This season has been awash with colour and jeans are no exception.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Jeff Rudes, founder of J Brand Jeans sums up his take on the denim industry; “Most people don’t get that we’re interpreting fashion through a jean, especially our competitors”. This statement couldn’t be more relevant for the SS11 season and according to the article, Rudes’ insight has been rewarded with enviable sales. “Since early March, J Brand has sold about 100,000 pairs of colored jeans” (as pictured above). That’s all in less than three months… each pair retails for between $176 and $334. You do the math.
Rudes’ nous extends far beyond a single collection though, as all this frenzy is ahead of the release of a collection that will mark the first collaboration between the brand and neon darling Christopher Kane. I think we can all agree that Mr Rudes is in an extremely desirable position right now.
Australian deviants, Ksubi were another label to capitalise on the trend. The label re-launched its 2004 coloured denim delights under the name Ksubi Kolors. Consisting of a range of super bright, super tight jeans for men and women, the collection also includes a select number of re-release printed t’s for guys in the same paintbox hues. The women’s jeans are prices at £135, versus J Brand’s £205 (both Net-a-Porter).
According to tracking, since the first six womenswear styles dropped into Selfridges on May 5, there have been 18 SKUs which have sold out and only three that have been replenished, from a range of six colours.
Compare this with the resounding success of the J Brand range in Shopbop. The collection arrived into the online store on April 1, ahead of competitors Bloomingdales, Net-a-Porter and Nieman Marcus. Shopbop, recognising the success of the jeans, within a few weeks dropped the price from the original $176 to $172 across the range – a minor discount but just enough to lure savvy online shoppers it seems.
In an eight-week period, across the six colour ways, there have been repeat stock-outs and replenishments across each SKU. With almost full stock across the range currently, the retailer is obviously betting on the continuing success of the collection.
And with the latest shows at Rio Fashion Week (pictured above) incorporating coloured denim into their collections for SS12, at this stage, it looks to be a very safe bet indeed.
