California Apparel News

After breaking into the denim game with a kit that let denimheads customize their premium denim, San Clemente, Calif.–based Denim Design Lab is continuing its push as a denim manufacturer.

In December, DDL launched a line of selvage denim for men. Now a four-piece women’s collection is set to launch for Spring 2008. Geared toward true “denim aficionados,” DDL’s women’s line features details and manufacturing techniques found in vintage denim combined with a modern fit. All four styles are made from premium selvage denim by Cone Denim in rigid and stretch fabrications. One style will feature “Black Seed” Pima cotton, a specialty of the Cone Denim mill.

Retail prices for the line, which is manufactured in Los Angeles, will range from $125 to $275. For more information, call (213) 892- 8583.

Chip & Pepper Fete New Project

Denim makers Chip and Pepper Foster of the Chip & Pepper denim brand feted their new denim line C7Phellip;A Chip & Pepper Production July 11 at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif. Developed exclusively for the JCPenney chain of department stores, C7P is denim-focused sportswear for juniors and young men. The line will debut for Back-To-School later this year and will include jeans, skirts, Bermuda shorts and crop pants, along with T-shirts, tops and fleece. The collection will retail from $14.99 for tops to $34.99 for jeans.

“C7Phellip;A Chip & Pepper Production brings the fun, creativity and talent of Chip and Pepper Foster to JCPenney. Along with stylish denim fits that are fresh, young and invigorating, their partnership with JCPenney brings an authenticity that allows us to emotionally connect with our younger customers,” said Ken Hicks, JCPenney president and chief merchandising officer, in a statement.

Chip & Pepper, which makes premium denim and sportswear for men, women and kids, operates its own retail stores in New York; Dallas; and Newport Beach, Calif.

Blue Jeans Go Pink

Premium-denim makers put a great deal of effort into making women’s bodies look good. Now several are working toward helping women stay healthy.

J&Company has customized its “Beverly” jean with a two-toned pink ribbon on the back pocket and will donate $35 per pair to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Plush Premium Denim is donating 25 percent of the proceeds from its “Think Pink” limitededition jeans to breast-cancer research. The “Think Pink” style will feature pink embroidery on the back pockets. Fidelity Denim is partnering with Rethink Breast Cancer, a Canadian breast-cancer research, information and support-group foundation, to launch the “Belladonna BC Cross Your Heart” jean.

A mid-rise, classic five-pocket jean, the “Belladonna” will feature pink-and-blue tailor tape inside the waistband and a charm cluster on the belt loop that includes a pink ribbon, the symbol for breast-cancer awareness.

Overseas Resource Comes Stateside

Spanish premium-denim textile maker Tavex is making a play for American denim business. The company–– which is vertically integrated and sells denim to Miss Sixty, Giorgio Armani and Diesel––has opened a sales office in New York to increase its North American market share.

“We have quick-turn capability and can provide speed to market for premium European-like denim directly from our recently acquired state-of-the-art facilities in Puebla, Mexico,” said Jake Fraser, Tavex’s director of sales and marketing for North and Central America, in a statement. Tavex’s goal is to offer an alternative to Japanese and Italian resources.