in the Premium and Super-Premium segment by launching more products in this segment. On the other hand, it is seeking to strengthen its Value Brand – Signature. Launched last year and priced between Rs 599-Rs999(USD 15- USD 25) in small towns and upto Rs 1399(USD 35) in larger towns,Signature seeks to capture a large share of the Value segment of Branded Jeans – which is currently estimated at about 10 million units – by having more than 5000 sale points for the same throughout India (as against 1000 currently).

    In the Premium segment the prices are in the range of Rs 2000-4000(USD 50-USD75), Super premium has price range of Rs 4000-6000(USD 75-100) and Connosieur segment is Rs 6000-12000(USD 150-300). Levi’s wants to increase its presence in these segments. It however does not want to be present in the Mid Price Segment ie Rs 1000-2000(USD 25-50) .Thus Levi’s India is following the International trends where Value and Premium segments are expected to do better than the mid priced segments. The Value offering of Signature is Levis’ take on the local Indian brands who are selling decent jeans in the range of Rs 600-Rs1200/ – but who do not have the brand value of Levi’s.
    The estimates for the market of Premium and Super Premium denim in India are about 7 million and 3 million (though I need to verify the same) and offer substantial possibilities for growth for brands like Levi’s.However, the going will not be as smooth since Levi’s will not be able to offer great washes in its Signature line – and washes are one of the biggest factor for purchase of Jeans by the young.