Rivet Magazine April 2021

D E S I G N I N G C O N F I D E N C E 

S O U R C I N G J O U R N A L . C O M N O . 1 1 / A P R I L 2 0 2 1

TENCEL is a trademark of Lenzing AG

Future indigo is here. 

TENCEL Modal with Indigo Color 

technology. 

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Zero Water 

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N TS 

6 

16 

30 

34 

36 

40 

52 

56 

58 

62 

64 

84 

HOME 

Heritage denim brands play house with new home 

decor collections. 

THE PREMIUM PARADOX 

Data shows a growing percentage of American 

women wearing larger sizes. But are premium labels 

keeping up? 

DESIGNING CONFIDENCE 

Brands of all sizes address the need for 

adaptive jeans. 

BRIDGING THE GENDER GAP 

Denim's universal appeal and heritage roots serve 

genderless fashion. 

REVEL 

Designer denim celebrates individuality. 

SOLID GROUND 

Kontoor Brands president and CEO Scott Baxter 

shares how the jeanswear giant is preparing itself for 

another year of change and opportunities. 

THE V WORD 

Denim brands pivot to vegan trims. 

SOCIAL CONTRACTS 

The criteria for sustainability reporting can be as 

vague as the topic they are intended to document. 

CLEAN SLATE 

New efforts from across the denim industry address 

responsible aftercare of jeans. 

INTO THE WILD 

As cooped-up consumers find refuge in nature, 

demand for protective performance denim grows. 

DATABASE 

The need-to-know stats on U.S. jeans imports and 

cotton prices. 

VALENTINO SHIRT, 

SACAI JEANS, EAST 

VILLAGE HAT, DIOR 

EARRING, JOHN 

HARDY NECKLACE, 

PYRRHA RINGS, LADY 

GREY RING 

RIVET NO.11 / APRIL 2021

8 

IRL 

I spent a lot of time on social media this past year, so much so that when I hear 

stories about people who fostered pets, launched side hustles and wrote novels 

during quarantine, I begin to think I did the pandemic wrong. I didn’t pick up 

any new skills or hobbies, but I can provide a full report on conspiracy theories, 

royal family drama, celebrity feuds and Gen Z’s stance against skinny jeans. 

That being said, had I known in the early days of the pandemic that it 

would continue for more than a year, I’d still probably choose hours upon hours 

of scrolling through Instagram and TikTok to numb the sadness and anxiety 

brought on by this crisis. 

One of my all-time favorite memes is from an early 2000s interview with 

Mariah Carey. In the 8-second clip, the singer is asked a question about Jennifer 

Lopez, who by that time had become a globally recognized pop star and actress. 

With a polite smile, Carey shakes her head and says, “I don’t know her.” It’s a quick 

and pointed response that will go down in the annals of shade history, and it somehow 

has become my inner voice toward anything I have adverse feelings for. 

One of those things is loungewear. My big quarantine achievement may in 

fact be coming out of this period without purchasing a single sweatshirt, jogger, 

hoodie or pair of sweatpants. The only tie-dye I added to my closet was in 

blazer and jean form. The notion that we need a whole new wardrobe for sitting 

around at home, and that comfort can only be achieved through elastic waistbands 

and fleece lining, is, to me, completely counter to the uplifting feeling that 

fashion can instill in our lives, especially during the bleakest of times. 

I am, perhaps, too close to the denim industry to fully understand why jeans 

were among the garments relentlessly trolled on social media during the first 

months of the pandemic. The leaps and bounds the industry has made to make 

jeans feel softer and more flexible have been game-changing, and the industry 

continues to innovate in this space despite unfathomable loss and hardships. 

But I am hopeful that as the world begins to reopen and people put this 

trying time behind them, they will also pack away their quarantine uniforms and 

rediscover the many joys of dressing up. 

This issue, if nothing else, represents the massive opportunity awaiting 

the jeans industry. And let me tell you: it isn’t loungewear. From the demand for 

adaptive apparel, genderless designs and vegan fashion, to the inroads denim is 

making in both the home and outdoor apparel categories, to the creative release 

designers are pouring into their collections, the possibilities are boundless. This 

issue is dedicated to denim that is meant to be lived in and seen—not just through 

a social media feed or in the confines of our homes, but enjoyed in real life. 

Executive Editor, Rivet 

COVER CREDITS: 

LEFT: Y/PROJECT COAT, DSQUARED2 JEANS, CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS GLOVES, 

WANDLER BOOTS, HEAVEN BY MARC JACOBS EARRING. RIGHT: PHILOSOPHY DI 

LORENZO SERAFINI JACKET OVER TRE BY NATALIE RATABESI BODYSUIT; GUCCI 

TROUSERS, DSQUARED2 BOOTS, JOOMI LIM EARRING, ETTIKA RINGS, MISHO 

RING, PYRRHA RINGS. 

Angela Velasquez Executive Editor, Rivet 

Peter Sadera Editor in Chief, Sourcing Journal 

Jessica Binns Managing Editor 

Arthur Friedman Senior Editor 

Vicki M. Young Executive Financial Reporter 

Jasmin Malik Chua Sourcing & Labor Editor 

Kate Nishimura Features Editor 

Glenn Taylor Business Editor 

Liz Warren Staff Writer 

Chuck Dobrosielski Staff Writer 

Sarah Jones Business Reporter 

Tonya Blazio-Licorish Contributor, Fairchild Archive Assistant 

ART DEPARTMENT 

Celena Tang Associate Art Director 

Arani Halder Designer 

SOURCING JOURNAL ADVERTISING 

Edward Hertzman Founder & President, Sourcing Journal & Rivet 

Executive Vice President, Fairchild 

Caletha Crawford Publisher 

Lauren Parker Branded Content Manager 

Eric Hertzman Senior Director of Sales & Marketing 

Deborah B. Baron Advertising Director 

Allix Cowan Client Services Coordinator 

Sarah Sloand Executive Sales Assistant 

PRODUCTION 

Kevin Hurley Production Director 

John Cross Production Manager 

Therese Hurter PreMedia Specialist 

FAIRCHILD PUBLISHING LLC IS A DIVISION OF PENSKE MEDIA CORPORATION 

JAY PENSKE CHAIRMAN & CEO 

GERRY BYRNE VICE CHAIRMAN 

GEORGE GROBAR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 

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CRAIG PERREAULT CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER 

TODD GREENE EVP, BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER 

MARK HOWARD CHIEF ADVERTISING AND PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER 

PAUL RAINEY EVP, OPERATIONS & FINANCE 

TOM FINN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS 

DEBASHISH GHOSH MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS 

JENNY CONNELLY SVP, PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY 

JUDITH R. MARGOLIN SVP, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL 

KEN DELALCAZAR SVP, FINANCE 

LAUREN UTECHT SVP, HUMAN RESOURCES 

NELSON ANDERSON SVP, CREATIVE 

RACHEL TERRACE SVP, LICENSING & BRAND DEVELOPMENT 


From laser prints and tie-dye, to archival patterns, denim brands pull out all the stops to make sure their jeans are seen and not forgotten. 

MARKET WATCH 

1 

2 

8 

PRINT 

SHOP 

3 

4 

11 

5 

7 

6 

1. Reformation 2. AG Jeans 3. Street style 

4. Hudson 5. Wrangler 6. Moschino 

7. Mother Denim 8. Marine Serre 


The decade that brought "Alf," "The Breakfast Club" and Cyndi Lauper into pop culture is gunning to make a splash in fashion, once again. 

1 

MARKET WATCH 

1. Hudson 2. Guess 3. Jordache 

2 

4. Vetements 5. Mother Denim 

6. DL1961 7. Street style 

3 

7 

BACK TO THE 

FUTURE 

4 

6 

5 


ÜÜÜ°}L>ì°V°Ý

The effortlessl look of a denim jumpsuit transcends age, gender and seasons, while allowing the wearer to embrace their personal style. 

MARKET WATCH 

1 2 

3 

14 

8 

JUMP 

FOR 

JOY 

4 

5 

7 

6 

1. Isabel Marant 2. Warp + Weft 

3. DL1961 4. R13 5. Street style 

6. Levi's 7. Sea NY 8. Guess 


16 

H 

SOURCING 

O 

Denim brands play house with new home décor collections. 

M 

words_____ANGELA VELASQUEZ 

E 


l_____LE F T: WR ANGLER X POTTER Y BAR N TEE N | RIGHT: LEVI’S FOR TARGET 

T 

he global denim and home décor 

sectors have more in common 

than fabric, design and 

long lead times. With more 

bodies on the couch in a state 

of repose these days, the denim 

industry is rejiggering what the durable, democratic 

and increasingly sustainable fabric means to end 

consumers. For some of the biggest names in the 

business, that means finding residency in the home 

décor category. 

Denim giant Levi’s bowed its first line of home 

décor with long-time retail partner Target in late 

February, delivering a 100-piece collection of tableware, 

barware, rugs, bedding and more. Kontoor 

Brands-owned Wrangler dabbled in home as well 

this year through a partnership with Pottery Barn 

Teen. The collection spanned 

curtains, tapestries and 

lounge seating, to duvet covers, 

storage bins and rugs. 

The back- to-back 

home collections from 

these leading jeans 

makers underscored 

the power heritage 

brands wield, particularly 

during uncertain 

economic times. When 

purse strings are tight, 

consumers flock to familiar 

brands they trust. The 

collections also magnified the need 

for denim brands to diversify their product 

assortments during an unprecedented year that 

largely confined consumers to their homes and 

curtailed the need for new jeans. 

Welcome home 

When one door shuts, however, another opens 

and there’s never been a better time for apparel 

brands to step into the home category. With everyone 

staying put, brands must use this new reality 

to their advantage, said Jaye Anna Mize, Fashion 

Snoops vice president of creative, home interiors 

and design. 

“Overall, the home interiors market has soared 

during the pandemic, as everyone is home and 

wants to declutter and redesign, finally fix or design 

those areas of neglect,” she said. “It’s a great time 

for apparel brands to license into home, as consumers 

are placing higher valuation in home products 

over all other product categories.” 

Throughout the pandemic, NPD Group said 

consumers purchased products that make staying 

at home easier and more palatable. “The Covid-19 

pandemic forced consumers to adapt, and they did 

so quickly, shifting their discretionary spending 

from travel and other experiences towards the here 

and now of a new homebound lifestyle,” said Marshal 

Cohen, NPD’s chief industry adviser, retail. 

Sales figures back up consumers’ newfound 

nesting habit. Since the week of March 14, 2020, 

just days after the World Health Organization 

declared Covid-19 a pandemic, product categories 

related to working, schooling, staying fit and living 

and eating at home have grown 20-50 percent each 

week, said Joe Derochowski, NPD’s vice president 

and home industry advisor. 

“Literally everything related to home has been 

extremely hot,” he said. “That’s why these apparel 

brands would be wanting to play in the space. 

[Home] was hot heading into the pandemic—it’s 

been hot for the last five 

to six years because of the favorable 

demographics. But it’s even hotter 

because of the 

pandemic.” 

Team work 

The pandemic certainly 

moved millennials, 

who continue 

to lag in home 

ownership, to finally 

mind their living 

a r r a n g e m e n t s . 

Prior to the coronavirus, 

the office was home for many in the 20- 

and 30-something cohort. Communal desks, quiet 

pods, living walls, gyms and stocked kitchens and 

bars fulfilled their day-to-day needs, leaving their 

rental apartments merely a place to crash. 

Working remotely, however, forced the group to 

invest in home office setups, as well as amenities that 

provide the comfort and indulgences of pre-quarantine 

life. Case in point: during the week ending 

March 21, 2020, NPD saw double-digit growth for 

sales of specialty coffee and espresso makers. 

What Levi’s and Wrangler’s home collections 

lacked in fancy milk frothers, they made up for in 

comfort and style that resonate with millennials as 

well as Gen Z. “They are definitely after the younger 

demographics with these alignments,” Mize said 

of the home collections. While the Levi’s for Target 

collection offered a broad sweep of goods that 

spanned cocktail shakers to patchwork denim 

teddy bears, Wrangler made a pointed effort to 

reach Gen Z by teaming with Pottery Barn Teen, 

a purveyor of high-end furniture for adolescents’ 

17 


SOURCING 

18 

bedrooms and young adult dorms. 

Wrangler has flirted with home before, but 

Steve Armus, Kontoor Brands vice president of 

global partnership and licensing, said it felt like 

the right time to get back into the category with a 

collaborator armed with deep knowledge of the 

product and the audience. “I found out a long time 

ago when you do business with category leaders, 

you listen to them a lot, and you play towards their 

strengths,” he said. 

The partnership was initiated before the pandemic, 

allowing Pottery Barn Teen’s senior product 

and merchant design teams to visit Wrangler’s 

Greensboro, N.C., offices. There, members of the 

Wrangler team spent the entire day educating Pottery 

Barn Teen on what’s important to the brand, 

its key looks and the items that attract shoppers. 

From a product side, however, Pottery Barn Teen 

took the lead, understanding what works best for 

the consumer. 

“Having the right partner in this kind of exercise 

is really the most important thing,” Armus 

said. Pottery Barn Teen, he added, proved itself 

throughout this collaboration to be first class with 

its understanding of the market, the consumer, the 

quality of its products, its design, and the care it is 

willing to take to execute products that showcase 

the brands in the best light. 

“It was a good holistic listening on both sides to 

come up with, ultimately, what we think is a collection 

that really brings out the best of both of us,” 

Armus said. “It’s been my history that that’s how 

those things get done. If we were to dictate what 

works, it wouldn’t be the best it could be. We share 

each other’s values and came up with what was a 

really nice collection for both parties.” 

Fashion house 

Denim in the home is not a new concept. In fact, 

Diesel Living has elevated its industrial denim style 

into an entire aesthetic for the home that goes well 

l_____EILEEN FISHER X WE ST E LM 

beyond blankets and pillows. Initially launched in 

2008 as an assortment of textiles, the home collection 

continued to grow year after year adopting 

important partnerships with leading players 

in the interior design field, including Moroso for 

furniture, Lodes for lighting, Scavolini for kitchen 

and bathroom, Seletti for tableware and more. The 

collection, Mize noted, has been successful in European 

markets. 

And the roster of luxury apparel brands with 

home collections confirms that the appetite for 

stylish décor is real. Bottega Veneta, Fendi Casa, 

Gucci Décor, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton with its 

“Objets Nomades” collection of travel-inspired furniture 

are among the aspirational brands that have 

a foot in the home category. 

Brands that belong to the mid-luxury markets, 

however, tend to have a lot more success with lifestyle-oriented 

consumers, Mize said. “Consumers 

are looking to translate their style into their 

home,” she said, adding that Kate Spade and Tory 

Burch are great examples how an apparel brand 

can adapt their style to home because consumers 

“have bought into their brands” and want to enjoy 

the lifestyles these labels exude. 

The home collections by fast-fashion retailers 

have a strong following as well. Spanish chain 

Mango recently announced the launch of its collection 

of home textiles that nod to its Mediterranean 

roots and coastal living. The company expects to 

gradually add tableware and products for the living 

room. H&M and Zara, which have dedicated home 

stores across Europe, are successful in the region, 

too. “In fact, most young home owners source 

heavily from those two in Europe,” Mize said. “They 

are a great mix of sophisticated yet playful styling.” 

Function first 

Denim in the home space can certainly work, but 

Derochowski urged apparel brands to not lose sight 

of the purpose of home goods. Fashion brands, he 

said, are often good at bringing the design element, 

but design plus functionality is the winning formula. 

The denim market, however, is well-versed 

in this balancing act. It’s a combination that is 

increasingly echoed across the jeanswear industry 

as consumer shift gears from trend-driven designs 

to styles that will endure multiple seasons. Conscious 

consumers are considering the environmental 

impact and longevity of their purchases—in 

terms of both design and durability—and brands 

are heeding this demand with waterless technologies, 

recycled fibers and more efficient production 

processes overall. 

And this is where the denim category might 

provide a major lift for the home category, which 

Derochowski said has seen sustainability take a 

back seat during the pandemic. 

Wrangler reinforced its sustainable commitments 

by incorporating Repreve recycled polyester, 

upcycled scraps of denim, organic cotton and BCI 

cotton into its line with Pottery Barn Teen. Sustainable 

apparel brand Eileen Fisher brought denim’s 

durability and unique character to the forefront 

with a collection of zero-waste home decor and 

furniture developed with West Elm last August. 

The fabrics used in the collection were sourced 

through Eileen Fisher’s Renew program, which 

deconstructs previously owned denim garments 

donated by customers into new products with 

more value. 

And in keeping with Levi’s sustainable mission, 

its collection with Target offered more sustainable 

certifications and claims than any of Target’s previous 

limited-time-only design collaborations. “We 

immediately connected on our mutual passion for 

purposeful and timeless design, with sustainability 

and quality at the core of everything we do,” Karyn 

Hillman, Levi’s chief product officer, said of the 

partnership with Target. “We dialed up the best 

elements of our two iconic brands and discovered 

fresh new ways to create truly unique products to 

be enjoyed for years to come.” 

If sustainable and unique designs are what consumers 

want for their home, it is hard to name a 

better foundation than denim, a textile that is 

often described as a living fabric that evolves along 

with the habits, hobbies and lifestyle of its owner. 

With more home companies seeking ways to use 

recycled and upcycled components, Mize said 

denim will be an important factor in creating more 

responsible statement pieces. 

“Denim would be a great player for fitting that 

aesthetic,” she said. 


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TRENDS 

F/W 21–22 

words_____ANGELA VELASQUEZ 

l_____ HERMÈS 

l_____ Y/PROJECT 


TRENDING 

21 

rural blues 

Denim is a natural companion to the down-to-earth styling of country living. The trends calls for 

double-denim, Western details and fabric blocking that evokes a cozy sense of warmth 

and comfort. Durable raw denim brings a stately vibe to classic outerwear silhouettes. 

l_____ LONGCHAMP 

l_____ LOUIS VUITTON 

l_____ RENTRAYAGE 

l_____ DIOR 

l_____ CINQ À SEPT 

l_____ DICE KAYEK 


TRENDING 

22 

bleach, please 

A relic of a bygone fashion era, bleached denim makes a stylish return to men's collections in an artistic yet 

controlled way. The bold contrast between the white and indigo offers an elevated 

alternative to last season's psychedelic tie-dye prints and rock 'n' roll overdyed jeans. 

l_____ VICTOR LI 

l_____ TOM FORD 

l_____ DHRUV KAPO 

l_____ Y/PROJECT

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l_____ ROKH 

cuffing season 

As skinny silhouttes take a backseat this season, designers are being reaquainted with the styling 

tricks that looser fitting jeans offer. For men and women, a cuffed or rolled hem instantly 

adds an effortlessly cool and laidback vibe to denim. Don't forget the statement shoes. 

l_____ BALMAIN 

l_____ MOLLY GODDARD 

l_____ BRUNELLO CUCINELLI 


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TRENDING 

26 

l_____ ROKH 

rip roaring 

l_____ DSQUARED2 

he infusion of sstyle straight and relaed fitting jeans in the market is a gateway for designers 

to explore other trends from the decade, including ripped and shredded surfaces. 

From a single ried knee to a masteriece in destruction, e reared to emrace imerfections. 

l_____ ROMEO HUNTE 

l_____ COOL TM 


TRENDING 

28 

big reveal 

esigners hae grown tired of safe ets. From sheer farics to reealing cutouts, they are introducing 

garments that smack of sex appeal. Denim is getting its groove back as well with 

PVC legs, body-hugging one-pieces and risqué lacing in strange and unusual places. 

l_____ TRE BY NATALIE RATABESI 

l_____ NIHIL 

l_____ R13 

l_____ GCDS 


THE PREMIUM PARADOX 

The denim industry has more data than ever and all signs point to a growing percentage of 

American women wearing larger sizes. But are premium labels keeping up? 

words_____JESSICA BINNS 

30 


l_____ERDEM X UNIVERSAL STANDARD 

T 

he 2010s might go down as the 

decade when fashion finally sat 

up and paid attention to the 

millions of consumers who 

wear extended sizes. 

Launch after launch thrust 

brands into new territory, often with lucrative 

results. For one, Abercrombie & Fitch’s curvy 

denim launch “sold through too quickly,” CEO 

Fran Horowitz lamented in 2019, suggesting outsize 

demand for sizes above the conventional 

range. And that same year Chad Kessler, American 

Eagle global brand president, told Glamour 

how “silly” it was for a windowfront mannequin 

to model plus-size jeans that were nowhere to be 

found in store, prompting the specialty retailer to 

bring extended sizes from clicks into bricks. 

But while mainstream marquee brands 

seized the opportunity to create denim for an 

oft-ignored demographic, progress has been 

slow for elevated labels that have long trafficked 

in exclusivity. 

Though brands like Frame and Reformation 

offer some products in plus sizes, the seemingly 

lukewarm level of interest from the premium 

denim sector very well might be intentional, 

according to one industry expert. “A lot of these 

premium denim brands have a rich heritage or a 

cult status,” said Kayla Marci, market analyst for 

Edited, the retail intelligence platform used by 

Boohoo, J.Crew and Puma. “They are probably 

aspirational for consumers whose sizes aren't yet 

catered for and could be demanding representation 

to have the same access to brands and products 

as their straight-size peers.” 

Brands, however, might be interested to know 

that a growing number of curvy consumers is 

querying the web for fashion-forward jeans, while 

Edited’s data shows a 90 percent year-over-year 

increase in sellouts for jeans in sizes 32 and higher 

over the past three months. 

Meanwhile, searches for plus-size boot-cut 

jeans climbed 187 percent year over year, while 

flare styles for curvy figures drew 122 percent 

more searches than the prior year, according to 

Trendalytics, a trend data platform. Consumers 

also showed 91 percent more search interest in 

distressed denim styles in curvy sizes, with web 

searchers also conducting 89 percent more queries 

for ever-popular mom jeans in extended sizes. 

However, the language consumers employ 

when scouting out denim online is evolving—perhaps 

under the influence of the body-positivity 

movement—with the 3 percent uptick in searches 

for “plus size jeans” lagging the 21 percent increase 

31 


WHAT'S NEXT 

32 

in searches for “curve jeans,” it added. 

At the end of the day, plus-size consumers 

want the same options as their straight-size peers, 

says Kristin Breakell, content strategist for Trendalytics—and 

that includes denim that costs a little 

more, too. “There’s always going to be a market for 

those premium price points.” 

What’s particularly interesting is that many 

consumers who end up buying lower-cost curvy 

denim products often have to pony up for tailoring 

and fitting to achieve their desired look, so “they’re 

already expected to invest further in these purchases,” 

Breakell added. This indicates an opportunity 

to serve denim consumers who might be 

ready and willing to “pay upfront for a well-fitting, 

high-quality product rather than having to do that 

after the fact,” she said. 

Consumers might be vociferously calling for 

fashion agnosticism to size but making denim 

that fits flatteringly across diverse bodies and sizes 

is much easier said than done. Breaknell didn’t 

downplay the extra time and additional costs 

incurred when brands accustomed to the strictures 

of limited sizing suddenly strike out for new 

terrain. But with roughly two-thirds of women in 

the U.S. meeting plus-size characteristics, Breknell 

says it’s difficult to ignore the “buying power” of 

this underserved consumer cohort. 

ating great-fitting clothing across an unprecedented 

range of sizes,” Waldman said. “We know how to 

successfully bridge the divide that has defined the 

apparel industry for so long and our collaborations 

are a way of sharing those learnings so that the 

broader industry change can be affected.” One of 

the collaborations she’s referring to came during a 

2018 tie-up with American heritage brand J.Crew, 

which leveraged the newbie’s insights and expertise 

to create an XXS-5X capsule of classic wardrobe staples 

outside of its usual comfort zone. 

70% 

o f w o m e n i n t h e U . S . h a v e 

a s i z e 1 4 o r h i g h e r o n t h e i r 

clothing labels 

With four new denim styles launching in 

March, Universal Standard now carries 12 silhouettes, 

with consumers able to shop 60 options 

across washes, lengths and petites. The new additions—whose 

Donna, Etta, Joni, and Stevie names 

reference iconic women in music—tackle one of 

the female denim wearer’s biggest pain points: the 

“dreaded waist gap.” 

Universal Standard’s new curve fits target wearers 

whose hips are 10 inches wider—or more—than 

their waists, a reality that often leads to “gaping, dipping 

or readjusting,” the brand says. Though it has 

always served larger-sized consumers, the launch 

acknowledges that plus-size shoppers are anything 

but a monolith with body shapes and morphologies 

demanding unique accommodations. The new 

denim debut includes just one skinny style, seizing 

on the trend-led movement away from restrictive 

fits toward the looser styles that Gen Z consumers in 

particular are known to favor. 

But it was a late-March denim-centric collaboration 

with British design house Erdem that put fashion 

on notice and further premiumized Universal 

Standard’s place in the industry. 

“Fashion for everyone means designing consciously 

beyond the boundaries of shape or trend,” 

Straightening out the standard 

The potential to serve women wearing extended 

sizes has attracted a number of new entrants in 

recent years. Universal Standard made its debut six 

years ago in response to the dearth of designs for 

consumers who don’t conform the straight-size 

mold but still want to look like polished and put 

together in premium fabrications without paying 

a pretty penny. 

According to Alexandra Waldman, co-founder 

and chief creative officer of Universal Standard, 

70 percent of women in the United States have a 

size 14 or higher on their clothing labels, “and not 

catering to them is a real missed opportunity.” 

However, the push for brands to augment their 

size ranges is about “more than commerce,” she 

added. “It’s about believing that everyone deserves 

access, respect and dignity.” 

Since launch, the New York City-based fashion 

startup has graduated from its plus-size genesis, 

blossoming into a fully size-inclusive label spanning 

00-40 that creates a space where people of all 

sizes can shop the same styles. And its denim offerings 

have amassed a loyal following along the way. 

That’s because the Gwyneth Paltrow-backed 

brand has developed a “very successful way of cresaid 

designer Erdem Moralıoglu, whose eponymous 

label collaborated on the eight-piece collection 

brimming with “Englishness.” 

The brands say the collection, which riffs on 

notes of the pandemic-era cottagecore movement, 

fuses “rational ease” with “romantic charm.” 

Beyond a wide-leg jean and sailor-inspired skinny, 

the capsule offers a top-stitched,denim boilersuit, 

a patchwork white denim skirt and loose-fitting 

jeans. Rich blue- or black-and-white floral prints, 

evoking classic chinoiserie, lend on-trend countryside 

charm to cotton shirtdresses and tops accented 

by ruffled trim. 

According to Waldman, the elevated capsule, 

with prices spanning $120-$198, underscores that 

“size equality is the only way forward.” 

“Access for all doesn’t end with US,” she added. 

“Together with Erdem, we aim to change the way 

fashion looks for all of US and the way we look at 

fashion. This is to the benefit of the industry, the 

consumer, and the idea of fashion equality. 

Fiurin out fit 

Data and technology are taking a starring role in 

the denim industry, and fit tech specifically offers 

potential to steer consumers toward the jeans that 

work for their figures. 

Fit:Match, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla. startup that 

takes a Netflix-style approach to pairing people 

with product, garnered a flurry of headlines 

last year when it partnered with mall operator 

Brookfield to bring its body-scanning stations 

into some of its shopping center properties amid 

widespread retail closures and general consumer 

anxiety about the risks of visiting stores. Despite 

what could be described as inauspicious timing 

for its debut, Fit:Match is now used by denim 

brands spanning Good American, Paige Denim 

and American Eagle Outfitters. 

The Netflix analogy applies to Fit:Match in that 

the body-scanner-provided data shows consumers 

the brands whose sizes most closely match their 

measurements. “We believe extremely strongly in 

this matching score that we are assigning to each 

item, and to each SKU,” says founder and CEO 

Haniff Brown. 

What’s more, brands appreciate the Fit:Match 

data, says Brown, because it shows them how their 

sizes benchmark against their peers. If the industry 

average “match” is 95 percent for a size 12, meaning 

that size 12 will work for 95 percent of size-12- 

wearing consumers, a brand that garners a mere 72 

percent for that particular size can investigate what 

steps it must take to improve. A brand that overperforms 

on its smaller sizes but underperforms 


l_____GOOD AMERICAN 

on larger ones can use the Fit:Match data to go back 

to the drawing brand. 

And product teams often do put these findings 

to good use, according to Brown who says Fit:- 

Match helped one large retailer reconstruct its private-label 

size medium tops and bottoms when the 

data indicated “really low match scores” not just 

compared to its other sizes but to industry competitors 

as well. 

Sizing is especially crucial for omnichannel 

denim brands, when consumers can’t try on the 

jeans they’re eyeing on their phone or computer 

screens. The Fit:Match platform shows brands and 

designers which products and sizes consumers are 

engaging with on their digital pages, driving what 

Brown describes as “data-rich commerce.” 

Will the pandemic pause ‘extended’ expansions? 

If there’s one uphill battle facing the movement 

for increased sizes among high-end denim labels, 

it’s that the jeans sector is just entering the earliest 

stages of recovery from a year-long, pandemic-induced 

malaise, Breakell noted. That aforementioned 

3 percent bump in searches for plus-size 

denim indicates consumers’ nascent reawakening 

to clothing beyond quarantine-friendly loungewear. 

Convincing brands to invest in new sizing 

and all that it requires when they still might be digging 

out from a Covid-shaped hole could be a tall 

order. But it’s a conversation brands need to have 

if they have any hope of remaining relevant with 

the Gen Z consumer, “who continues to challenge 

societal norms and demands representation and 

inclusivity,” Edited’s Marci said. 

“We're changing our values as customers and I 

think that it's becoming more apparent that consumers 

not only want inclusivity but will only 

shop for brands who really are actually inclusive,” 

Breakell said, warning that savvy consumers “can 

see straight though” tactics like “virtue signaling” 

and “surface-level diversity.” 

Though some brands might be tempted to take 

the easy way out and “just add a stretch denim line 

and call it a day,” Marci says denim labels interested 

in extending their size range “will need to work 

hard for this demographic to succeed.” 

“Inclusivity needs to be ingrained across all 

touchpoints,” she added, “from research to garment 

creation, fitting with body shape in mind, 

marketing, in-store and online customer service.” 

And Universal Standard is ready to play big 

sister to brands that don’t know where to get 

started—but want to. “We’re definitely still advising 

brands and are happy to share what we know 

with anyone who wants to join us on this mission 

of making fashion for all,” Waldman said. 

33 


DESIGNING 

34 

Denim brands of all sizes 

address the need for 

adaptive jeans. 

words_____GLENN TAYLOR 

W 

ith millions of people 

worldwide living with disabilities 

and sensory issues, 

which can make daily activities 

including getting 

dressed very difficult, more 

brands have sought to help them out by filling the 

adaptive apparel void. 

In 2019, Coresight Research said the underserved 

adaptive apparel market could potentially 

reach $349.9 billion globally by 2023. As denim 

remains such a centerpiece of fashion across all 

types of consumers, that means that there is plenty 

of opportunity for more brands to learn more 

about how they can aid these consumers with 

more comfortable jeans. 

When Tommy Hilfiger launched the Tommy 

Adaptive line in 2017, the fashion brand estimated 

that one billion people are living with some form 

of disability, yet many have been largely overlooked 

and excluded by the fashion industry. Upon realizing 

how many people have gone unnoticed by 

major brands, Tommy Hilfiger saw a huge gap to 

fill in terms of the adaptive product available and 

the representation of people with disabilities. 

With denim already serving as a major staple 

within the iconic brand, it was only fitting that the 

jeans would take on this challenge. “I started my 

career in fashion because of my love of jeans—they 

are a classic, all-American staple. A great pair of 

jeans can make you feel powerful and confident, 

and we wanted to ensure that all of our consumers, 

regardless of ability, could feel that way and express 

themselves with the styles they love,” said founder 

Tommy Hilfiger. 

ALT ="MAN WEARING JEANS BY IZ ADAPTIVE"

Tommy Adaptive is modified 

from the company’s 

mainstream line to give shoppers 

for adaptive clothing the 

chance to “enjoy the same 

classic, cool styles that our 

brand offers,” a company rep 

said. The only adjustments in 

the adaptive clothing are the 

discrete modifications that are added to promote 

comfortable, easy dressing. 

Tommy Adaptive includes adjustable waists 

and pull-on loops in all pants. The seated styles 

have a higher rise in the back to provide coverage, 

and a lower rise in the front designed for comfort. 

Additionally, the back pockets in seated styles have 

been moved to the sides of the pants for function 

and a more comfortable fit, and discrete openings 

have been created on each side of the pant to allow 

for greater ease of access. 

All adaptive jeans have a magnet and Velcro 

closure in place of standard buttons and zippers for 

the fly. There are also magnetic wide-leg openings 

to create additional room for braces, prosthetics 

and overall ease of pulling on pants. 

Tommy Hilfiger may be the biggest brand 

name thrusting itself into the adaptive denim 

business, but smaller companies like IZ Adaptive 

and Trinidad3 are showing how a little innovation 

can go a long way. 

Canadian designer Izzy Camilleri, founder of 

the inclusive fashion label IZ Adaptive, recently 

launched the “Game Changer” pant after spending 

years studying how to create a seamless-back to 

minimize possible causes of pressure sores, which 

can potentially become a life-threatening issue in 

the long term. 

The Game Changer pants are specifically 

designed for wheelchair users, who can get pres- 

ALT =' ' T O M M Y 

sure sores from a combination of moisture and 

friction from an ill-fitting garment. The pant looks 

like a classic jean in the front but the back has revolutionary 

IZ Seamless Technology, which Camilleri 

said is designed to be free of seams or pockets that 

a person would normally be sitting on. These elements, 

she added, can result in pressure sores. 

“Everything that we do, the starting point is from a 

seated perspective,” she said. 

Both the indigo and black versions of the jeans 

are made of pre-washed stretch denim comprised 

of 98 percent cotton and 2 percent spandex. The 

jeans follow the line of the seated body, and include 

an extended front fly zipper with removable pull 

tab. Different variations include a choice of button 

or hook and bar closure to give shoppers a wider 

range of options to open their jeans comfortably. 

Trinidad Garcia III, the founder of Los Angeles-based 

denim brand Trinidad3, built his company 

after spending time in the Marine Corps. 

Many veterans deal with lingering physical 

issues after their deployment. Garcia saw an opportunity 

to help his fellow veterans with the launch 

of an adaptive line, noting that the new collection 

specifically can help serve amputees with prosthetic 

legs. Those who wear prosthetics must adjust the 

straps on the limb so it won’t bite into their hips. 

Since it’s hard to adjust straps when wearing pants, 

and people may feel awkward adjusting pants in 

public, they won’t do it at all. 

ALT =''TOMMY ADAPTIVE" 

Trinidad3 address this issue 

by applying zippers on each 

leg that extend from the pocket 

down to the knee cap. This 

allows the wearer to easily adjust 

the prosthetic. 

“We can work to hide the 

prosthetic,” Garcia said. “From a 

fabric perspective, I wanted to use 

a weight that that still held some volume there so you 

couldn’t tell what side the prosthetic was on.” 

To construct the adaptive jeans, Garcia says the 

creative process is the same as it is for any other 

parts of the brand’s collection, such as seeking out 

the best fabric and trims, and understanding what 

individuals’ challenges are. “We’re meeting what 

those needs are, whether they are cut off down at 

the knee or up at the hip,” he said. 

Although the comfort level is certainly an important 

factor, the growth of adaptive denim is arguably 

just as beneficial on a mental level, especially when it 

comes to looking good and feeling good. 

“I think fashion is freedom because it allows 

you to be who you want to be and not be restricted 

by clothes that you feel you have to wear because of 

your limitation set, either physically, or by being in 

a chair,” Camilleri said. 

Garcia’s inspiration to empower and improve 

the lives of veterans further developed when he 

met Josue Barron, a veteran amputee who lost 

his left leg in Afghanistan in 2010. Barron modeled 

Trinidad3’s adaptive jeans at Project Las 

Vegas last year. 

“I saw his passion for fashion,” Garcia said about 

Barron. “He wants to feel the magic that fashion 

brings—the ‘look good, feel good’ element. The fact 

that we can use something that we’re very passionate 

about, which is denim and jeans, to do so, was 

the most fulfilling thing we’ve done to date.” 

35 

CONFIDENCE 


WHAT’S NEXT 

BR IDGING THE 

GENDER G A P 

Denim’s universal appeal and heritage roots serve 

genderless fashion. 

37 

words_____LIZ WARREN 

Kuba Dabrowski for WWD 

W 

omen’s fashion magazine 

Vogue made waves when 

its December 2020 issue 

featured pop star and fashion 

experimentalist Harry 

Styles on the cover. The issue 

sparked such a frenzy that readers were put on 

a waitlist to receive a copy, and the magazine had to 

place a rush order to fulfill the demand. 

The reason for the commotion: Not only was 

Styles the first man to appear solo on the magazine’s 

cover, but he did so while dressed in a pastel 

Gucci ball gown. 

Gender-swapping styles have historically followed 

a specific formula: Men can’t wear women’s 

fashion, but women can wear men’s fashion—in 

fact, the latter is often celebrated. A woman in a 

tailored suit or an oversize garment stamped with 

a “boyfriend” label is considered edgy and cool; a 

man in a dress, on the other hand, can send society 

into a tailspin. 

But could a fabric change everything? A notoriously 

democratizing material worn by all genders, 

ages and economic demographics, denim might 

have the potential to bridge the gender gap. 

Genderless by design 

According to Mohsin Sajid, a design consultant 

and owner and creative director of the denim 

brand Endrime, denim was gender fluid before the 

term was part of the lexicon. 

“Historically, it was women who wore men’s 

workwear and made it their own in the 1930s,” he 

said. “Denim and workwear have always been genderless, 

so denim does happily fit in with the current 

movement quite well.” 

Early workwear styles were oversized in order to 

be worn over existing garments, and consequently 

were much more relaxed than the body-hugging 

fits of today. Levi’s describes its 501 jeans—the first 

style ever created—as its most gender-fluid fit, noting 

on its website that all genders have worn 501 

jeans for decades. 

Marked by a straight leg and a medium rise, 

the 501 is the foundation upon which every other 

fit was created. Over time, styles evolved from 

relaxed, to flared, to skinny, to bootcut—each 

one lacking an assigned gender. Since jeans were 

created, both men and women have been able to 

experiment with a range of denim fits, from skinny 

to wide leg, without the backlash that often comes 

from other garments. 

To honor denim’s universal appeal, Sajid 

often incorporates genderless elements into his 

collections, adapting wide leg fits reflective of 

’40s workwear for both men and women, and 

making sure to include an oversized shirt into 

each of his collections. 

Also bucking gender categories is Miko Underwood, 

founder of Oak & Acorn—Only for the 

Rebelles, a Harlem-based denim brand that has 

offered genderless styles since its launch in 2015. It 

produces three main fits, including The Wanderer 

Harem Pant, a mid-rise jean with comfort stretch; 

The Rebelle Coverall, an oversize jumpsuit with a 

dropped crotch and adjustable tabs at the waist; 

and The Gee Jogger, a button-fly drawstring pant. 

Each style is created with more room in the hip 

circumference to accommodate different body 

shapes, and is available in sizes XS to XL and W26 

to W36. 

“Oak & Acorn represents the functionality and 

versatility of men’s design with the trendiness of 

women’s apparel,” Underwood said. “It’s smart, 

sustainable design that forces our designers to be 

more focused in our process, and more thoughtful 

about how the product can look and feel on everyone 

while creating the perfect balance of design 

and innovation.” 

London-based denim label I and Me also built 

its foundation on genderless designs and offers 

four core jeans silhouettes—The Baggy, The Wide, 

The Slim and The Relaxed Skinny—as well as 

denim jackets, overalls and accessories. Most of its 

garments are made in collaboration with Japanese 

mills or with limited runs of unique denim casts 

and colors, and are designed to “reflect the moment 

rather than the season.” 

“Denim is a versatile fabric, and there are of 

course many ways to interpret it,” said Jessica Gebhart, 

I and Me’s founder and creative director. “We 

only work with authentic ridgid denim, which 

lends itself to both men’s and women’s products.” 

Sizing considerations 

Though genderless styles help simplify collections, 

they also come with their own set of nuances. 

As men’s and women’s jeans are constructed to fit 

differently in the rise and upper thighs and lower 


SOURCING 

l_____I AND ME 

38 

legs, perfecting the fit is something Gebhart considers 

a “key stage in the development process.” 

To capture the essence of authentic denim, I 

and Me uses vintage blocks as a starting point and 

then tweaks styling and pattern details according 

to the brand’s unique look. It offers jeans in sizes 

W26 to W36 and L28 to L34, and jackets and tops 

in sizes S to XL. 

“All body shapes are different even without 

bringing gender into it, so we don’t,” she said. 

Sajid offers a similar size range with his collections, 

showcasing styles in S to XL for tops and 

pants and 27 to 36 for bottoms. However, he adds 

that special considerations—like keeping sizing 

charts up to date and using photos with fit models 

and their sizes prominently listed—are crucial in 

this space. 

Levi’s published its own set of guidelines for 

genderless sizing on its Off the Cuff blog, noting 

that the best way to determine appropriate sizing 

is to try on a range of fits and styles, and size up 

when trying to achieve an oversized look. It added 

that its Ribcage Wide Leg, Wedgie Straight and XX 

Chino styles feature silhouettes that are conducive 

to all genders. 

But genderless denim isn’t confined to relaxed 

fits and rigid denim. Sajid said jeans with more 

“feminine” concepts are slowly being incorporated 

into men’s wear in the form of dart manipulation 

and stretch fabrics—the latter of which 

have gotten an update with the industry’s shift 

to size inclusivity. New stretch technologies such 

as Soorty’s Re-Sync denim and Hyosung’s Creora 

3D Max high-stretch spandex have made it possible 

for denim to comfortably mold to various 

body shapes and sizes, spanning both men’s and 

women’s garments. 

According to Underwood, this shift will only 

gain momentum in the coming years. “Our fits are 

made to adjust to the wearer’s body and personal 

style,” she said. “Women have adopted and claimed 

men’s fits over decades in the fashion cycle, and 

men have become ever more accustomed to slimmer 

fits and stretch fabrics. Genderless is the future 

of fashion.” 

A genderless generation 

And the younger generations seem to 

agree. With nonbinary stars such as Elliot Page, 

Janelle Monae, Hunter Schafer and Sam Smith 

leading the charge, Gen Z is collectively challenging 

gender as a social construct. The cohort often 

shops across gendered sections, opting for looser, 

androgynous denim styles in place of its predecessors’ 

favored skinny jeans. 


SOURCING 

" A L L B O D Y S H A P E S 

A R E D I F F E R E N T 

EVEN WITHOUT 

B R I N G I N G G E N D E R I N T O 

IT, SO WE DON'T.” 

—Jessica Gebhart, I and ME 

The bold acts of Gen Z have captured the 

attention of the entire industry—and they may 

have come at the perfect time. The Covid-19 pandemic 

has been a pivotal moment in history in 

which social norms that no longer serve society 

are being traded in for something more appropriate. 

As fashion looks to forgo its seasonal calendar 

in the name of sustainability and efficiency, 

experts are also investigating its traditional gender 

categories. The majority of shows and collections 

are still divided into men’s wear or women’s wear 

categories, and merchandisers rely on designating 

spaces by gender. 

John Galliano, Raf Simons and Teflar Clemens 

are some of the designers challenging this 

concept by featuring trans models or non-binary 

fashion in their collections. Even mass market 

lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret recently cast its 

first transgender woman, model Valentina Sampaio, 

for its catalogue. 

Mainstream brands are also getting onboard 

with genderless offerings. In 2017, H&M debuted 

a genderless denim collection and promoted a 

campaign that showed male- and female-identifying 

models wearing the same articles of clothing 

side-by-side with slight variations in how each 

styled them. The collection featured items such as a 

denim button-down shirt and jacket, jeans, shorts, 

a dress and overalls in a light wash. 

Asos followed in 2018 with its Collusion line, 

which it designed in partnership with six teenagers 

from diverse backgrounds and considered a “newto-market 

fashion proposition anchored by the 

ideals of collaboration, inclusivity and experimentation.” 

The collection featured gender-fluid basics 

and streetwear-inspired items such as T-shirts, 

long-sleeve shirts and sweaters, track jackets, furry 

bomber jackets, puffer coats and more. While 

select denim styles were offered for both men and 

women, the jeans were sized according to gender. 

More recently in 2020, Calvin Klein introduced 

a new CK One jeans and underwear collection 

based on staple wardrobe pieces with “genderless 

appeal,” along with CK Everyone, a genderless fragrance 

inspired by the original CK One scent. The 

line features oversized trucker jackets, denim vests, 

mom jeans, dad jeans, denim skirts and shorts 

with raw hem cuts. 

Gebhart noted that, while unisex offerings were 

few and far between just four years ago when she 

launched her brand, significant progress is being 

made. “We don’t see this as a movement or a passing 

trend,” she said. “We are happy to have been a 

voice for genderless denim, and it is great to see the 

appetite for it grow.” 

39 


REVEL 

DESIGNER DENIM CELEBRATES INDIVIDUALITY. 

THIS PAGE: 

CAROLINA HERRERA TOP, 

COACH DENIM SKIRT, R13 BOOTS, 

CHANEL EARRING, JOOMI LIM 

NECKLACE. 

OPPOSITE: 

Y/PROJECT COAT, DSQUARED2 

JEANS, CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS 

GLOVES, WANDLER BOOTS, RICK 

OWENS SUNGLASSES, HEAVEN BY 

MARC JACOBS EARRING, LADY 

GREY RING.

REVEL 

photography_____ KEVIN SINCLAIR 

styling_____ALEX BADIA

THIS PAGE: 

CHANEL JEAN JACKET, KELSEY 

RANDALL DRESS WORN UNDER 

HEAVEN BY MARC JACOBS SKIRT, 

R13 BOOTS, JOHN HARDY AND 

JOOMI LIM NECKLACES, JOHN 

HARDY NECKLACE WORN AS A 

BRACELET, ETTIKA RINGS. 

OPPOSITE: 

PHILOSOPHY DI LORENZO 

SERAFINI JACKET, TRE BY NATALIE 

RATABESI BODYSUIT, GUCCI 

TROUSERS, ZIMMERMANN BELT, 

JOOMI LIM EARRING.

THIS PAGE: 

PACO RABANNE SEQUIN TOP 

AND TROUSERS PINNED TO 

AMI JACKET AND JEANS, R13 

BOOTS, JOOMI LIM EARRING, 

JOHN HARDY AND JOOMI LIM 

NECKLACES, PYRRHA NECKLACE 

WORN AS BRACELET, ETTIKA 

RINGS. 

OPPOSITE LEFT: 

COLIN LOCASCIO CATSUIT, 

MARCO BOLOGNA JEANS, 

DSQUARED2 BOOTS, CHRISTIAN 

WIJNANTS GLOVES, CHANEL 

EARRING, JOOM LIM NECKLACES, 

CELESTE STAR BRACELETS. 

OPPOSITE RIGHT: 

COLIN LOCASCIO CATSUIT, 

BALMAIN JACKET, R13 BOOTS, 

JOOMI LIM EARRING AND 

NECKLACE, JOHN HARDY 

NECKLACE, ETTIKA RINGS.

DSQUARED2 BLAZER, CHRISTIAN 

COWAN TOP, Y/PROJECT JEANS, 

DSQUARED2 BOOTS, BAGTAZO 

HAT, CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS 

GLOVES, CELESTE STAR 

BRACELETS.

LOEWE TOP AND SKIRT, ELLERY 

DENIM CORSET, R13 BOOTS, 

JOOMI LIM EARRING AND 

NECKLACE, JOHN HARDY 

NECKLACE AND NECKLACE 

WORN AS A BRACELET.

THIS PAGE: 

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN JEAN 

JACKET, KELSEY RANDALL 

BEADED TOP, DSQUARED2 JEANS 

AND BOOTS, HEAVEN BY MARC 

JACOBS EARRING, JOOMI LIM 

NECKLACE, LADY GREY BRACELET 

AND RING, PYRRHA RINGS. 

OPPOSITE: 

GMBH TOP, COOL TM JEANS, 

GIVENCHY HAT, JOOMI LIM 

NECKLACE AND EARRING, LADY 

GREY BRACELET, PYRRHA RINGS, 

LADY GREY RING.

THIS PAGE: 

CHRISTIAN COWAN JACKET, 

HEAVEN BY MARC JACOBS 

TEE, GUCCI SHORTS, JOOMI 

LIM EARRING AND NECKLACE, 

JOHN HARDY NECKLACE AND 

NECKLACE WORN AS BRACELET, 

ETTIKA RINGS. 

OPPOSITE: 

LEVI’S VEST, GUCCI TROUSERS 

AND BOA, ZIMMERMANN BOOTS, 

HEAVEN BY MARC JACOBS 

EARRING, JOOMI LIM NECKLACE, 

LADY GREY BRACELET.

Photo Director: Jenna Greene; Photo Assistant: Carlos Vigil; Editor: Angela Velasquez; Market Editors: Luis Campuzano, Thomas Waller, Emily Mercer, Victor Vaughns Jr; Fashion Assistant: Kimberly Infante; 

Models: Awuoi Matiop/Fusion; Duot Ajang/Muse; Hair: Yohey Nakatsuka/De Facto; Makeup: Yoshie Kubota/ No-Name

52 

S O L I D 

GROUND 

With brands that are backed by more than a 

century of experience and denim know-how, 

Kontoor Brands president and CEO Scott Baxter 

shares how the U.S. jeanswear giant is preparing 

itself for another year of change and opportunity. 

words_____VICKI M. YOUNG 


T 

he environmental issues concerning 

denim production have 

not been lost on some of the 

most storied names in the business. 

Greensboro, N.C.-based 

Kontoor Brands Inc. is actively 

working on ways to make the manufacturing process 

for its heritage brands Wrangler and Lee more 

sustainable and responsible. 

Here, Kontoor Brands president 

and CEO Scott Baxter 

shares how the company’s 

efforts in sustainability and 

the impact from Covid-19 

are transforming the way the 

company is working to navigate 

2021 and beyond. 

RIVET:Given how unprecedented 

2020 was, how is 2021 

shaping up for Kontoor? 

Scott Baxter: We were 

pleased to finish 2020 with 

great momentum—growing 

our brands within existing 

categories and reaching new 

consumers in new segments 

and geographies. Like many 

companies in 2020, we also 

experienced the impacts of 

Covid-19. However, we were 

nimble and quickly focused 

on supporting the well-being 

of our employees and 

strengthening our financial 

position. We’ve also been 

flexible in evolving our strategies, 

leaning into many of the 

proactive initiatives that were 

already underway to help navigate the nearterm 

environment and set the foundation for 

long-term success. 

For our Lee and Wrangler brands, I’m proud to 

share that we are winning in the marketplace—taking 

share and adding incremental business. During 

2020, according to NPD Group, we added more than 

200 basis points of share within our core denim and 

casuals business in the U.S. market. Our strategies 

are paying off, with new innovation, sustainability 

and design initiatives helping to drive growth. As 

we look ahead, we are confident in our brand strategies 

and believe there is significant opportunity 

within the denim and apparel categories. 

l_____KONTOOR BRANDS PRESIDENT 

AND CEO SCOTT BAXTER 

RIVET:What is your outlook for denim sales in the 

U.S. versus overseas? 

SB: Our improvements in 2020, despite the pandemic, 

are a function of the strategies we’ve implemented 

and the investments we’ve been making. One of our 

key areas of focus includes expanding geographically, 

with a focus on China. In late 2020, we launched our 

Wrangler brand in China on digital platforms first. 

We’re seeing good momentum, and are optimistic 

about the broader marketing launch this spring. 

Currently, international revenue accounts for 

about 22 percent of our total business, and our 

Europe and China businesses 'experienced sequential 

improvement in the fourth quarter. Our outdoor 

collection, Wrangler ATG (All Terrain Gear), 

as well as our Lee collaboration with H&M, which 

includes 100 percent recycled jeans, are examples 

of initiatives that are positioning Kontoor for longterm 

success in these regions. 

RIVET:What about denim sales on the digital 

front? Do you think digital sales will continue to 

grow in 2021 or will customers more likely head 

back to stores once they feel comfortable to do so? 

And if digital remains a strong component, how 

will that impact your distribution strategy? 

SB: Our strategies have positioned us well to navigate 

the ongoing impacts of Covid-19. One of our 

key strategies is ‘winning with the winning retailers’, 

and digital is a key pillar of that strategy as we 

expect continued strength in 

online sales. We saw accelerated 

improvement in our digital and 

direct-to-consumer channels in 

the fourth quarter and throughout 

2020, which helped offset 

declines in other areas due to 

the pandemic. 

Three of our largest customers—Walmart, 

Target, Amazon—have 

remained opened, 

positioning us well moving forward. 

And while digital will be a 

core strategy for us moving forward, 

we are committed to continuing 

to accelerate our ‘winning 

with the winning retailers’ 

strategy and growing with these 

customers who are continuing 

to see in-person foot traffic. 

RIVET:Denim has done well 

in 2020 compared with other 

apparel categories. Why do you 

think that’s so, even with all the 

talk about athleisure growing 

rt sr s ofic orrs 

began working from home? 

SB: Prior to the pandemic, we 

were already seeing a steady 

shift to more casual workwear. 

The ability to work from home has only accelerated 

that trend as people are opting for more 

comfortable attire. When more people begin returning 

to the office, we don’t believe that trend 

will go away. Denim has the unique ability to 

let you feel comfortable, yet still look sharp in a 

professional environment. 

RIVET:Global sourcing and supply chain issues 

were key areas of concern last year for all 

manufacturers. Kontoor has much of its own 

manufacturing in the Western Hemisphere. How 

did that help the company navigate or leverage its 

production facilities in 2020? And what were the 

53 


54 

learnings in terms of what improvements were 

needed for 2021 and beyond? 

SB: Our supply chain is uniquely positioned to 

manage through challenging periods given our 

diversified approach, which includes internally 

manufactured and sourced products, allowing us 

to scale production and minimize inventory and 

service delays. We produce 

about 36 percent of our 

production in our owned 

and operated manufacturing 

facilities and are able to 

leverage our manufacturing 

operations to quickly 

realign capacity with 

changing demand and 

marketplace conditions. 

Earlier last year, we 

shifted part of our manufacturing 

operations in 

Mexico to produce medicals 

gowns. We donated 

about 70,000 of them to 

local hospitals and longterm 

healthcare facilities, 

in addition to producing 

gowns for healthcare supply 

chains. I am incredibly proud of our 

teams' work to help our communities. 

The events of the last year emphasized 

the importance of being nimble, 

quick and remaining on offense. Our 

supply chain teams did an excellent 

job of this prior to the pandemic, 

and leaned into this even more 

throughout 2020. 

RIVET:Denim has long been 

considered one of fashion’s 

biggest category polluters. 

Much of that is due to the 

amount of water used for 

in n finisin t 

is the company doing on the 

sustainability front? 

SB: At Kontoor, our aspiration is to be a sustainability 

leader—not just based on what we say, but 

most importantly on what we do. In 2020, we announced 

our first global sustainability goals and 

published our foundational report on our sustainability 

progress. We are committed to providing 

transparency on our efforts to create a more 

sustainable business. 

For example, we committed to saving 10 billion 

liters of water by 2025. One step toward realizing 

that effort is the expansion of our innovative 

dyeing process, Indigood foam-dye technology. 

Indigood Foam Dye replaces the traditional water 

vats and chemical baths of conventional indigo 

laborating with others in the industry to further 

commercialize the technology. 

RIVET:Let’s talk about some of the new product 

lines for Kontoor’s Wrangler and Lee brands. What 

do you think are some of the jeanswear trends that 

will be popular this year? 

SB: Comfort continues to be king as consumers 

seek out relaxed, looser fits. Non-denim 

utility fits such as cargo and carpenter are 

also on the rise as consumers seek out fits 

that marry comfort with functionality. As we 

continue to see a move toward casualization, 

but also comfort and quality of product, I 

think it plays right into our current strategy. 

You see this in play with the expansion of our 

outdoor line, Wrangler ATG, or the dynamic 

comfort found in the Lee Extreme Motion 

MVP collection. 

RIVET:What’s new for Kontoor’s brands in 

2021 in terms of product lines or distribution? 

SB: We’re really excited about the future of 

our brands. In 2021, we will continue to focus 

on reaching new consumers 

through new categories and 

segments, world-class design 

and innovation, sustainability 

platforms and investment 

in our brands and markets. 

As I mentioned previously, 

we continue to expand our 

outdoor collection, Wrangler 

ATG, including launching a 

female collection in the coming 

months. 

Collaborations with new 

brands and partners is also 

an important element of our 

growth strategy. I mentioned 

the collaboration with Lee 

and H&M, which is bringing 

the Lee brand into over 

1,000 H&M doors across 61 

countries, reaching younger 

consumers. Other recent 

powerful collaborations have 

included Keith Haring, Alife and Bianca Saunders, 

among others. You can expect to see more exciting 

brand collaborations soon. 

dyeing, reducing the amount of water required to 

turn denim blue by 100 percent. It also reduces 

energy use and waste by more than 60 percent 

and results in no wastewater. We’re proud to 

offer Indigood products across both our Wrangler 

and Lee brands and are committed to coll_____LEE 

X H&M 

This interview was conducted shortly after the company 

reported fourth quarter earnings results. 


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SUSTAINABILITY 

THE V WOR D 

Denim brands pivot to vegan trims. 

words_____ ANGELA VELASQUEZ 

56 

D 

riven by demand and an industry-wide 

call for more ethical 

manufacturing, fashion brands 

are moving veganism out of the 

kitchen and into the closets of 

conscious consumers with animal-free 

apparel and accessories. 

Though momentum for vegan fashion has been 

mounting since 2018—a year that saw Helsinki 

Fashion Week ban leather, and luxury giants like 

Gucci, Chanel and Versace eliminate the use of real 

fur in their collections—the category has recently 

exploded partly in response to Covid-19, which has 

led to the growing concern about infectious diseases 

that originate from animals. The pandemic, 

coupled with the overall shift toward healthier 

plant-based lifestyles, are motivating brands and 

consumers alike to reconsider their fabric choices. 

Initiatives put in place by organizations like 

Veganuary are mainstreaming vegan lifestyles as 

well. Throughout the year, the U.K.-based nonprofit 

organization supports people and businesses 

to shift to plant-based products as a way of protecting 

the environment, preventing animal suffering 

and improving the health of people. Each January, 

Veganuary aims to inspire new habits for a new 

year by urging people to sign up for a month-long 

challenge to “go vegan.” 

More than 500,000 people took the pledge 

during the 2021 campaign, adding to the more 

than one million people who have already completed 

it since 2014. Veganuary reports that one 

million people going vegan for 31 days has resulted 

in the lives of 3.4 million animals spared, 1.6 million 

gallons on water saved and more than 103,000 

metric ton of CO2EQ saved from contributing to 

the planet’s global warming crisis. 

Veganism is proving to go beyond consumers’ 

dietary choices. In its 2020 Conscious Fashion 

Report, fashion search platform Lyst reported that 

searches for “vegan leather” increased 69 percent 

year-on-year, averaging 33,100 online monthly 

searches, and searches for “faux leather” remained 

constant. Meanwhile, searches for “leather” decreased 

3.5 percent year-on-year. Likewise, searches for “fur” 

declined 8 percent year-on-year. 

Stylish vegan fashion is certainly more available. Retail 

market intelligence platform Edited reported that by the 

end of January 2021, there was a 75 percent year-over-year 

increase in products described as “vegan” stocked in the 

U.S. and U.K. versus 2018. Accessories and footwear make 

up the majority of these products as influential labels like 

Adidas, Allbirds and Stella McCartney continue to innovate 

in this space with plant leather, upcycled marine plastic waste 

and 3D-printed materials. 

Though the denim industry has been proactive in developing 

alternatives for water-intensive crops and chemical-powered 

washing processes, as it continues its sustainable journey, every 

component that makes up a pair of jeans—down to the threeinch 

by two-inch leather back patch—is being scrutinized. 

The Higg Materials Sustainability Index, a cradle-to-gate material 

scoring tool from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition rates cow 

leather No. 1 among materials with the greatest upstream burdens. 

Not to mention, the material is tied to fashion’s history of animal 

cruelty, despite leather being a byproduct of the food industry. 

In 2019, People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) 

took aim at Levi’s, demanding the denim giant to ditch animal-derived 

leather for more ethical alternatives that are also less harmful to people, 

animals and the environment. Though some of the brand’s patches 

are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified Jacron paper, 

PETA snapped up the minimum number of shares of the then-newly 

publicly traded company required to submit shareholder resolutions and 

secure speaking rights at annual meetings. 

Levi’s responded at the time by pointing out that “a small fraction” of 

the raw materials it uses is leather. “Nevertheless, Levi Strauss & Co. strives 

to source all materials responsibly,” a Levi’s spokesperson said. “Our goal is 

to ensure that wherever materials derived from animals are used in our products, 

their health and welfare are protected, in line with international animal 

welfare standards.” 

The animal-rights group rekindled the argument in 2020 by gathering 

over 125,000 signatures for a petition that called on Levi’s to opt for vegan 

leather—this time targeting the brand’s efforts to fight climate change by 

claiming animal leather has at least three times the negative environmental 

impact as most vegan leather. 



“It’s now also widely recognized that animal 

agriculture—including the industries producing its 

co-products, such as leather—is a leading contributor 

to climate change,” PETA stated. 

l_____N UD IE J E AN S 

Alternative options 

If the ethical and sustainable benefits of veganism have 

not swayed a denim brand to rethink their back patch, 

the sizable impact it has on sales may. The global vegan 

fashion market is forecasted to reach $1.1 billion by 

2027, Edited reported, and that’s for women’s wear alone. 

Denim brands in tune with the values close to millennials 

and Gen Z are taking note. Dutch denim label Kings 

of Indigo is a PETA-approved vegan brand. The organization 

also lauds American Eagle, Boyish, Closed, Mother, 

Uniqlo and others for using non-leather patches or skipping 

the branding element all together. 

As of Fall 2018, Nudie Jeans has used paper-based patches 

on newly produced jeans. Though the brand is not fully 

vegan—it uses other animal-based fibers in contexts where it 

believes the fiber is fulfilling a certain function—it did not see 

the necessity of using leather as a decorative detail. The Jacron 

patch Nudie uses is made from recycled paper that includes a 

small amount of acrylic polymer, which the company noted is the 

least sustainable element of the new patches but necessary to give 

the patch the strength needed for the jeans’ entire lifespan. 

Cruelty-free and eco-friendly do not always go hand in hand. As 

Edited pointed out, “there is still the question of scaling sustainable 

alternatives to vegan products.” 

While Jacron, known for its leather-like appearance and durability, 

is a common leather substitute, other vegan alternatives are often 

made from synthetic materials such as petroleum-based polyurethane 

(PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which Greenpeace described as the 

“single most environmentally damaging type of plastic.” 

“Both pose serious environmental threats given that they are usually 

manufactured from fossil fuels and are not biodegradable,” said Elif 

Haslaman, general manager of DeriDesen Etiket, a Turkish trims manufacturer, 

noting that “vegan does not necessarily mean natural.” 

Trims suppliers, however, are in the pursuit of responsible vegan 

alternatives. Pineapple leather, apple skin, cork, organic fabrics and stone 

paper—a paper made from limestone versus trees—are among DeriDesen 

Etiket’s vegan-friendly options. Several alternatives also tout industry-recognized 

certifications like Global Recycle Standard (GRS), Oeko-Tex, FSC and 

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). 

“Vegan trims are important to our clients,” said Gloria Crivellaro, Ribbontex 

export sales manager. “They know exactly what they want and what they don’t 

want, and this is extremely important and positive.” 

Along with vegan leather, the Italian trims manufacturer offers a range 

of solutions produced with hemp, organic cotton, recycled plastic bottles 

and biodegradable materials. These alternatives, she added, are often better 

than traditional leathers. 

Vegan jeans are also a side effect of denim’s sustainable makeover, particularly 

new collections that align with Ellen MacArthur’s Jean Redesign project, an industry-wide 

effort to put circular jeans in the market. While the guidelines do not single 

out leather, they do require easy disassembly of trims for recycling, which some participants 

like Blue of a Kind and H&M are responding 

to by keeping their circular jeans patch-free. 

Others, such as Tommy Jeans, laser-print pieces of 

sustainable denim to use for patches in their Jean 

Redesign collections. 

Indeed, sustainable material alternatives are 

increasing by the season. Since 2020, Haslaman 

said 80 percent of DeriDesen’s production is produced 

from certificated sustainable materials. The 

company’s target for 2021 is 95 percent. “Alternative 

sources for new materials are increasingly being 

sought and new manufacturing methods developed,” 

she said. “They are an important addition to 

improving the choice of sustainable materials.” 

And the pandemic only reinforced the denim 

sector’s commitment to sustainability. Crivellaro 

described 2020 as a “watershed year” with 

one major positive: it provided the wake-up call 

for “a more sustainable, ethical and ecological” 

approach to designing and manufacturing down 

to the smallest details. 

“I have been working in this industry for more 

than 15 years,” Crivellaro said. “I find the combination 

of denim and vegan surprisingly stimulating, 

so I really hope this will be key to getting off to a 

great restart.” 

57 


SOCIAL CO 

58 

The criteria for sustainability 

reporting can be as vague as the 

topic they are intended to document. 

words_____JASMIN MALIK CHUA 

I 

n an industry where sustainability has evolved 

from nice-to-have to table stakes, so too have 

dedicated sustainability reports transitioned beyond 

mere vehicles for eco-bragging rights. 

Because the denim industry places considerable 

strain on the environment, publicly sharing 

its industrial impact is “a must,” said Selen Ergul, senior marketing 

communications executive at Calik Denim, a manufacturer 

in Turkey. “We believe that it is vital for denim producers to disclose 

performance data through sustainability reports prepared 

in accordance with globally accepted standards. Transparency 

and traceability of the available information [should also be] on 

demand by customers and consumers.” 

Indeed, sustainability reports shouldn’t serve only to project 

a halo of responsibility. In fact, all companies, whether 

denim-related or not, should be “strategically thinking about 

sustainability,” said a spokesperson for Kontoor Brands, which 

markets denim clothing under the Lee and Wrangler labels. As 

such, a sustainability report, independent from a company’s 

annual report, can offer greater visibility into a brand’s sustainability 

performance, allowing stakeholders to maintain tabs on 

its growth “toward a more sustainable business,” the spokesperson 

said. 

For Gap, a sustainability report allows it to conduct the business 

of responsibility in a more engaging way. While the company 

includes sustainability details in its 10-K and 10-Q disclosures, 

which all publicly traded businesses in the United States 

must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the 

end of their fiscal year, its “sustainability stories and programs 

really come to life in our report,” said Victor Wong, its director 

of global sustainability. “The sustainability report also allows 

space for us to talk about partnerships and industry collaborations 

that are critical to meaningful progress in our industry.” 

Through reporting, a 

company can better understand—and 

therefore manage—the 

outward impact 

of its operations on society 

and the environment. Sustainability 

reports typically 

enshrine environmental, 

social and governance goals 

MEASURE 

while charting tangible and 

measurable progress. Investors 

often use such documents as part of their due diligence to 

sniff out a company’s social and environmental risks and forestall 

any involvement with potential supply-chain imbroglios. 

For employees, board members and other stakeholders, they 

can enhance a brand’s accountability to people and the planet. 

“Our sustainability report is for anyone who wants to learn 

more about the details of our work toward contributing to a 

healthier planet,” Wong said. “It’s a source of truth for us. We 

often refer investors, employees, stakeholders and sustainability 

reporters to our report. 

Reporting to work 

But the process of sustainability reporting isn’t without its 

challenges. The disclosure landscape is rife with competing— 

though in many cases complementary—standards, from organizations 

such as CDP (previously known as the Carbon Disclosure 

Project), the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, the 

Global Reporting Initiative and the Sustainability Accounting 

Standards Board. Companies can choose to use any of these 

frameworks, or none at all, which can make apples-to-apple 

comparisons between brands an onerous if not a next-to-impossible 

task. 


NTRACTS 

ON SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING 

59 

“It’s quite hard to compare two different companies at the 

moment because the data is not [organized] the same way,” 

said Luke Smitham, senior consultant at Kumi Consulting. 

Complicating matters is the fact that different jurisdictions 

can have widely varying stipulations. Businesses in the United 

Kingdom that earn revenues of at least 36 million pounds ($50 

million), for instance, are beholden to the 2015 Modern Slavery 

Act, which requires them to describe the steps they have 

taken in the last financial year to ensure their supply chains are 

free from modern slavery and human trafficking. In Australia, 

it’s illegal for a business to falsely trump up the sustainability 

of a product. 

Meanwhile, Germany and the broader European Union, are 

poised to implement mandatory due diligence laws holding 

large corporations responsible for identifying and mitigating 

labor and environmental risks that could occur as a result of 

their business activities and those of their suppliers and subcontractors. 

All these could reshape future disclosures. 

“It’s kind of pick-andchoose, 

in a sense,” Smitham 

said. “But how do you actually 

demonstrate that you’re 

doing the right things to 

manage, mitigate and eliminate 

risks in the supply 

chain?” 

TRUTH Efforts are underway to 

harmonize these disparate 

standards, as well as tie sustainability 

disclosures with financial accounting, creating an 

“integrated report” that will not only ease the burden of reporting 

organizations but also aid in analysis and interpretation by 

users of information. 

“Transparent measurement and disclosure of sustainability 

performance is now considered to be a fundamental part of 

effective business management, and essential for preserving 

trust in business as a force for good,” the International Financial 

Reporting Standards Foundation, a body made up of the major 

reporting organizations, said in September. “Yet, the complexity 

surrounding sustainability disclosure has made it difficult 

to develop the comprehensive solution for corporate reporting 

that is urgently needed.” 

Verification of the data contained within the reports, too, 

is in many ways a kind of Wild West. Denim producer Isko 

works with Control Union 

Certifications to audit its data 

and ensure they meet due 

diligence guidance from the 

intergovernmental Organisation 

for Economic Co-operation 

and Development. 

Sweden’s Nudie Jeans, one 

of the few apparel brands 

to publish a complete list of PARTNERSHIP 

its textile production sites, 

cross-checks its data with “relevant people in the organization” 

and third parties such as the Fair Wear Foundation and the 

Global Organic Textile Standard. Boyish Jeans in Los Angeles 

says it relies on life-cycle assessments, Textile Exchange reports 

and government agriculture data. 

Because of the nature of their work, manufacturers are 

able to take a deeper and more comprehensive dive into denim’s 

upstream impacts. Each of Elevate Textiles’ facilities, for 

instance, gleans sustainability data every month using calibrated 

meters and gauges, cross-checks this information with 

invoices and billing records from energy and water suppliers, 

and then compiles everything into “sustainability data workbooks” 

by its environmental manager. 

“Those are reviewed by the environmental team to verify 

accuracy and monitor trends,” said Dolores Sides, director of 

corporate communications for Elevate Textiles, which owns 

Cone Denim. “The sustainability metrics and calculations are 


ON SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING 

60 

also available for review by third-party auditors during Higg 

Facility Environmental Module verification audits.” 

Until the time comes when sustainability reports are integrated 

and standardized—and they become the status quo— 

they serve as “more [of] a social contract between our customers 

and ourselves, and also our investors, retailers and other 

stakeholders, such as the larger global community,” said Lesil 

Lancaster, social and environmental impact manager at Australia’s 

Outland Denim, which launched its first sustainability 

report last year. “It is not 

compulsory, but an invitation 

to engage with the 

brand and its practices on a 

deeper level: to truly assess 

our social, environmental 

IMPACT 

and economic impacts. This 

creates trust.” 

Sustainability reporting 

shows signs of becoming 

a corporate prerequisite, at 

least for larger brands. The number of S&P 500 companies 

offering sustainability reports—also known as responsibility, 

citizenship or environmental, social and governance 

reports—has ballooned from 20 percent in 2011 to an “alltime 

high” of 90 percent in 2019, according to the most 

recent analysis by the Governance and Accountability Institute 

(GAI), a New York-based sustainability consultancy. 

Much of the momentum is a response to “exponentially 

increasing” demand from investors, Louis Coppola, executive 

vice president and co-founder of GAI, wrote in the 

company’s 2020 report last July. “Through our research 

on the S&P 500 for the past nine years, we can see that not 

only has sustainability reporting grown among the largest 

companies in the U.S., but it has also become more sophisticated, 

mature and decision-useful for investors and other 

important stakeholders.” 

"BUT HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY DEM- 

O S T R A T E T H A T Y O U ' R E D O I N G T H E 

RIGHT THINGS TO MANAGE, MITI- 

G A T E A N D A N D E L I M I N A T E R I S K S I N 

THE SUPPLY CHAIN?" 

—Luke Smitham, Kumi Consulting 

Clear messages 

Crunching data from myriad sources and presenting them in 

a digestible, readable format is another hurdle companies can 

encounter. Sandya Lang, sustainability manager at Nudie Jeans, 

said confining the report to a reasonable length can be a struggle, 

since “we have many things to say and want to include.” Mud 

Jeans offers both a sustainability report—“in which we aim to 

address a bored audience,” said Laura Vicaria, CSR manager—and 

a wonkier life-cycle assessment that “takes on a more analytical 

approach towards our impact and areas of improvement.” Wong 

from Gap said the brand works hard to keep its report accessible 

by “spelling out industry lingo, using visuals and providing a variety 

of types of storytelling. We try to balance the need for detail 

without overwhelming the reader with too much information.” 

Finding the right formula can be rewarding in and of itself. 

Last July, the CR Reporting Awards by Corporate Register honored 

Guess’s 2018-2019 sustainability report with the award for 

“Innovation in Reporting.” The report, Corporate Register said, 

offered a “creative style and branded elements” that ensured both 

readability and brand alignment. In addition to an abridged version, 

Guess made the publication available in multiple languages, 

including Chinese, French, Italian, Korean and Spanish. The brand, 

whose publication hewed to GRI guidelines and was “rigorously 

reviewed” by accounting giant KPMG, was also named first-runner 

up in the “Credibility through 

Assurance” category. 

“At Guess, we take sustainability 

reporting very 

seriously, as it is the basis 

on which we can set goals, 

benchmark and communicate 

our progress to our 

INVEST 

stakeholders,” Carlos Alberini, 

CEO of Guess, said at the 

time. “We strongly believe 

that integrity and transparency in reporting is key to moving the 

industry forward, and we are thrilled to be recognized by the Corporate 

Register for this important work.” 

For brands that have been publishing sustainability reports 

for a while, like Gap, which rolled out its first in 2003, the document 

has and will continue to change as it adapts to shifting 

expectations and demands. But its central purpose—as a measurement 

tool, as a model of transparency and accountability, 

as an admission of the challenges and opportunities that lie 

ahead—remains constant. 

“Like denim, cuts and lengths come and go, but our authentic 

style and commitment to doing what’s right and being inclusive 

by design has always been our North Star,” Wong said. 


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SOURCING 

62 

CLEAN SLATE 

New efforts from across the denim 

industry address responsible 

aftercare of jeans. 

words_____ LIZ WARREN 



A 

universally acclaimed fabric, 

denim is one of the few 

fashion items on display in 

virtually every corner of the 

world. Unfortunately, denim 

is beginning to show up in 

the one place it doesn’t belong: the planet’s most 

remote oceans. 

A 2020 report from researchers at the University 

of Toronto called attention to newly discovered 

microfibers in oceans and lakes throughout Canada, 

including secluded parts of the Arctic region. 

Researchers found that microfibers made 

up 87 to 90 percent of pollution from 

human activity in the region—12 to 23 

percent of which were from indigo denim. 

And unsustainable production practices 

are only partly to blame. 

Though many consumers understand 

the impact of fast-fashion and low-quality 

materials, they may not be as aware 

of the effects of at-home washing. The 

University of Toronto report found that 

washing just one pair of jeans can release 

anywhere from 52,000-60,000 microfibers 

each time. Since chemicals are used 

to make most denim, these microfibers 

are especially dangerous to the environment 

and its inhabitants. 

“As consumers, the very best thing 

we can do for our planet is to wear our 

jeans for longer and wash them less,” 

said Alberto de Conti, head of fashion 

division at German textile chemical company 

Rudolf Group. “By washing our 

jeans less, not only can we reduce our 

environmental impact, but we can also preserve 

and protect the overall fabric quality.” 

Hygienic solutions 

Last year, Rudolf Group’s innovation center 

Hub1922 debuted Washless Denim as a way of 

reducing the need for domestic washing. Featuring 

a combination of two technologies, Bionic-Finish 

Eco and Silverplus, the solution helps control 

odor-causing bacteria and prevent liquid droplets 

from penetrating the fabric. 

Rudolf Group’s development is just one of 

many technologies being beployed to tackle the 

issue of excessive washing. Washpro is Calik Denim’s 

take on hygenic technology, which promises 

long-lasting freshness that lasts up to 50 household 

washings. Material innovation company 

HeiQ also partnered with laundry solutions company 

Girbau to use its Viroblock technology in the 

laundry process to add antiviral and antimicrobial 

effects to textiles. The climate crisis, as well as the 

post-pandemic consumer fixation on hygiene and 

wellness, have created a ripe environment for this 

kind of innovation. 

" M E N D I N G T H I N G S 

D E E P E N S O U R 

C O N N E C T I O N S A N D 

M A K E S T H E M M O R E 

SPECIAL.” 

—Victor Lytvinenko, Raleigh Denim 

Spreading awareness 

While the denim supply chain works toward more 

hygienic solutions, denim brands are doing their 

part to educate consumers on proper aftercare for 

their jeans. Dutch brand Mud Jeans, known for its 

circular denim principles, provides detailed information 

on how to “wash consciously” on its website, 

and created a denim care video which lives on 

its YouTube channel. 

Similarly, Nudie Jeans, a Swedish denim brand 

and outspoken champion of denim repair, has 

several communication channels that it uses to 

educate consumers on all things related to sustainability—including 

denim aftercare. Through its 

blog, email newsletters, social media and YouTube 

channel, the brand shares information and aims to 

engage and educate its community. 

“Knowledge and understanding are a prerequisite 

for a proactive change, so there's definitely still a need 

to keep on educating and spreading knowledge,” said 

Kevin Gelsi, Nudie Jeans’ sustainability coordinator. 

“These communication channels are great for learning 

more, and everyone has the possibility to reach 

out with specific questions of their own.” 

Experts recommend washing jeans inside out, 

setting the water temperature to low and using ecofriendly 

detergents—and skipping the dryer when 

possible. If air drying leaves jeans too stiff, mostly-dry 

denim can be thrown in the dryer for 10-15 

minutes to soften them up without using as much 

energy as a full cycle. 

The frequency of washing is also a factor to 

consider. For Victor Lytvinenko, co-founder and 

designer of Raleigh Denim Workshop, washing 

denim is a seasonal task that begins in the fall 

when he purchases a pair of raw denim. He refrains 

from washing all through the winter to develop a 

distinct wear pattern and alleviate some of 

his environmental footprint. 

But for others, the issue is less about 

washing best practices and more about 

considering the makeup of the jean. “We 

focus most of our attention on using plantbased 

materials that do not shed microplastics,” 

said Jordan Nodarse, founder 

of sustainable denim brand Boyish Jeans. 

“Home laundry is where many of everyone’s 

favorite garments shed vast amounts 

of microplastics. The most important topic 

is teaching consumers to read the content 

labels and steer clear of recycled polyester, 

regular polyester, polyamide, nylon, acrylic 

and polyurethane if the garments are going 

to be laundered often.” These fibers contain 

plastic and chemicals that, once they make 

their way to water supplies, can be toxic. 

Repairing denim when it eventually 

wears is also a crucial step in sustainable 

aftercare. Nudie Jeans notes that the 

crotch area is generally the most vulnerable 

to damage, as it’s the meeting point 

of four thick seams that connect and rub into the 

fabric. It recommends mending jeans at the first 

sign of damage, either by contacting a tailor or 

repairing it at home with a needle, thread and a 

thin piece of fabric. 

The brand offers repair services free of charge 

on its jeans at its repair shops, and hopes that 

doing so will help inspire environmentally friendlier 

consumption habits. “It’s important that a 

vast majority of global consumers adapt to slower 

consumption patterns and that brands and other 

business segments make it easy to be that consumer,” 

Gelsi said. 

Lytvinenko also thinks it’s important not to give 

up on denim at the first sign of wear, stating that 

“it’s in our nature to mend things that are broken.” 

“Sometimes that is a friendship; sometimes it’s 

a garment,” he said. “Mending things deepens our 

connections and makes them more special.” 

63 


64 

INTO 

THE 

As cooped-up consumers find refuge in nature, demand for 

protective performance denim grows. 

words_____KATE NISHIMURA 

R 

ugged, utilitarian styling has 

become a recognizable part of 

the mainstream fashion vocabulary. 

From puffer vests to pants 

with cargo pockets, performance-inspired 

features have 

become fodder for labels on the cutting edge of 

sartorial trends. 

But while lifestyle brands have readily incorporated 

aesthetic influences from the outdoor 

realm, shoppers are now looking for more than, 

well, looks. Amid a global pandemic, consumers 

have taken up socially-distant hobbies, many of 

which revolve around getting back to nature or 

at least the backyard. With retail and restaurants 

out of commission for much of the past year, 

nature has become a welcome refuge for the 

bored and the homebound. 

What’s more, the pandemic has heightened 

many consumers’ anxieties about finances, forcing 

them to reexamine their previous consumption 

habits. While chasing a fast fashion fix might have 

been part of many shoppers’ lifestyles just a year 

ago, the pandemic has had a sobering effect on discretionary 

spending. Consumers haven’t stopped 

shelling out for apparel, but they’re examining their 

purchases with more discerning eyes than before. 

This confluence of factors has resulted in a 

rise in not just outdoor-inspired trends, but a true 

desire for functionality, performance and versatility, 

brands say. It’s not enough to just slap a cargo 

pocket on a pair of pants and call it a day—today’s 

consumers want to be suited up and ready for 

whatever comes their way. 

“The benefit of Wrangler being known for its 

rugged jeans and workwear is absolutely helping 

us during this ‘utility trend’ that has captured the 

market,” said Vivian Rivetti, the heritage brand’s 

vice president of global design. 

According to Rivetti, fashion has felt the acute 

impact of Covid-19 as shoppers “are no longer 

going to upscale events, traveling or even going 

into the office.” Wear-everywhere jeans are Wrangler’s 

“core competency,” but there has been a 

recent surge in demand for carpenter and cargo 

pants from the trend-focused set, she said, along 

with loose-fitting jeans, Sherpa lined jackets and 

pullovers. Cover-all styles, chore jackets and overalls 

have also “spiked in popularity” as more shoppers 

are working from home and are able to dress 

more practically, and comfortably. 

While the brand is known for a certain look— 

rigid, straight-leg denim with Western-inspired 

detailing—Rivetti said Wrangler is continuing to 

diversify its audience by “designing clothes that 

appeal to everyone from the Western sphere to outdoor 

enthusiasts to modern fashionistas.” 

The top three qualities that shoppers gravitate 

to are “authenticity, function and details,” she said. 

“People want to see more items that keep up with 

fashion trends, while also providing the utmost 

comfort.” Consumers also want their clothes to 

Wbe made with superior quality— to “work” for 

them— solving problems or addressing needs 

through “small details and features that are relevant 

to whatever activity they are choosing to do,” 

whether it’s taking a Zoom call or embarking on a 

home-improvement project. 

Wrangler’s Riggs Workwear collection, which 

launched in 2003, already embodied strength and 

functionality, she added, but even that set of shoppers 

is looking for their clothes to pull double duty. 

“The shift for our team is making this apparel tough 

enough to get the job done with confidence, while 

adding more comfort in the fit and fabric,” she said. 

Wrangler has kept Riggs workwear styles “both simple 

and functional” while implementing different 

elements such as deep pockets, ventilated fabric, and 

tear-resistant material to stand up to tough conditions 

and regular wear and tear. Now, though, wearers 

are looking for styles they can wear from the job 


65 

site to wherever they happen to be going next. 

“Style is still relevant as it relates to versatility,” 

Nadia Gillies, director of brand marketing at 

everyday performance wear brand Duer echoed. 

“Clothing that transitions from lounge, to activity, 

to dinner seems to best fit the need.” 

Parallel to the gravitation toward the familiar 

uniform of all-day sweats, Gillies has noted that 

“the world started to take on new hobbies outside” 

over the past year. The shift has fueled shoppers’ 

desires for clothes that offer comfort, “but with the 

ability to move and perform.” 

Duer makes clothes for “doers”—outdoor 

enthusiasts, weekend warriors, and busy millennials 

trying to do it all. The company has made a 

name for itself through its performance denim, 

which provides a practical, polished aesthetic 

with an invisible edge. Duer’s denim formulation 

is made with a blend of cotton, stretchy Lycra and 

ILDCoolmax all-season polyester for strength and temperature 

regulation—all functionalities regularly 

seen in outdoor or athletic gear, not street-ready 

urban apparel. 

“Performance is the foundation of all of our 

products, but instead of taking athletic apparel and 

making it suitable for day to day, we’ve developed 

something more sophisticated,” Gillies said. “We 

took traditional denim and put technical properties 

into it.” The approach was driven by the idea 

that “consumers want to do more with less”—a 

hypothesis that has proven truer than ever during 

the pandemic. 

“Shoppers have become more discerning 

with where they spend their money—they value 

experiences over things,” Gillies added. They 

want to “move away from the mass consumption 

of fast fashion and invest in high quality, 

multi-functional products.” 

RIVET NO.11 / APRIL 2021 

“There’s now an expectation that clothing 

should be able to support any lifestyle,” she added, 

blurring the lines between weekend-ready casual 

garb, workwear, and activewear. 

“I think in times of crisis there’s a natural allure 

to all that is comforting, resilient and protective,” 

G-Star Raw’s head of men’s design, Leo Brancovich, 

added regarding the consumer’s current 

appetite for fashion. According to Brancovich, the 

Dutch denim and contemporary apparel label’s 

design sensibility is rooted in “the deconstruction 

and reassembly of technical and functional clothing,” 

to create “a costume composed of repurposed 

function.” 

“Our collections are born in the G-Star 

archive—an unequalled collection of mostly 20th 

century functional clothing,” he explained. “A 

huge part of that archive is devoted to hunting, fishing 

and military uniforms, and as a result, there’s

66 

l_____ARCTIC DENIM 

l_____COR DUR A DENI M 

region’s mainstream winter garb—snow pants 

and ski-ready puffer jackets—she saw a gap in the 

market for everyday staples that provided the same 

warmth and protection while allowing their wearers 

to feel comfortable while grabbing a drink or 

browsing a store. 

“I have a pretty strict uniform of skinny jeans, 

myself,” Lani said. “They’re comfortable and 

they’re versatile,” she said, but unfortunately, most 

don’t stand up to severe windchill. Arctic Denim 

was born of a true marriage of fashion and function, 

and Lani built her first pair for herself. The 

pants’ outward-facing fabric is not unlike traditional 

denim, but it’s bonded with a thermoplastic 

weatherproof membrane and a third layer of wicking 

mesh to pull moisture away from the skin. 

The brand has just four styles—a skinny jean 

for men and women, as well as a boot cut version. 

Recently, Lani launched a unisex Trucker jacket 

style made with the same denim formulation and 

lined with a faux shearling. Shoppers have asked 

for more utilitarian styles to support outdoor work 

and excursions, she said, noting that a vest and a 

cargo pant are potential additions for the future. 

According to Lani, all of the styles have performed 

beyond expectations, despite the challenges posed by 

the pandemic to her in-state production, which was 

sidelined for a time due to Covid concerns. “I defialways 

an inevitable flavor of the outdoors in what 

we do.”` 

While G-Star is known for its urban sensibility 

and its dark denim, the brand’s tailored aesthetic, 

which pervades both its men’s and women’s collections, 

is reminiscent of outdoor gear and utilitarian 

garb. What’s more, there’s real functionality to 

the raw, selvedge denim that has earned the brand 

its cult following, as well as the newformulations 

and weatherproofed styles that it has released in 

recent years. These staples are designed to stand 

up to wear and tear, and while they’re mostly worn 

on city streets, they’d look and feel at home in the 

great outdoors, too. 

According to Brancovich, the current retail 

landscape has underscored a growing appetite for 

clothes that can transition between activities. “Practicality 

will increasingly steer the choices we make, 

as it shows that we are intelligent consumers— and 

more importantly, well informed and selective.” 

Practicality is precisely what drove Salvia Lani 

to launch her Minnesota-based performance 

denim brand, Arctic Denim, in 2020. The former 

design and sourcing manager put her fashion 

chops to the test in attempting to provide shoppers 

with a barrier against the bitter and biting Northwestern 

cold. 

While Lani had grown all too familiar with the 

RIVET NO.11 / APRIL 2021 

nitely have noticed the direction is moving towards 

more versatile and durable garments,” she said. While 

Arctic Denim primarily serves her regional home 

market, Lani said she has seen an uptick in interest 

from American shoppers looking for clothing that is 

made domestically and built to last. 

Cold weather shoppers aren’t the only ones 

gunning for outdoor-ready gear, though. “Generation 

Z likes technical products,” Ebru Ozaydin, said 

former senior vice president of sales and marketing 

of Artistic Milliners, explaining that a denim conquest 

for young consumers involves “trying to find 

the Tesla of jeans.” 

The denim manufacturer has worked with 

Invista-owned fabric brand Cordura for a decade 

on different performance denim formulations 

to serve a growing contingent of active shoppers 

looking for products that deliver on performance 

as well as aesthetics. Cordura reports that its denim 

is at least four-times stronger than cotton denim 

and boasts excellent abrasion and tear resistance. 

While the companies’ work together originated 

with the creation of durable denim for workwear, 

it has since expanded, Cordura’s brand business 

development director, Cynthia McNaul, said, to 

include soft, stretchy chambray-inspired formulations 

and everything in between. 

An Artistic Milliners collaboration on a fabric

OUTDOOR STYLE HALL OF FAME 

5 celebrities who famously cosign the functional 

fashion movement. 

Leonardo DiCaprio: LRNYC / MEGA; Kate Middleton: Aaron Chown/ AP; Emily Ratajkowski: MEGA; Bernie Sanders: Jonathan Ernst / AP; Kate Moss: Yui Mok/ AP; 

for performance apparel brand Black Diamond, 

for example, straddles the line between everyday 

wearability and rugged toughness. While the 

brand’s “Forged” jeans have an everyday, streetstyle 

aesthetic, a number of features are hidden 

beneath its surface, including extreme durability, 

stretch and temperature-regulating tech. It’s perfect 

for rock climbers, the brand said, as they often 

break a sweat during heavy exertion but need a 

strong barrier between skin and rock. 

“The notion of durable and sustainable are now 

more than ever going hand in hand,” Ozaydin said, 

adding that shoppers are especially looking for 

tensile strength as well as abrasion resistance. 

Amid the pandemic, “certain markets 

obviously have fared better than others,” 

McNaul said, and the outdoor sector is 

performing well because of consumers’ 

growing need to break away from the 

pervasive connectedness afforded by 

technology. “We’re always plugged in, 

and sometimes you just want to be able to 

push away,” she added. “What gives people 

a break and some peace of mind is getting 

fresh air outside, and you don’t have to be an 

extreme athlete to do it.” 

In fact, shoppers are incorporating their excursions 

into the natural world into their existing 

schedules—a short hike on a lunch break, or a 

jog to the store. “Today’s consumer is searching 

beyond just traditional heavy-duty denims for fabrics 

that can sit comfortably with them throughout 

the day,” McNaul said. “We see more choices evolving 

with a shift towards products with combined 

attributes to take you through your day-to-day 

activities, from workwear to motorcycle apparel, 

commuting and skateboarding, and everyday 

adventure living.” 

According to Cordura’s research, “trend indictors 

show a movement towards getting back to 

basics, embracing simplicity, doing more with less,” 

McNaul said. Shoppers want their garments to 

deliver on both fashion and function for the good of 

the planet—and their pocketbooks. Ozaydin added 

that young shoppers have been brought up with 

fast, disposable fashion readily available to them, 

and they’ve tired of the lackluster quality of these 

products as well as their devastating impacts on the 

environment. 

“The highly technical, heavily engineered fibers 

that make up these products are the future,” she 

added. As shoppers pull back on consuming fleeting 

trends, they are likely to have their eyes out 

for “the best products, and the right products” to 

occupy a special place in their wardrobe, she said. 

Cargo 

shorts have 

become a 

de-facto offduty 

uniform 

for actor 

Leonardo 

DiCaprio, 

who is 

often seen 

sporting the 

ultra-practical 

style when 

he’s not on 

screen. 

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, 

wore a quilted Fjallraven vest while visiting 

with the public and purchasing plants in 

Norfolk in June, 2020. The royals are known 

for their countryside excursions to Balmoral, 

where outdoor attire is a staple. 

Model Kate 

Moss put Hunter 

wellies on the 

radar of fashionable 

festival 

goers when she 

trudged through 

the mud at the 

Glastonbury Festival 

in England 

in 2005. The 

weatherproof 

style became a 

staple in Moss’ 

music festival 

wardrobe, and 

she was pictured 

wearing them 

throughout the 

early aughts. 

The North Face has 

existed since 1968, but its 

puffer coats never looked 

so stylish until model and 

actress Emily Ratajkowski 

made the brand a staple in 

her Manhattan wardrobe. 

Red, yellow, green and 

black—Ratajkowski wears 

them all and often. 

The practical Burton 

jacket Senator Bernie 

Sanders (D-Vt.) wore to 

the inauguration of President 

Joe Biden on Jan. 20 

sold out shortly after his 

cold weather-ready getup 

went viral. His mittens, 

meanwhile, shone a 

spotlight on what can be 

achieved from repurposed 

wool sweaters.

WINTER 

WILLOW 

Find comfort in classic denim, earthy 

hues and Western styling offered by 

COTERIE and PROJECT exhibitors. 

photography_____ JENNA GREENE 

styling_____ALEX BADIA

RAMY BROOK JACKET; AKNVAS 

DRESS; LEVI’S TURTLENECK; 

HESTIA EARRING.

ON HER: FRENCH CONNECTION 

FAUX FUR JACKET; MICHAEL 

STARS TANK TOP; ETICA DENIM 

SKIRT; STICK & BALL SCARF; 

ATHRA LUXE TRIPLE RING; JULIE 

VOS NECKLACE, EARRINGS AND 

RINGS (WORN THROUGHOUT). 

ON HIM: FRENCH CONNECTION 

SUEDE JACKET AND TROUSERS; 

LEVI’S DENIM JACKET.

FRENCH CONNECTION WOOL 

COAT; LEVI’S JEAN JACKET; OAK 

& ACORN JEANS; PENDLETON 

SCARF; HESTIA NECKLACE 

(WORN THROUGHOUT).

ON HER: PENDLETON CARDIGAN; 

AKNVAS DRESS. 

ON HIM: LEVI’S JACKET; 

PENDLETON CARDIGAN; FRENCH 

CONNECTION PANTS.

THIS PAGE: 

FARM RIO DRESS AND CARDIGAN. 

OPPOSITE: 

ON HER: RAMY BROOK JACKET. 

ON HIM: GOFRANCK JACKET; OAK 

& ACORN VEST; OAK & ACORN 

JEANS; PENDLETON SCARF.

DIESEL JACKET AND CANVAS AND 

LEATHER PANTS; PENDLETON 

BLANKET. 

Photography: Jenna Greene; Style director: Alex Badia; Models: Charlotte Stevens / The Lions; Noah Lopez / Wilhelmina; Prop stylist: Colin Lytton; Hair: Taichi Saito / Art Department; Makeup: Amanda Wilson; Market editors: Luis Campuzano, Thomas Waller, 

Victor Vaughns, Emily Mercer; Editor: Angela Velasquez

AQVAROSSA COAT; ETICA TWO- 

TONE JEANS; FTC CASHMERE 

COLLAR.

A D V E R T O R I A L

A D V E R T O R I A L 

SEVEN 

DECADES 

OF 

DENIM 

Bossa’s path toward 

sustainability 

accomplishments, 

transformations and 

leadership. 

ESTABLISHED IN 1951, Bossa is one 

of the largest integrated textile corporations 

in Turkey, supplying denim 

to top brands around the world. The 

company also leads the industry in 

sustainability, launching RESET, a fully ecological 

collection in 2006. Today, the focus is on eliminating 

waste, providing transparency and adopting 

the latest technologies that promise to deliver 

an even more responsible product and process. 

Bossa general manager Onur Duru explains the 

company’s commitment to furthering sustainability 

and how efforts like theirs will soon be table stakes. 

“Currently, the strongest demand from brands 

is sustainable, and especially, recycled products,” 

Duru said. “Companies that consider sustainability 

as an expense will not be able to sustain themselves. 

Policies such as European Green Deal will 

also force companies to work in this direction.” 

On its 70th anniversary, Duru explains the 

company’s rich heritage, its efforts to close the 

loop with Towards Zero Waste and Bossa’s ambitious 

post-consumer recycling project. 

WHAT HAS DIFFERENTIATED BOSSA OVER 

THE DECADES? 

One of our core strengths is our powerful and 

long-lasting relationships with prominent global 

designers and brands like Nudie, Kuyichi, Mango, 

IAM, etc. We are proud to present novelty, trends 

and outstanding products to all our customers. 

We are one of Turkey's biggest integrated textile 

companies in denim and sportswear. All processes 

from A to Z in fabric production are carried 

out within our organization. We have a machine 

park where we can apply all processes such as 

yarn and fiber dyeing, yarn production, weaving 

including selvedge fabrics, dyeing and finishing


processes, and we use the latest technology in 

production processes. By constantly following innovations 

and following new technologies, it constantly 

updates our existing machinery to obtain 

more efficient and higher quality products. 

We would say our know-how over 70 years, 

innovative and flexible production system, our 

color range, young and dynamic team players, 

globally widespread and efficient sales network, 

product quality, collection diversity, advanced 

production and information system technologies 

are what differentiates Bossa. 

BOSSA’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABIL- 

ITY STARTED EARLY. WHAT WAS YOUR 

FIRST MAJOR INITIATIVE? 

Bossa launched the entirely ecological RESET 

collection in 2006, using organic and recycled 

cotton plus ecological dyes, chemicals and finishes 

throughout the entire production. At that time, 

recycling was not very common, but we did a lot 

of projects and started collaborations. With our 

R-PET project we produced 100 percent recycled 

denim, using r-PET and recycled cotton fibers. 

Today, sustainability is beyond an innovation, it’s 

a reality. 

We’ve taken things to the next level. Today 

Bossa offers a wide range of products with natural 

dyestuff, recycled cotton, recycled PET, organic 

cotton, natural fibers (i.e. linen, hemp, wool), BCI 

Cotton, African cotton, GMO-free Turkish cotton 

and naturally colored cotton. 

"Companies that 

consider sustainability 

as an expense will 

not be able to sustain 

themselves." 

SINCE 2018, BOSSA HAS HAD THE GOAL 

OF CREATING ZERO WASTE. HOW ARE YOU 

WORKING TO BECOME A BETTER STEW- 

ARD OVER YOUR RESOURCES? 

Using pre-consumer recycled, post-consumer recycled 

and post-industrial waste, we have ongoing 

projects producing zero cotton, zero dyestuff and 

zero water particles. In addition to new Lenzing 

indigo modal and naturally colored cotton, we are 

also using Fair Trade cotton and are working on a 

special project with naturally colored cotton that 

uses little water. 

COMPANIES ARE MAKING A LOT OF 

SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS TODAY. HOW IS 

BOSSA GOING ABOUT VERIFYING YOUR 

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PRACTICES? 

We make our standard production with BCI cotton 

and Bossa is the main organic cotton denim 

supplier for almost all brands in Europe. We


MATERIAL MILESTONES 

started our traceable organic cotton journey five 

years ago, and now know the location of our organic 

cotton fields, farmers, where the farmers 

buy their cotton seeds, and where and when the 

cotton is ginned. 

With our D-Chronicles technology, which we 

developed with Fibretrace, we provide a QR code 

that provides all of the information on our organic 

cotton and hemp blended articles, which several 

of our brands such as Boyish, Outland Denim and 

Nudie offer. 

WHAT SPURRED THE ‘DENIM IS REBORN IN 

BOSSA,’ POST-CONSUMER DENIM RECY- 

CLING CONCEPT? 

More than 15 million tons of used textile waste is 

generated each year in the United States, and the 

amount has doubled over the last 20 years. Against 

this environmental pollution we created “Denim 

is Reborn in Bossa,” a post-consumer denim recycling 

concept where 1,000 shredded denim 

jeans can produce 2,000 meters of 20 percent 

PCRD blended fabric. In 2019, we used 85,910 kg 

post-consumer recycled cotton; in 2020 this number 

is 130,917 kg. Our goal is to use 250,000 kg 

post-consumer recycled cotton in 2021. We also 

signed the “DENIM DEAL” together with more 

than 30 international partners to make post-consumer 

recycling textile the new norm within the 

denim industry. All signatories commit to meet 

certain sustainable standards, including agreeing 

to work as quickly as possible towards a standard 

of using at least 5 percent recycled textile in all 

denim garments. 

A look at Bossa’s accomplishments and 

accolades over the decades 

Bossa Textile Mill opens, 

producing outerwear, 

home textiles and towels. 

JCR Eurasia Rating 

gives Bossa “investible” 

rating on national level. 

Bossa starts 

producing denim. 

Completes Initial Public 

Offering (IPO); shares 

start trading at the IMKB 

Istanbul Stock Exchange. 

Obtains R&D Centre Certificate 

and is one of first companies with 

an R&D Centre. 

Bossa becomes most profitable 

textile company among BIST 

Istanbul Stock Exchange companies. 

Bossa launches RESET, 

the first sustainable capsule 

collection. 

BOSSA HAS SEEN A LOT IN 70 YEARS BUT 

NOTHING LIKE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. 

WHAT HAS YOUR COMPANY LEARNED 

FROM THIS EXPERIENCE? 

Once again we saw that opportunities can 

arise from crises. As everything is teamwork; 

we saw once again how important our employees 

and agents are. We saw the importance 

of marketing, online presentation and 

digital transformation. 

Due to the pandemic, we saw that human behavior 

changed, and soft and comfortable products 

came to the fore. As Bossa, we have products 

that contribute to these trends. 

During this period, we were in constant communication 

with our customers. We have also 

seen the importance and effect of mutual trust, 

understanding and working shoulder to shoulder. 

Investment boosts annual 

production from 36 million 

meters to 48 million meters. 

Brand Finance names Bossa in its 

“Most Valuable Brands - Turkey 

100”. Bossa receives “A” brand 

rating in fabric production. 

Bossa cites growth 

projections of 25 percent. 

Uçurum Family purchases 

Bossa’s main shareholder 

Akkardan A.S.


CORDURA 

® 

CELEBRATES DECADE 

OF DURABLE DENIM 

AS HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES require 

more performance apparel, 

CORDURA ® has upped the performance 

of denim. With more than half 

a century of history creating durable 

materials for the outdoor, active, workwear, footwear 

and military/tactical markets, CORDURA ® 

is a registered trademark of INVISTA, one 

of the world’s largest integrated polymer, intermediates 

and fibers businesses. Ten years ago, 

CORDURA ® applied its proprietary performance 

and protective innovations to denim, beginning a 

“Decade of Denim” full of capsules, collaborations 

and creativity. 

The underlying concept was the style and comfort 

expected from jeans with the built-in durability 

of CORDURA ® fabric. CORDURA ® Denim 

boasts at least four times the abrasion resistance 

compared to a comparable weight, traditional 

100-percent cotton denim fabric. 

With durability underpinning longevity, it also 

forms the foundation of CORDURA’s ® sustainability 

ethos. “Extending the life and performance 

of denim and other CORDURA ® fabric offerings 

continues to drive our innovation pipeline and supports 

our brand DNA that Sustainability Begins 

With Products That Last,” said Cindy McNaull, 

business development director. 

Working with a network of licensed mills, 

CORDURA ® Denim features the same INVISTA 

T420 nylon 6,6 staple fiber that powers today’s 

global military and tactical uniforms. Since inception, 

CORDURA ® Denims have adapted to meet 

the ever-changing needs of today’s fashion and 

functional denim consumers, like the commuter, 

the climber, the motorcyclist, the worker, the 

skateboarder and more. 

“We are proud to have partnered with 

CORDURA ® to pioneer the world of performance 

denim,” said Omer Ahmed, chief executive officer, 

Artistic Milliners. “Together over the last decade we 

have pushed the boundaries of denim creativity and 

transformative change. We are designing for durability, 

creating jeans that feel great and can be used 

in many situations and conditions from office to 

street to outdoor—one jean created for a lifetime.” 

"To us, the future 

of innovation is 

collaboration." 

Flexing its creative muscles has been a hallmark 

for CORDURA ® , with a number of denim 

capsules and collaborations highlighting technological, 

fashion and sport applications with crossindustry 

approaches. 

“To us, the future of innovation is collaboration—whether 

that’s with an industry leading designer 

such as Tillman Wröbel (aka, Monsier T) 

or with our community of authorized mills,” said 

McNaull. “Orchestrating industry powerhouses 

together is a gateway to forward-thinking design 

and the fusion of advanced fiber technologies in the 

apparel of today.” 

In 2016, CORDURA ® teamed up with 

Lenzing, the maker of TENCEL branded fibers, 

to showcase the softer side of denim in its 

Authentic Alchemie collection. “As denim takes on 

modern evolution, we’re able to use our denim fabrics 

in ways that address our lifestyle,” said Tricia 

Carey, director of global business development at 

Lenzing Fibers Inc. “CORDURA ® brand brings 

the long-lasting durability and strength, and we 

help enhance it with comfort and softness.” 

Spotlighting its creativity, in 2017 CORDURA ® 

celebrated its 50th anniversary with a denim capsule, 

teaming up with Artistic Milliners for the 

space-themed X. Venture Collexion designed by 

Michelle Rose of Struktur Studio. Fusing fashion 

with function, this performance concept envisioned 

how today’s innovative textile technologies 

would impact the future of technical denim, with 

influences from retro astronaut gear inspired by 

the brand’s 1967 heritage. The cutting-edge men’s 

jacket and pant and women’s neo jumpsuit featured 

latest-generation CORDURA ® Combat Wool 

and TENCEL fiber denim blends. 

Another anniversary collection was the 

heritage-driven Cone Mills x CORDURA ® 

SELVEDGE Denim capsule produced in Cone 

Denim’s legendary 110-year-old White Oak ® mill 

facility. That partnership has led to other innovative 

Cone x CORDURA ® Denim solutions, like 

the S Gene ® 14 to 32 percent stretch collection in a 

range of weights from 10.75 to 11.75. 

Moving to fitness and wellness, CORDURA ® 

Denim products have shown strong growth in


Mountain Hardwear © featuring Olympic athlete and pro climber Kyra Condie wearing CORDURA® Denim.. 

workwear, commuter cycling, traditional motorcycling 

and the rapidly growing sport of rock and 

mountain climbing. Versatility means easy transitions 

and cross-purpose styles. 

“Adaptive clothing is a growing global demand—inspired 

in many ways by today’s active and 

cross-functional categories,” said McNaull. “For 

consumers looking to transition easily from desk 

chair, to the climbing harness, to the bike seat or 

simple urban living, they need fabrics with multipurpose 

functionality and contemporary styling. 

With this in mind, we have developed an expansive 

Fashion + Function collection that allows designers 

to create pieces that look great, yet hold up to the 

rigors of today’s diverse, high-impact lifestyles.” 

Levi’s is a big partner for CORDURA ® Denim, 

as evidenced by its Levi’s Skateboarding Collection 

(designed, developed and tested by skateboarders 

and launched globally in 2013), with 

stretch CORDURA ® Denim and Canvas fabric 

technologies, plus extra stitches and bar tacks for 

extreme reinforcement. 

To market the durable message to consumers, 

CORDURA ® ’s “Live Durable Diaries” series 

featured short spotlights of athletes and everyday 

adventurers as they embark on life’s many journeys. 

They even tested CORDURA ® Denim with 

Olympic athlete and pro climber Kyra Condie. 

“CORDURA ® brand has a strong foothold in the 

climbing market and we are actively seeking the 

opportunity to work with brands that share our 

passion for the outdoors,” said McNaull, noting 

Mountain Hardwear’s curation of a Hard Denim 

line of women’s climbing apparel powered by 

CORDURA ® Denim technology. 

On denim’s fashion end, in 2018 CORDURA ® 

rolled out its SuperCharged Noir collection by 

Artistic Milliners, which included a no-fade black 

performance denim with Lenzing TENCEL 

fiber. “By integrating state-of-the art INVISTA 

nylon 6,6 BLACK SDN fiber technology we were 

able to bring a new dimension in stay-true color 

and enhanced strength and abrasion resistance 

to the collection, while TENCEL fibers and 

Artistic Milliners complemented those attributes 

with added color fastness, softness, sustainability 

and stretch,” said McNaull. 

In recent years, CORDURA ® gained traction in 

motorcycle jeans, straddling recreation and fashion 

perfectly in line with the rise in e-bikes and focusing 

on high abrasion resistance, strength and protective 

performance. The company also introduced 

“softened strength” protection with a more feminine 

focus. “Exploring challenges within women’s 

workwear has been an exciting next chapter for the 

CORDURA ® team,” said McNaull. “Our recent 

Dovetail x Artistic Milliners collaboration brought 

the opportunity to leverage our learnings from our 

legacy in military, work, and outdoor sectors to 

help develop tough sustainable workpants, just like 

the women who wear them.” 

“As the denim company of the future, we are 

excited to work with the CORDURA ® team 

to advance sustainable denim choices,” said 

Artistic Milliners’ Ahmed. “In the next chapter of 

our CORDURA ® collaboration, we will be debuting 

CORDURA ® Hemp Denim blends that 

offer a soft yet resilient combination for today’s 

relaxed lifestyles.” 

All in all, CORDURA ® ’s Decade of Denim 

has demonstrated that the elemental durability of 

CORDURA ® never goes out of style. Through harnessing 

the power of collaboration, CORDURA ® 

will continue to push performance so that consumers 

can demand more from what they wear.

DATABASE 

84 

FALLEN 

GIANTS 

A new 

landscape 

is emerging 

in jeans 

sourcing. 

But Mexico did see a slight gain in January, 

and some feel a resurgence could be afoot for 

the United States southern neighbor. 

Patricia Medina, director of Aztex Trading, 

and Graham Anderton, the company’s 

president, expect a strong turnaround for 

Mexico’s jeans manufacturers that supply 

U.S. brands and retailers. The husband-andwife 

team said mills and factories are all back 

open with safety protocols in place after 

Covid-related shutdowns, and demand is 

slowly returning. 

“One of the problems we’re seeing is the 

increase in the price of cotton,” Anderton 

said. “That’s made the mills reluctant to orwords_____ 

ARTHUR FRIEDMAN 

The one-time production powerhouses 

of eico and hina hae lost significant 

market share in the last year, while others 

have held their own, or even made notable 

gains, during the global pandemic that has 

curtailed demand. 

Top supplier Bangladesh, which now 

holds a 20 percent import market share of 

denim apparel to the U.S., saw its market 

share dip 5.8 percent in the year though January 

to a value of $565.82 million, according 

to the ommerce eartments ffice of 

Textile & Apparel (OTEXA). In comparison, 

No. 2 supplier Mexico lost 40 percent of its 

market share during the period for a 16.85 

percent market share. 

20% 

B a n g l a d e s h ’s i m p o r t m a r ke t s h a r e 

o f d e n i m a p p a r e l t o t h e U.S. 


der the cotton until they hae a firm order in 

hand. It’s a Catch-22 because you don’t know 

how to cost for a customer until you know 

the price out of the mill, so it’s a guessing 

game in placing orders.” 

Medina said the Mexican mills are totally 

dependent on U.S. cotton, and that the issue 

of farmers choosing to grow crops that 

are easier to cultivate and perhaps more 

rofitale is also affecting rice, although 

organizations such as Cotton Incorporated 

and Cotton USA have forecast a strong crop 

year coming up. 

Anderton said Mexico’s advantage over 

Asian production is shorter lead times and 

the ability to produce quick replenishment 

goods that can absorb higher labor rates. 

Medina said right now there has been lots 

of activity in product development and 

sampling, with expectations of fall ordering 

coming soon. 

Anderton noted the problem is that the 

many of the big-order retailers have gone out 

of business, so the jeans landscape is more 

spread out and reliant on smaller, customized 

orders. 

No. 3 jeans supplier Vietnam saw its market 

share fall 7.62 percent in the 12 months 

to a value of $355.05 million and a 12.74 percent 

market share, OTEXA reported. Sourcing 

executives have pointed to a potential 

capacity crunch of facilities and labor that 

could be slowing Vietnam’s momentum. 

40% 

h o w m u c h o f i t s m a r ke t s h a r e M e x i c o 

lost in denim apparel imports to the U.S. 

Then there’s China, with geopolitical 

turmoil like no other country having a severe 

impact on its apparel production. Denim 

apparel imports from China plummeted 

49.37 percent in the year through January to 

$326.34 million and an 11.71 percent 

market share. 

However, Dr. Sheng Lu, associate professor 

at the University of Delaware’s Department 

of Fashion & Apparel Studies, said, “U.S. 

fashion companies are not giving up on China 

as one of their essential apparel-sourcing 

bases, although companies continue to 

reduce their China exposure overall.” 

Among the top 10 jeans suppliers showing 

some strength were Pakistan, which now 

holds a 9.2 percent market share after its 

shipments dipped 1.15 percent to $256.4 

million; Cambodia, with a 5.08 percent 

market share after posting a 5.78 percent 

increase in the year to $141.54 million, and 

Lesotho, with a 2.14 percent market share 

after its imports rose 1.61 percent to $59.65 

million in the year through January. 

Among the major suppliers losing ground 

in the period were Nicaragua, with shipments 

down 20.9 percent for the year to $102.71 

million and a 3.68 percent market share; 

Egypt, with imports falling 43.74 percent in 

the 12 months to $99.49 million and a 3.57 

percent market share, and Sri Lanka, with 

shipments declining 23.03 percent to $48.3 

million and a 1.73 percent market share. 

Among smaller producers making strides 

were Madagascar, with its imports up 24.75 

percent in the period to $37.66 million; Ethiopia, 

with a gain of 29.44 percent to $23.89 

million; Macua, jumping 228.18 percent to 

$21.26 million, and Tanzania, with a 15.23 

percent hike to $14.69 million. 

Nate Herman, senior vice president for 

policy at the American Apparel & Footwear 

Association, (AAFA) feels Africa’s nascent 

industry and future are “still bright,” and “one 

of the initiatives we’ll be starting early on is 

trying to get early renewal of AGOA (African 

Growth & Opportunity Act) and that will 

help give Africa traction.” 

Denim apparel shipments from the 

Sub-Saharan countries that are part of 

AGOA rose 2.5 percent in the period to 

$158.5 million and a 5.69 percent overall 

market share. 

In the end, sourcing executives point to 

diersification and risk aersion as key, as 

well as developing strong relationships in the 

supply chain. 

11.71% 

C h i n a ’s i m p o r t m a r ke t s h a r e o f 

denim apparel to the U.S. 

e really eliee our diersified suly 

chain enefits us as we manage through this 

time,” Rustin Welton, executive vice president 

and chief financial officer of ontoor 

Brands, the maker of Wrangler and Lee, said 

during a conference call with analysts. “With 

approximately a third of our production in 

this hemisphere and two-thirds of our source 

production coming from 225 facilities and 

over 20 countries around the world, we can 

be a little more creative…in navigating some 

of the challenges.” 

Herman added importers will also be 

able to make decisions in 20021 based on 

greater certainty. 

“We believe the Biden administration 

will take a much more steady, predictable 

approach to trade,” he said. “While there 

might still be tariffs, we’ll know way ahead 

of time. That part of the uncertainty that has 

dogged the industry over the last four years 

will not be there.” 

85 


DATABASE 

86 

CALCULATING 

New fabric choices for jeans give a 

twist to traditional price formulas. 

words_____ ARTHUR FRIEDMAN 

It used to be a benchmark in the denim industry 

that as raw cotton prices went, so did the price of 

jeans fabric. 

While cotton is still a key ingredient, the 

advent and now prevalence of blended materials 

and non-cotton fabrics has changed that equation. 

That’s not to say that denim makers don’t 

follow cotton prices and aren’t now concerned 

about a fairly sharp rise in the price of the 

commodity in recent months. At press time, U.S. 

spot cotton prices averaged 86.90 cents per 

pound at the end of February. According to the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), this is 

the highest price since June 14, 2018, when the 

average was 90.27 cents per pound. 

42.8% 

h o w m u c h Fe b r u a r y c o t t o n p r i c e s 

i n c r e a s e d f r o m a y e a r e a r l i e r 

USDA said the end of February price was up 

42.8 percent from 60.84 cents a year earlier. 

Cotton Incorporated stressed in its monthly 

analysis that cotton prices continue to trade at 

levels above those that global supply and demand 

estimates suggest may be appropriate. 

“Along with cotton prices, values for crops 

that can compete with cotton for acreage have 

also been increasing,” Cotton Inc. said. “Global 

economic growth is expected to accelerate as the 

world moves beyond the pandemic. The corresponding 

increase in economic activity could 

support further growth in mill-use and lift global 

demand several million bales. A net result could 

be that world production and consumption in 

2021/22 could be near parity.” 

The International Cotton Advisory Council 

said ending stocks for the 2020/21 season are 

now estimated at 24.5 million tons, “potentially 

easing pressure on prices.” ICAC’s price projection 

for the year-end 2020/21 average of the Cotlook 

A Index average of global cotton prices is 75.7 

cents per pound. 

Robert Antoshak, CEO of Textile Projects 

LLC, said the price of cotton is being impacted by 

a variety of factors. “Covid, of course, is a major 

factor, contributing to a weak and erratic supply 

chain, and relatively sporadic consumer demand,” 

he said. “There’s been a clear shift to online selling 

and along with it has come a shift in product mix— 

people buying a lot more knits such as sweatsuits 

compared to wovens, such as jeans. And that has a 

direct impact on cotton demand.” 

Another factor that could hold down cotton 

prices is that there are still relatively high stocks 

of cotton, he said. 

“I see a lot of this having to do with the uncertainty 

over sourcing product out of Xinjiang,” 

Antoshak said. “The typical mill in China and Asia 

will blend cotton due to performance or costing 

THE 


easons. The cotton market, since the Xinjiang 

reporting has gained momentum, has excluded 

it from the price calculation. As a result, you get 

these price increases that aren’t necessarily in line 

with the economics.” 

ynthetic fier rices hae also started to 

increase, Antoshak noted, because historically, 

cotton prices and polyester staple prices have 

tracked each other. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 

roducer rice nde for synthetic fiers was 

up 0.7 percent in January and had risen for four 

straight months. 

24.5 million 

tons 

e s t i m a t e d s t o c ks f o r t h e 2 0 / 2 1 

s e a s o n b y t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l 

Cotton Advisory Council 

Also impacting cotton prices is “intercrop competition,” 

he said, with farmers making decisions 

for greater rofitaility during difficult times. 

VARIABLES 

Impactful innovations 

The Lenzing Group is enhancing sustainable offerings 

for the denim industry with the introduction 

of encel odal fiers with ndigo technology. 

The technology behind the new offering incorporates 

indigo pigment directly into Tencel branded 

modal fiers using a oneste, sundyeing 

process. Lenzing reports that this delivers superior 

color fastness relative to conventional indigo dyeing, 

while using substantially fewer resources. 

Tricia Carey, director of global business development 

for denim at Lenzing, noted that Tencel 

odal fiers with ndigo technology are inherently 

versatile and enable implementation in a range 

of multifier lends. 

Pierette Scavuzzo, Cone Denim’s design director, 

noted that the denim mill has developed a prototype 

fabric with the Tencel indigo blended with 

hem, giing styles a fresh hand and look, and fits 

into the looser silhouettes in demand today. This 

tye of faric can fit into designerleel sortswear, 

cauo said, or dresses or loosefit trouser. 

“We also did a stretch, textural fabric with has 

eile and that can e unise, she said. 

Denim mills such as Isko, Orta and Calik are 

moving into using more post- and pre-consumer 

cotton and cellulose fiers such as ening efira. 

“There’s a huge shift from conventional or virgin 

cotton and other fiers to recycled ersions, 

said Ebru Ozaydin, former vice president of sales 

marketing of Artistic Milliners. 

Vivian Rivetti, vice president of global design 

for rangler, said the use of stretch and fier 

blends are important because people who wear 

Wrangler want to be comfortable in whatever 

activity they are doing. 

75.7cents 

t h e 2 0 / 2 1 y e a r- e n d a v e ra g e o f g l o b a l 

c o t t o n p r i c e s p e r p o u n d a c c o r d i n g t o 

the Cotlook A Index 

“Comfort is important to the consumer and in 

order to deliver comfort stretch in our products, 

fier content is key, she said. rangler continues 

to elevate our product sustainably through 

the consideration of articular fier lends. 

ew erformance enefits are imortant as 

they allow the consumer to enjoy climate-sensitive, 

soft and stretch technologies and get more 

use out of their apparel, she noted. 

As for price consideration, Rivetti said the decision 

to use a articular fier is not always ased 

on cost. “Our team makes the decision to use a 

fier to delier our rangler consumer the est 

product in a reasonable price range,” she added. 

87 


ETERNALLY 

88 

COOL 

F R E D S E G A L’S L E G A CY I N D E N I M R E TA I L L I V E S O N . 

In recent years, the popup shop has become a musthave 

for brands introducing new merchandise to 

loyal consumers. But the concept has its roots in a 

small but revolutionary retail outpost that began 

with a pair of jeans and a vision that came to 

embody California’s effortlessly cool aesthetic. 

Fred Segal, the father of Southern California, 

aka “SoCal” style, introduced this retail concept 

when he opened his first eponymous shop on Melrose 

Ave in 1961. Segal had a new vision for denim, 

and by 1968 he bowed the first “Jeans Bar” in his 

second Fred Segal store. 

The “Jeans Bar,” a curated shop-in-shop, sold 

his infamous low-rise jeans alongside coveted 

basics and other denim styles at higher-than-average 

prices. For more than 50 years, his West Coastonly 

stores became the go-to for young hipsters 

and trendy celebrities. 

Segal would attribute much of his success to 

the store-in-store concept. His creative retail spaces 

transformed the shopping experience. By the 1980s, 

he would pioneer another first. He moved on from 

the retail side to become an umbrella organization, 

creating opportunities that led to multiple employee-owned 

and licensed Fred Segal brands. He retired 

in the early 2000s, but stayed in tune with his businesses 

and the changing retail landscape. 

Fred Segal stores remained a California concept 

until 2012 when he sold the worldwide rights to the 

brand to Sandow Media of New York. Being sold at 

the retailer, however, continues to be a badge of 

honor for notable American and European labels. 

Even with global expansion, it has stayed true to 

the laid-back SoCal style Segal created. 

Segal died on Feb. 25, 2021, at the age of 87. — 

Tonya Blazio-Licorish 

Photo: Fairchild Archive/Penske MEdia 

l_____ MODEL IN FRED SEGAL PLASTIC JEANS 

l_____FRED SEGAL IN 1983 


EXCEL ALONG 

THE BLUE WAY 

It started in 2000, with an idea 

for a responsible textile industry. 

The idea became the Bluesign mission: 

to provide service-based solutions that 

help the industry realize responsible 

manufacturing, globally. THE BLUE WAY 

is a mindset towards advancements 

for supply chain inputs and outputs. 

From improvements in resources and 

chemical usage to emissions and waste 

reduction – THE BLUE WAY creates 

a positive impact and better textiles. 

As global society begins to catch up, 

we are taking our momentum into 

the next 20 years. 

We look forward to walking the walk 

together with you. 

bluesign.com/business 

managing inputs. 

responsible actions.

Rivet Magazine April 2021

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