Farmer Jeans Relaunches With Los Feliz Boutique
Peter Lang Nooch, founder of Los Angeles–based boutique denim line Farmer Jeans USA, is planning to reintroduce his denim line with a shop in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood.
The line debuts May 15 in a 1,500-square-foot boutique called Farmhaus at 4626 Hollywood Blvd. in the burgeoning fashion retail section of Los Feliz, where boutiques such as Confederacy and Apartment 3 recently made the area a fashion destination on Los Angeles’ east side.
Lang Nooch debuted Farmer in 1999, making $5 million annually, according to its brand director, Alex Matthews. Lang Nooch took a hiatus from the brand in 2004 to spend more time with his family, Matthews said, but the brand was still available on a limited basis.
Lang Nooch is relaunching his brand this year as an eco-denim label. Farmer will manufacture premium denim for men and women out of reclaimed denim fabric and dead-stock fabrics from American and Japanese jeans. He will also introduce a line called Farmhaus, which will be offered at a lower retail price point not above $120. Retail price points for Farmer range from $120 to $250.
The Farmhaus boutique will be a co-op store, offering space for mini-boutiques from other like-minded brands. One of those labels will be The Barn Project, a Los Angeles–based art-inspired T-shirts and tops line.
The line exhibited at Focus, a Los Angeles trade show for new lines, from March 21 to 23. It has 12 different looks for men and women. Retail price points will range from $65 to $80, according to Gabriel Grimalt, Barn Project’s owner. Green Goods, an eco T-shirt line, will be another label available at Farmhaus. It is designed by Lang Nooch.
Farmer might have a harder field to plow this time around, said former denim designer Lukus Eichmann. He debuted Saddlelites, his Los Angeles denim company, in 2003. After selling it in high-profile stores such as Barneys New York, he put it on hiatus in 2008 to focus on designing contemporary label Wardrobly. “You can’t start a jeans company, go to a trade show and become a millionaire,” he said, noting that the denim business has grown tougher. “You have to have a fantastic product and back it up with innovative ways of doing business. Fortunately, there’s always room for something new out there.” —Andrew Asch
