California Apparel News

Industrie Denim quietly opened in Scottsdale, Ariz., earlier this month, and a second store is slated to open in San Francisco next month. The new retail concept is a collaboration between venerable denim label Levi Strauss & Co. and pioneering retailer Mark Werts, who built the American Rag Cie specialty stores and the World Denim Bar shops. Details on the venture have not been formally released. However, Industrie will be anchored by Levi’s products, and it also will offer the complete collection of RRL/Polo Ralph Lauren’s premium-denim line.Branded premium-denim stores such as True Religion and Lucky Brand have dominated prominent retail streets and malls across America in the past decade. But Industrie is experimenting with that traditional retail model by mixing the benefits of a branded store with the more open-ended model of a denim bar. Like a denim bar, Industrie is offering a wide variety of brands, but like a branded shop it is also offering deep inventory for some labels. Industrie will carry 80 brands, including premium labels Adriano Goldschmied, Comme Des Garccedil;ons, Current/Elliott, Engineered Garments, Fry Boots, Ksubi, Nudie Jeans Co. and Rag & Bone. Retail price points range from $45 for a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans to $1,500 for an exclusive pair of premium denim. Industrie locations also will be staffed by a “jean-ious,” a denim expert who can consult with consumers. Environmentally sustainable fashions also will be offered at Industrie Denim.The first store opened during the Labor Day weekend at the Scottsdale Quarter retail center in Scottsdale. The second Industrie Denim location is scheduled to open in mid-October at 300 Grant Ave. in San Francisco.Additional Industrie Denim locations are being scouted in Seattle, Houston and New York, according to an Industrie Denim representative who asked not to be identified because the project had not been formally announced. Levi Strauss & Co. did not respond to a call requesting comment by press time. Werts has been traveling in Europe.The chain could eventually grow to 300 locations. All Industrie locations will be designed with an eclectic, flea-market look that takes inspiration from the region of where the store is located. The Scottsdale store features some portraits of the Arizona desert. The San Francisco store will display pieces of the Golden Gate Bridge that were taken from the icon during one of its periodic renovations.Industrie Denim also will offer some innovative attractions. Many dressing rooms will be equipped with a “booty-cam,” or a waist-high camera that will give shoppers an unadulterated view of what their rear end looks like in the pair of jeans they are trying on. This camera also is available at American Rag.

In other premium-denim retail news, the Earnest Sewn brand is opening a store in the Fashion Island retail center in Newport Beach, Calif., on Oct. 1. It will be the New York–based brand’s fifth retail shop.—Andrew Asch