Interesting Snippets from the Denim Industry

Interesting Snippets from the Denim Industry

I’m always running across little pieces of news or interesting, innovative ideas popping up in the denim industry, but they don’t always offer enough content to warrant an entire post to themselves. So, I keep a running list until I’ve accumulated enough items to make a collective post featuring the ones that stand out to me the most. It’s never a dull day in the denim world…despite how ridiculously competitive it is, companies new and old are still coming up with new things. Denim certainly isn’t just denim anymore!

Starting with the above image, there have been numerous articles floating around the interwebs featuring a recent study conducted by survey company Qualtrics claiming skinny jean wearers tend to be more happy and confident than their non-skinny jean wearing counterparts. Seems kind of ironic, since skinnies tend to cause a high case of anxiety amongst the most fashionable or weight-conscious amongst us…but on one hand I could see this being true. Anything figure-hugging has to come with some kind of pride in one’s figure, right? I mean, I like tight clothing because I work hard for it and it just feels nice to not hide it under bulky fabrics. Refinery29 is probably my favorite news source that covered this news item. They reported that “skinny jean-wearers are 9% more likely to report ‘the highest levels of happiness'” and “people who describe themselves as ‘extremely or very confident are 12% more likely to wear skinny jeans.'” In addition, in regards to air travel, ‘aisle-sitters are more likely to wear skinny jeans than window-sitters.’ Another article at The Stir kind of fits in line with an article I wrote recently, suggesting that more people are wearing skinny jeans because they are more comfortable! I think I can believe that a bit more…I mean, because of leggings taking over recently, denim companies have had to get a bit more creative to compete, so skinnies lately have become a ton more comfortable! Perhaps the most intriguing part in the Refinery29 article is where the study includes that skinny jean wearers care less about recycling…what the wha? Anyone that knows me could tell you I go absolutely nuts when I see a piece of plastic, paper or glass in the trash…anyways, read more and watch the video here!

Outties

OK now here’s something whacky. We’ve had all sorts of types of jeans show up on the market…but nobody has thought up…inside out jeans, have they? Well, someone has now…but there’s actually a pretty awesome reason behind it. For those movie buffs who might recall, October 21, 2015 just happens to be the exact date that Marty McFly travels to in Back to the Future Part II. Yup 2015 is here already…yet another reminder to feel old. In the movie, Doc tells Marty that all kids will be wearing their pants inside out in the future. So here you go! This Kickstarter campaign by Outties has 9 more days (until June 20) to reach its $9,855 goal, and it’s just about halfway there. According to Outties, these jeans only appear inside out, and incorporate all of the detailing of a traditional pair of jeans, with pockets, a fly and belt loops. According to a Mashable article, Outties creator Ross O’Mullane says “When I started working on Outties full-time, my wife’s disbelief jumped from ‘ha ha really?’ to ‘seriously?’ so even if you think it’s a crazy idea, please help my marriage by supporting this campaign! I love the Back to the Future movies. Making Outties has become my dream.” I’m not a huge movie buff, but I’ll admit this is kind of cool…and I actually found it funny when I ran across an October 21, 2015 countdown clock during a Google Search…marking my calendar!

Interactive Jeans by Google x Levi’s

If you’ve ever wished you could control your mobile devices from outside your pockets, this looks to soon be a reality. Ivan Poupyrev, technical program lead at Google’s ATAP, was inspired when he witnessed Lady Gaga’s bubble-making dress at a 2013 iTunes Festival in London and sparked an idea. He soon founded Project Jacquard, which aims to incorporate conductive fabrics into the general population of textiles around the world, “and then to integrate touch sensors, haptic feedback, and more right into your jeans, car seats, curtains, everything.” (WIRED) Wearable technology is already a booming, highly innovative industry (a la Fitbit and contact lenses for diabetics), so it makes sense that it would soon hit the apparel industry. So far, prototypes work, but large scale production still will take some work. Poupyrev has teamed up with Paul Dillinger, VP of Innovation at Levi’s, to soon integrate this technology into jeans and beyond. An article on The Independent even explains this technology could help alert wearers of weight gain. I love jeans, and I’m also a techie…so this is pretty exciting (even if maybe slightly scary) to me! Read more at Wired here!

Fitcode

Many premium denim brands have already addressed the issue of the frustration of shopping for the perfect jean to fit your unique measurements, but Fitcode has taken to a seriously cool techy level. E-commerce is fun and convenient, and less tiresome than shopping in retail stores, but troublesome when you can’t try anything on. To make matters worse, images of clothing on models don’t always accurately represent fit for the average individual, with Photoshopping running rampant online nowadays and the fact that models often have clothing items clipped behind them for a cleaner fit. Former models Rian Buckley and Bri Cooley came up with Fitcode to attack this malady. Users run through a quick 5-question quiz, which uses a special algorithm that generates a special Fitcode number, which then leads you to specific jeans from various brands that match it! Fitcode personally hand-measures jeans for you to be sure they will be a perfect fit, and you can even shop on brand websites, and even Nordstrom’s, within Fitcode which will show your number as an overlay on the jeans that will best fit you. Crazy cool, right? Check out this article at KOMOnews.com for a personal account of how this website works, and get started at Fitcode here! I gotta give this a try! I wonder if it takes into account how much a jean will stretch out? If not now, I’m sure they will.

Airy Denim Pieces by 69

This is really an interesting one…and I’m not sure I get it, but it deserves a mention. 69 is an androgynous, cult-favorite denim label from Los Angeles, with all sorts of super unique (that’s putting it pretty lightly) denim pieces that I can guarantee you won’t see anywhere else. They’ve recently come up with a new denim line made just for these scorching temperatures we’ve all been having here in this sunny drought-ridden state…but I’m not sure about where you’d really wear any of these items! I’ll just say, there’s the Tit Void shirt, shown above, with a pocket that snaps off and lives up to its name. The designer doesn’t seem to feel the need to disclose his name, but I cracked up with this quote from a Style.com article: “This collection is for people who are serious about not taking everything so seriously. [It] is about being able to transform your outfit by removing or exchanging parts of it or simply adding a trouser facade over your swimsuit, Bermuda shorts, or even a dress. There’s also a lot of airflow opportunities.” Well, I certainly don’t like to take things too seriously, so I’ll just stick with “why not?” The brand is already a favorite, so we’ll see how this goes! Visit 69 here.