California Apparel News

Despite rumblings of a denim bubble, two local denim makers are poised to launch new brands for Fall 2006. From jeans for women who buy men’s jeans, to denim for vintage purists and rock stars, to a brand for the military-minded, denim’s sphere of influence keeps growing.

Agave’s New Denim for Women and Men

Agave Denimsmith, a men’s authentic premium-denim brand, has been fielding requests for women’s denim since its inception in 2003. “We’ve had many requests for product for women, but we didn’t want to just gratuitously jump into the women’s market,” said Jeff Shafer, Agave’s owner and designer. “But we kept hearing stories of women who were buying our men’s jeans for themselves,” he said.

For Fall, after nearly a year of preparation, the Santa Monica, Calif.–based company is rolling out Agave Nectar, a line of denim designed for women ages 25 to 40. “We wanted to make sexy jeans for soccer moms and women who want to look hot but don’t want to compete with their daughters or with cover girls,” Shafer said.

To that end, Shafer has created two feminine silhouettes based on the men’s line. The “La Sirena” jean has a slim, lowrise, boot-cut fit, and the “La Mariposa” is based on a “boyfriend jean,” with an easier, classic straight-leg fit and a medium rise. Both styles are made of rigid Japanese denim in clean washes. Pale blue and yellow stitches adorn unique pocket shapes, and white suede is used to embroider trims. “We want to establish the line as core, authentic denim for purists,” he said.

The Nectar line, which wholesales for about $80, began shipping to some existing Agave accounts in January. An expanded version of Nectar will debut at Platform at the MAGIC Marketplace in February and at Fashion Coterie in New York later in the year. The line will grow to include two new denim fabrics blended with Supima cotton and polyurethane for stretch and durability. A new, more-missy silhouette may also be added, Shafer said.

Fall also sees the arrival of Agave Goldenstate Selvage, a collection of men’s jeans made from selvage denim, which is made on narrower looms and features the finished edge, or selvage, of the fabric.

“We’ve always had at least one or two styles of selvage per collection,” Shafer said, noting that conveying the uniqueness of the denim to the consumer has always been problematic. “They don’t always know what the big deal is with selvage—why it’s so much more expensive,” he said. “Goldenstate is our attempt to communicate to the consumer the ’what, why and how’ of selvage.”

To create authentic selvage denim, Agave uses vintage 30-inch shuttle looms. “It’s a slow and expensive process, but it creates the nicest denim in the world. It’s got great character, feel and texture,” Shafer said. Goldenstate’s selvage is made of luxury yarn used raw or rinsed—not washed. “That way, the way the client wears the jeans shapes its appearance,” he said.

As with all selvage, the telltale signs are on the inside. “No one knows you’re wearing selvage unless you flip up a hem and show them the inside,” Shafer said. For maximum impact, Agave will print the inside of every jean with its logo and the history of selvage denim. Shafer said he will also ship the jeans inside-out to stores. And, with an inseam of 36 inches, the average Joe can cuff his jeans to flash the selvage edge. Wholesaling for $110, Goldenstate Selvage will be available in three silhouettes and three fabrics, including “Hemp Loom,” a 60 percent hemp, 40 percent cotton blend in a dry, raw finish; “Lite Loom,” an 8-ounce denim in a quick-rinse finish; and “Old Loom,” a 12-ounce denim in a dry, raw finish.

Antik Explores the Dark Side

The makers of Antik Denim don’t want to be pegged as one-trick ponies. “We can do more than just the Western-inspired denim,” said Antik President and Co-designer Philippe Naouri, referring to the sexy jeans for men and women that have made the brand a favorite. To prove it, Antik will be launching two new and completely divergent brands for Fall 2006.

Antik Blackout, a line of “rock ’n’ roll workwear” denim for men and women is cut almost exclusively from black denim. “It will be very skinny, full of zippers,” Naouri said. Designed in conjunction with fellow Antik Designer Alexandre Caugant, the line is more fashion-forward and does not have the same heavily embellished pockets that helped Antik build brand recognition. “The pocket will be important, but it will be more of an explosion,” Naouri said, referring to the edgier, less-meticulous pocket designs. Silver chains and hardware add to the line’s luxury-punk air.

Men and women will each see 10 new denim silhouettes. Jeans will wholesale for $85 to $105, and T-shirts and sweatshirts for $35 to $65.

Naouri and Caugant moved further away from their denim roots with the introduction of the Antik Denim Vintage Collection. A line of military-inspired tops for men and women, the collection includes cashmere sweaters, leather jackets, studded shirts, vintage army jackets and handbags.

A decidedly high-end collection, jackets will wholesale for $225–$550, sweaters for $125 and shirts for $90.

Both Antik Blackout and Antik Denim Vintage Collection will bow at Fashion Coterie and at the Project Global Trade Show in February. “Specialty stores want something new, and we, as designers, wanted to expand our work,” Naouri said. He is betting that the new collections will help Antik establish itself as a serious design house for men and women’s fashion. “We are here to stay,” he said. “We are not a trend.”