Silver Jeans and 1921
The New Mart Suite 603 (213) 688-7602
To highlight the Japanese source of its high-end denim line 1921 and emphasize the special relationship it has with a Tokyo-based street artist named Taku, Silver Jeans renovated its showroom in The New Mart with river rocks and dark wood that suggests the simple rigor of a traditional Japanese house.
The remodeling—which also entailed moving a wall back some 30 feet to open the front of the rectangular showroom—is not only a testament to Zen inspiration but also reflects the commercial hopes that Canadian parent company Western Glove Works has for 1921.
With 1,000 active accounts and an annual wholesale volume of $65 million, Silver does brisk business for Western Glove Works, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. But Silver’s wholesale prices, running from $29 to $35, sit solidly in the mid-tier market. On the other hand, 1921, which wholesales from $64 to $285, represents Western Glove Works’ push into boutiques and the premium denim sector. The high-end collection now occupies half of the showroom.
Ray Tolles, national sales manager at the showroom, said 1921 targets the “upper echelon of the boutiques on the West Coast.” The women’s collection makes up 60 percent of 1921’s business, which is available in approximately 200 accounts in the United States. The jeans that are custom-designed by Taku wholesale for $225. Tolles said Western Glove Works manufactures the jeans in Canada and sends them to Japan so that Taku can hand-paint and customize them.
The tricked-out jeans can seem out of place when laid atop the pure white cushions of the dark block-shaped wicker chairs. It’s as striking a contrast as planting a trendy Harajuku kid in the middle of a Zen rock garden. But the new fixtures and revamped look boost the emerging label’s profile and align better with The New Mart’s boutique atmosphere, Tolles said. —Khanh T.L. Tran
