California Apparel News

Inspiration for fashion can come from anywhere. As if to prove the point, Laura Sfez and her brother Emmanuel Sfez turned to Japanese horror movies and classic American slasher films for inspiration when designing Denim Junkie, their new line of premium denim.

The sibling duo, who grew up in the garment industry, are fervent denim and film aficionados.

The quirky collection will debut for Spring 2010 and is being produced by the Sfez family’s apparel business, Red & Blue LLC, which makes labels such as Z-Brand and Blue Blood and is the licensee for the Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier men’s denim lines.

Laura is designing the women’s denim and Emmanuel is designing the men’s line as well as the monster- and movie-themed graphics that will be splashed all over Tshirts and hoodies. Woven shirts round out the Denim Junkie collection for Spring.

“The name of the brand reflects that we are denim and pop-culture junkies,” Laura said. But they are also denim veterans who learned the ins and outs of denim production through the family business in Culver City, Calif. The pair saw a gap in denim with premium touches at a lower price point.

“We’re making the jeans at the same [Chinese] factory and with the same quality as the Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier jeans but at a much better price,” Laura said.

Women’s jeans will wholesale for $38, and men’s jeans will wholesale for $42, considered an opening price point for premium denim. So far, retailers such as Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Planet Funk have picked up the line.

The debut collection is body-conscious and heavy on washes, with inky washes, wax coatings and acid-wash styles in superskinny styles for men and women and short shorts for women.

The monster theme will grow even stronger for Fall 2010 when Denim Junkie will debut an outerwear collection with denim and leather in ski-jacket and letterman-jacket styles and fabrications—all emblazoned with cheeky monster references.

A letterman jacket will read “Zombieville High School” across the back. A sexy pinup witch on a broom will serve as a mascot. One pair of women’s jeans will feature a painted vampire, and a pair of men’s jeans will have a painted werewolf. Fleece sweatpants and sweatshirts will also be added to the Fall line, presumably bearing all manner of frightful creatures. The brand is manufacturing overseas.

Levi Strauss Selects New Vendor- Managed Inventory Program

San Francisco–based denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. hastapped i2, a Dallas-based supplychain company, to design and implement tools and processes to improve its level of service to its U.S. retailers.

“We are pleased to partner with Levi Strauss & Co. and help them achieve their business goals, leveraging our managed services and retail solutions to support VMI (vendor-managed inventory) with its channel partners,” said Gurdip Singh, i2’s vice president of retailer and consumer industries, in a statement. “Our goal is to continually monitor results and make recommendations that will allow [Levi’s] to improve its service to its retail customers while minimizing inventory investment.”

i2’s tools include functions that will help Levi’s more accurately replenish products on the retail floor at the SKU level, provide consumers with a better shopping experience and enhance sales opportunities for retailers. Levi’s has also tapped i2 to provide associated outsourced managed services to help it improve its inventory management.

Amazon.com Launches Denim Store

Amazon.com has launched the Amazon Denim Store, a new online store that sells more than 40 brands of jeans for men and women. Amazon has sold denim in the past, said Tracy Ogden, a spokesperson for the Seattle-based online retail giant. “We launched [the denim store] to create an even easier and [more] enjoyable shopping experience. Now it’s much easier to sort by price, brand or style of denim,” she said.

The site, which sells premium denim brands—such as 7 For All Mankind, Habitual, William Rast, Joe’s Jeans and Rock & Republic—as well as low- and mid-priced brands—such as YMI, Quiksilver, Levi’s and !iT Jeans—is launching with free shipping to help entice shoppers.

The site, which categorizes jeans by trend (boyfriend, skinny, distressed, dark) as well as leg silhouette (straight, tapered, boot, cropped, trouser) offers some styling advice for shoppers.

Customers can also shop according to their personal style, with jeans grouped under headings such as “modern chic,” “timeless style,” “everyday casual” and “fresh & forward.”

Pricing for the jeans range from $14 to $280 and include special sale prices on some brands, including Levi’s.

Going forward, Amazon will expand its brand list. “We’re always looking to increase selection so our customers have a lot to choose from,” Ogden said.