J Brand: Now for Men
J Brand jeans have been on the fast track to denim domination since their exclusive launch at Ron Herman on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in spring 2005. By this fall, about 1,400 stores worldwide (500 in the United States) will stock the women’s line, including Barneys New York, Intermix, Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols and Rose Bud in Japan.
Co-creators Jeff Rudes and Susie Crippen design styles with clean pockets, classic washes and “smashing silhouettes.” Among those is the skinny straight-leg jean, which J Brand touts “as the first American-made premium jean to drive this new trend.” Rudes and Crippen focus on simplicity and fit to create jeans that they describe as being “like a black Armani suit—always timeless.”
With a good handle on the women’s market, J Brand debuted a men’s line in July at the Project Global Trade Show in New York. They also are at Project’s Las Vegas show Aug. 28–30. Asked what the initial responses were from buyers, the designers replied: “The simplicity of our product is so refreshing to them from where the market has been in the past two years.”
Sticking to their classic formula, they designed three styles for men: the 17-inch classic boot cut (also known as the “Clint”); 15-inch straight leg (the “Mick”); and 12-inch super-skinny leg. Washes include pure indigo, black over-dye, mid- and dark vintage, and an assortment of grays. The Clint is a medium-rise slim-fit in ring-spun premium-denim manufactured from imported fabric in California. The Mick, as its name implies, also is known as “The Rocker Jean”; it is a low-rise, skinny-leg style, constructed from Japanese fabric and made in Japan.
J Brand also created a men’s shirt style for the collection, available in a variety of poplin stripes, classic chambray and denim. The J Brand sales office reports that all three styles of men’s jeans are booking well, with more emphasis on the slim straight-leg.
According to Rudes and Crippen, slim straight-legs are still driving the business, and they are enjoying a huge increase in suburban stores for early fall. In addition to their classic washes, they are releasing brown “Gingerbread” denim, as well as offering styles in rich, saturated colors of corduroy for women. For Spring ’07, they are releasing new fabrics in their classic fits and say that “a few new fashion silhouettes to expand our leadership to the next level will be released at Fashion Coterie [in New York in September].”
Much as they did with the women’s line, their strategy for the men’s line is to launch the first season with a select group of retailers, among them Ron Herman in Los Angeles and Jeffery in New York. Worldwide, 200 stores will carry the men’s line, including 70 in the United States. Wholesale prices for most styles/washes are $81 and $90 for the dark retro Japanese slim straight-leg. Retail ranges from $180 to $198. “There are no gimmicks in our product,” say Rudes and Crippen. “It’s pure and classic.”
For more information, visit www.jbrandjeans.com. —Dena Smolek
