2012 1004 Classic-Washes

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Citizens of HumanityPhoto By Courtesy of Citizens of Humanity

Diesel

Photo By Courtesy of Diesel

W W D . c o m /menswear-news/sportswear/vintage-washes-make-a-comeback-in-mens-denim-6383748

October 4, 2012

Classic Washes, Color Drive Spring Denim OrdersByDAVID LIPKE

The diametrically opposed trends of fashion-forward coloreddenim versus a return to classic, authentic washes will dominate

the mens jeans market this spring.

In color, retailers have stocked up on a range of hues, including

vivid brights, dusty tonal colors and even pale pastels, while

offering a heritage counterpart in vintage, Americana-inflected

indigo with fading, whiskering and rips and repairs.

Also central to the season will be the continued popularity of

nondenim five-pockets, which gives wearers the familiarity of a

jean with the novelty of twill, moleskin or lightweight corduroy.

Fits continue to evolve towards slim and skinny across the board,even among heartland shoppers who have up until now remained

loyal to boot cuts.

Going into early spring we definitely feel the idea of rip and

repair coming back strong, with more wash details, with lighter-

weight denim and lighter washes, said Durand Guion, vice

president and mens fashion director at Macys.

At the same time, the department store, which operated 799 units

as of August, has posted a strong year in colored chinos and

colored denim. Deep reds, cranberries and burgundies have

been the most important, followed by a range of blue hues, saidGuion. For spring, the idea of color will intensify and we will see

double and triple color wash, with rinses in several colors that

add dimensional finishes to the denim. It allows you to get ranges

of purples and greens and blues on a single jean.

RELATED STORY: Men's Wear Trend: Double Dusty >>

Back-to-school mens denim sales have been strong at Macys

stores, said Guion. The retailer saw robust sales this season with

its Levis, American Rag, INC, Hudson, True Religion, Armani

Jeans and G-Star businesses. Slim fits are growing in popularity

at Macys in all areas of the country, at the expense of boot fits,

added Guion.

In total, U.S. mens jeans sales climbed 3.3 percent to $5.61 billion, up from $5.43 billion, in the 12 months ended

in August, according to figures from the The NPD Group. Higher price points outpaced lower price points, with

sales of jeans at $50 or higher increasing 37.1 percent to $1.28 billion, while sales of jeans priced under $50

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decreased 3.7 percent to $4.34 billion.

Guion pointed to a measure of price fatigue at the very top of the premium sector, as high-end looks have become

attainable at a range of price points, particularly in clean styles that have few discernible points of differentiation.

A lot of premium details, fits and washes are available in so many different brands, observed Guion. Pricing

has become a lot more democratic and weve seen a leveling of pricing at the high end. There are very few brands

that can command a big premium. The high end isnt as high as it was three or five years ago.

Nondenim offerings have overshadowed denim this year, particularly in light of the dress-up trend shaping mens

wear, said Cristiano Quieti, chief executive officer of Diesel USA. Theres definitely a general feeling in the

market of a slowdown in the cycle of denim. I hear this from the key department stores and from competitors.

Denim has its peaks and valleys and I think we are going through a valley, he noted. Theres more tailoring so

that calls for chinos or colored bottoms with that kind of outfit. For us, weve been doing chinos and nondenim

well, so weve covered those bases, as well.

Mens denim sales at Diesel have been increasing in the high single digits to low double digits this year,

depending on the month, said Quieti. The five-pocket category comprises 43 to 44 percent of total Diesel sales.

In the denim segment, its the high-end offerings at Diesel, in the $230 to $350 range, that have led sales.

Consumers are ready to spend a little more on something that is extremely different from what they alreadyhave in their wardrobes, from herringbone denim to vintage slub textures. Where weve seen the slowdown is in

basic styles, where theres more competition, and everyone already has two or three pairs in their closets, said

Quieti.

Following a period of retrenchment, Diesel is launching a retail expansion in 2013, with new leases inked for

King of Prussia, Pa., Salt Lake City and Orlando for the first quarter. Additional locations are being sought for

later in 2013 and the company will also relocate some existing mall locations to bigger spaces. Diesel currently

operates 40 full-price and 11 outlet stores in the U.S.

Seven For All Mankind is also boosting its store count. Next month, the VF Corp.-owned brand will open

locations in Somerset, Mich., Valley Fair, Calif., and Livermore, Calif., bringing its total store count to 45 in the

U.S. and Canada. We entered the mens business very early and developed and held on to a very loyal customer,said Barry Miguel, president of the VF Corp.-owned brand, where mens comprises 40 percent of total sales.

At Seven For All Mankind, colored bottoms have reached 20 percent of total sales, with 80 percent still in indigo.

While color remains a much smaller percentage than traditional blue, its added excitement to the category as a

whole, driving sales across the board, noted Miguel. Theres so much diversity and choice now in color and

fabrics, and theres more reason for customers to spend their dollars in the premium denim world, he explained.

Weve become experts in bottoms and weve grown a really nice twill, corduroy and chino business. Theyre good

extensions for us.

Color will be key at Guess, where stores this spring will highlight themes of orange, soft green and light blue in

February, moving into cobalt blue and yellow for March and then teal and red in April. These color themes

encompass denim, twill bottoms and other sportswear offerings. The retailer plans to make pairings of casualjeanswear with colorful structured blazers in teal and red as well as printed wovens and stretch poplin shirts a

centerpiece of stores this spring.

While color reaps lots of attention, Lucky Brand is betting on vintage worn-in and washed denim styles in

heritage blue for spring. We think that there will be a return to authentic washes in true blue indigo as colorful

denim starts to downtrend, said Michael Griffin, executive vice president of product at Lucky Brand. Were

planning on introducing light and medium washes to gain momentum, but believe that dark washes will continue

to perform best. Color still has a presence, but remains small. Were also investing in lighter fabrications.



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Lucky Brand added 100 new doors this year at key department store partners, including Nordstrom, Macys,

Dillards, Belk, Von Maur and Lord & Taylor, bringing its wholesale distribution in that channel to 600 points of

sale. The Fifth & Pacific Cos. Inc.-owned brand also operates 171 Lucky Brand retail stores.

The company has a considerable collaboration program this spring, with co-branded product from Riviera Club,

SeaVees, Triumph motorcycles, Indian motorcycles, Martin Guitar, Fender, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, among

others.

Citizens of Humanity is also seeing a resurgence of interest in true denim washes. A year ago it was about clean

and dark but now were seeing more interest in abrasion and whiskering, said Amy Williams, president of

Citizens of Humanity, where mens comprises a hefty 40 percent of total sales. We havent had a denim wash

cycle in so long, so people are buying whats new.

This summer, Citizens of Humanity acquired its own production facility in Huntington Park, Calif., one block

from its Los Angeles headquarters, adding to a separate laundry facility it previously owned. The purchase has

given the company increased flexibility and control over manufacturing timelines, forecasting requirements and

inventory management. We can prioritize what we cut and have better control over availability for customer

reorders, which is so important today, said Williams.

Reorders are an essential part of the season as Citizens of Humanity prefers to take a conservative tack on initialorders to improve sell-through ratios. Our philosophy has always been to take smaller orders up front and let

the market pull us rather than have too much product in the market. Wed rather get the reorders later in the

season and have great end-of-season margins and sell-throughs, rather than too much stock at retail, explained

Williams.

With the purchase of the manufacturing facility, Citizens of Humanity has also invested in acquiring pricy laser

finishing machines, which it uses to create innovative vintage effects.

A focus on fabric technology is central to Turkeys Mavi brand, where ultramercerized cotton is created using a

process its dubbed Alchemy One. This washing process is eco-friendly, with almost 100 percent of the processing

liquids used in a closed circuit, producing very little water waste. The result is denim with increased strength and

recovery properties, in addition to a lustrous look and feel. The fabric also lends itself to a deeper saturation ofdyes during the coloring process.

This year, Paige has reaped the benefits of a re-branding program that modernized the look of the Los Angeles-

based brand and unified mens and womens under the single Paige label. Mens sales tripled this year, outpacing

growth in womens. In July, San Francisco-based TSG Consumer Partners took what is believed to be a majority

stake in the brand.

A syrah color has been the top seller this fall at Paige and the company expects a range of Hi-Liter-like shades to

drive sales in the spring, including bold hues like canary yellow, watermelon and a vivid blue. Offsetting that

fashion product are classic, faded washes. We have some really amazing washes with great highs and lows. They

look like your best friend that you pulled out of the bottom drawer, said Paige Adams-Geller, founder andcreative director at Paige.

The Normandie slim-straight fit has been the brands biggest seller in mens, but Adams-Geller expects the even

slimmer Federal fit, which has a leg opening an inch smaller than the Normandie, to become more popular

heading into spring. Even in the slim fit, guys increasingly want that tapered look down to the ankle but not a

painted-on look, explained Adams-Geller.



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Diesel

Photo By Courtesy of Diesel

Paige

Photo By Courtesy of Paige

At Hudson Jeans, colored bottoms now make up about 25

percent of sales, with blue and black at 75 percent. I think the

color trend is here to stay and will become almost like a basic,

said Peter Kim, ceo of the Los Angeles-based company.

Mens sales expanded about 85 percent this year at Hudson and

the company is forecasting to double business in 2013. The

company has narrowed its assortments and focused on key styles,including the Byron slim-straight fit. We found a fit that is

working across the board and have developed around it with

colors, fabrics and washes, explained Kim.

The unpredictable retail climate has Hudson focused on business

fundamentals, emphasized Kim. With the uncertainty around

the election, the European crisis and the slowdown in China

growth, its a pretty scary time from one perspective. But we are

tightening every nut and bolt to make sure we are running an

extremely efficient operation, said Kim. We are pushing our

creativity and not resting on our laurels.

Mens now comprises 15 percent of total sales at Hudson and Kim

is aiming to reach 35 percent within two years, which he believes

is a healthy ratio. I just got out of a board meeting last week and

everyone is pumped and excited going forward, he noted when

asked about a potential sale of the brand by investors Fireman

Capital Partners and Webster Capital.

In 2013, J Brand forecasts that mens will make up 15 percent of

total sales. Slimmer fits and color including two-tone effects

will lead the way in denim, while tailored chinos, with cuffed and

cropped options, complement the jeans offerings. We are the

fastest growing brand in most of our major stores. We feelecstatic about our mens business. Its like when our womens

business was growing, said Jeff Rudes, ceo of J Brand, which is

carried in about 800 doors globally. Its all about quality of our

customer base. We are expanding specialty stores and doors, and

expanding doors each season at our majors. And we are

expanding our presentation space in key major doors.


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