California Apparel News

There is no formula for success, but if there were, it would include heavy doses of passion, hard work, loving what you do, a constant learning process and new ideas.

At least, that is what put denim gurus Jerome Dahan of Citizens of Humanity and Adriano Goldschmied of Goldsign at the top of the premium-denim business.

Students at the University of Southern California got a glimpse into the two’s successes and challenges on April 27, when Dahan and Goldschmied took part in the university’s ongoing “Captains of Fashion Industry” lecture series.

The series is a collaboration between USC’s Marshall School of Business and Roski School of Fine Arts. The series is hosted by Mark Werts, founder and chief executive of the American Rag CIE chain of high-end specialty stores.

“Nothing more than denim represents the spirit of America. It is born of miners and ranchers and cowboys, and though today America is not about those things, jeans still represent the American lifestyle,” Goldschmied said.

Looking forward, the pair agreed that the economy and the state of the world are molding how they do business. “Today, things are changing dramatically. The economy is having [a big] impact [on how we do business],” Goldschmied said. “Until a few months ago, we thought that if we design right, we’ll be fine. That’s not true anymore. Today business is more sophisticated and difficult.”

The environment is also weighing heavily on the denim makers’ minds. What is the effect of using so many chemicals to distress blue jeans for that special look? “We have a new sense of responsibility and morality when it comes to our impact on the environment. We are starting [to address this], and honestly, we are [starting] too late,” Goldschmied said.

The pair did not announce any new eco-friendly measures, but they are actively looking for ways to reduce the amount of water and chemicals in their processes. “We have to change, and we have to find new ways to work,” Goldschmied said.

The two regaled the crowd with amusing stories from their careers. Goldschmied, who co-founded the hugely popular Diesel brand, said he and his business partners hoped the brand would fail so they could focus on other projects they thought were more viable. “It was supposed to be a failure. We gave it the ugliest name we could think of hellip; something that reminded us of something old and smelly. Today it is an almost $2 billion company, and those other brands we thought were more important are gone,” he said.

Dahan, who got his start designing denim for brands such as Guess and Lucky Brand Jeans and later co-founded 7 For All Mankind, fielded questions about the quirky names he gave to his brands.

The source is as far removed from denim as it could be. “Armageddon,” the 1998 action flick in which roughnecks Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck battle a giant asteroid to save humanity, inspired the monikers of both 7 For All Mankind and Citizens of Humanity, he said. —Erin Barajas