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Premium Denim Continued from page 1
customers who are willing to spend more
than they would a year ago, according to
Zuidema.
“The consumer is willing to pay the price
if the wash and the details and the fit are
right. It’s about perceived value, and in their
mind, they can justify that price, whereas
maybe a year or so ago, people walked away
from that.”
LASC offers jeans that range in price
from $150 to $395, with at least three brands
in the $300 range, including Diesel; G-Star;
and Diesel Black Gold, Diesel’s higher-end
denim line.
Jeff Shafer, designer and owner of Washington-based
Agave Denim, which is carried
in L.A. boutiques such as T. Peterson
and Jimmy Au’s, said the price of his premium
jeans has increased about 15 percent
over the past year.
“The market is better, and people
are feeling more secure. After
the drop in the economy, retailers
reacted by dropping prices at the
cost of the product, and consumers
got bored. Now the consumers
want more and are willing to pay
if the product is exceptional.”
His Agave jeans retail for $155
to $300, with most pairs averaging
from $195 to $255 and $300
for men’s selvage denim.
Out of 98 brands listed on its
website, Southern California–
based American Rag carries 30
brands of premium jeans priced
at $200 and above, including
PRPS, a label that retails as high
as $500. American Rag sales associate
Candice Dennis said she
saw prices start increasing about
a year ago and that the store’s average
price is now $275.
English cycling brand Rapha
has developed $245 jeans made
with “performance denim” for riding,
brands such as True Religion
provide selvage denim for $569,
and luxury label Balmain offers
high-fashion jeans for $2,120.
True premium denim only has
to do with better product, according
to Shafer, so the increased use
of higher-end fabrics and more
elaborate washes and green technology
has pushed prices up.
“The word ‘premium’ in and
of itself implies better and higher
quality.” Shafer said. “To me,
making premium denim means
using premium textiles from mills
in Europe and Japan and some
American mills. It means washing
them in places that have laws
against environmental and labor
abuses. It means delivering a
product that justifies the higher
price tag. Some designer denim is
premium, and some is ordinary. It
has to do with the integrity of the
product and the supply chain.”
According to Michael Buckley,
chief executive officer of menswear
company Robert Graham
and former president of True
Religion, novelty is also a driving
factor in price. The company
is launching a new line of designer
denim that retails for $188
to $350 and includes jeans made
from denim woven in mills in
Italy, Japan and Spain, with laserdesigned
interior waistbands, embroidered
signatures, and zipper
pulls in antique brass and nickel.
“Today’s consumer who wants
a premium jean wants it with a
point of difference,” Buckley said.
“It has to have some novelty to the
Elliot Schutzer Jason Schutzer
dENIm REPORt
(Above) IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS:
Imported high-end fabrics and innovative
details such as antique brass and nickel
zippers have increased premium-denim
prices. (Pictured: Robert Graham denim)
(Left) HIGHER QUALITY, HIGHER PRICES:
Agave Jeans owner and designer Jeff Shafer
said customers are now willing to pay more
for a better product.
jean. For instance, Robert Graham’s attention
to detail and craftsmanship make
the collection special, so the consumer
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doesn’t have a problem paying $250 plus.”
Additional factors in higher prices include increases in textile
and manufacturing costs and new technologies such as
fabrics that hold their shape longer or offer more durability.
The costs of “great denim” and “excellent washes” have
shot up, and cotton prices and imported fabric from Japan
and Italy have also increased sharply, according to Shafer.
Cotton prices spiked to nearly $2.30 per pound this year
because of bad crops brought on by inclement weather and increasing
world demand. But cotton prices have recently come
down over the past three months and are now at $1.08 per
pound. Although cotton prices have dropped, Brad Mowry of
boutique denim consulting and manufacturing company Olah
Inc. said there will be a delay before those decreases are seen
at retail. “My idea is that retail is still up from the previous
cotton-pricing situation, and it does take longer for retail to be
affected by the cotton situation,” he said.
The higher prices don’t seem to be deterring buyers, according
to Zuidema.
“It’s a more limited market and more particular consumer,
but that consumer is out there again—where they had not
been out there before.” ●
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August 5–11, 2011 CALIFORNIA APPAREL NEWS 13