Men's Jeans Labels Experiment With Color-Cautiously
Men have traditionally been conservative with their choice of color in denim, but the Spring 2006 season might bring something new besides the highly popular indigo-blue denims.
A handful of Southern California jeans companies introduced olive, brown, even red jeans at recent trade shows. These jeans labels are gambling that fashionable men will want to wear the one thing denim designers have not offered in recent years, said Jeff Shafer, designer and owner of Agave Denimsmith, based in Santa Monica, Calif.
“The consumer is always looking for something new, and color is the only place denim had to go. There’s only so much you can rip, tear and paint,” he said of recent jeans designs.
Shafer’s 3-year-old company will introduce eight colors for its Spring 2006 collection. Instead of traditional blue, Agave jeans will come in shades such as pewter, sky blue and a graygreen mix. Agave’s demographic target is ages 25 to 45.
Steven Shaul forecast that his company, Los Angeles–based Jelessy Jeans, will earn more than $8 million in 2006 from its colorful new label, Jelessy Men’s Collection by Eddie. He tested it at the Pool Trade Show in Las Vegas last month and reported high interest in his color choices of light olive, camel, light blue and a burgundy-brown shade. For Summer 2006, he’s going to up the ante and offer jeans in forest green, turquoise blue and red.
Jelessy Men’s Collection has a suggested retail price of $230–$400. Shaul said he believes men will open their wallets for these colorful, premium denims because men have cultivated a serious interest in fashion. “Men became more aware of how they look in the past few years, and they’re more sophisticated,” Shaul said.
Retailer Fred Levine opened boutique chain M. Fredric Man this year because he saw that mainstream suburban men were buying such fashions as cashmere sweaters with tattoo-style graphics from Los Angeles–based label Raw 7 and art-driven Tshirts by Eccentric Symphony. But Levine doesn’t believe these same men will reserve space for all colors in their wardrobes.
“I think men are ready for color, but the men who shop at my stores aren’t ready for brights,” Levine said. “I think the major volume is in the olives.” M. Fredric Man is located in Westlake, Calif. A Studio City, Calif., store will open in late September, and another location will open in Marina del Rey, Calif., in October.
For some labels, the question is, how much color are men ready for? Chip Foster, co-founder of Los Angeles–based Chip & Pepper Denim, said his company developed a turquoise-colored jean for men when it started business in 2001. But he and his brother and co-designer, Pepper Foster, decided to postpone sending it to retailers because they felt the timing wasn’t right for jeans with bright colors.
Several years later, the Chip & Pepper turquoise jeans for men haven’t seen a retailer’s rack. However, for Spring 2006 the label will offer color in several different shades of blue, such as the traditional indigo blue with a red tinge and an indigo blue with a purple tinge. Foster promised that his label would eventually sell turquoise jeans. “The market is ready for anything, but people are in such a habit of wearing indigo blue. A lot of people are afraid to change, even to go to black jeans,” Foster said.
Other jeans designers said experimenting with bright colors can put a label too far ahead of the market. Mike Ternosky, men’s designer for Santa Ana, Calif.–based Obey Clothing, also opted against releasing a turquoise-colored jean this year. But his label will offer red, brown, black and white jeans for its Spring 2006 collection. “We’re trying to offer options out there, but it’s tricky to get guys to stray from the norm,” he said.
Obey’s red jeans, called “Are You Blind?,” will retail for $85. Ternosky said the market for these jeans is smaller than the market for indigo blue, but it’s a necessity for the wardrobe. “Our thought is creating a balance. The red jean is for someone willing to push fashion boundaries. We have black, brown and gray jeans,” he said. “They give options but aren’t too shocking.”
