Cheap and chic - European jeans and the high-end denim market

An April 26th article that ran in Women’s Wear Daily reported on a fashion industry show devoted solely to the ever-expanding market of designer denim which over the past decade, has livened up a scene was once dominated by a few basic brands like Levi's and Wrangler.

The article reported that:

“It’s the rapid growth occurring in denim’s highest tiers that have would-be designers launching new lines on an almost daily basis. The barrier to entry is almost lower than many other apparel ventures, at around $1 million, according to Mudd Jeans founder Kick Gilbert, making it even more attractive to newcomers. The result has been a flood in premium denim brands…”

The article also noted that though top tier denim brands like Seven for All Mankind, Blue Cult, Rock & Republic, Salt Works, Paper Denim and Cloth (just to name a few of the more popular ones) represent just 2.2 percent of the market, they were able to rack in $335.4 million, a 27.7 percent gain from the year before. Jeans from these labels usually sell for upwards of $200 - and shoppers are more then willing to pay for them. One blogger for Splendora wrote:

"Is it for the trend, a status symbol represented by the stitched back pockets or do $275 jeans really fit that much better than less expensive jeans? Though I see buying a pair of jeans as a sound investment that I'll get a guaranteed return on (I wear jeans all the time), how much is too much to dish out for one pair?

With the popularity of skinny jeans steadily on the rise, and the possibility that denim fanatics will have to totally overhaul the jean selection in their closets, one can only expect that these over priced denim brands will continue to prosper -- even the smallest labels, because as we all know, limited availability is what luxury fashion is all about.

But I kind of like a new trend that is supposedly coming out of Europe, reported on also by WWD, but in a special sportswear magazine edition of the publication. As they did with the cheap plastic furniture sold at an Ikea near you, Scandinavians are way ahead of us in their taste for jeans, and are paying far less for them, too.

Orjan Andersson, a designer for the hipster label, Cheap Monday told WWD that “We noticed that there wasn’t a single decent brand that made cheaper jeans. Customers still want premium, but they are buying brands like Cheap Monday to go along with their selection.”

His label, which as expected from the name, offers “conceptual” jeans for around $55, like pair aptly called, “The Eiffel Tower,” that has waistline reaching ribcage level.

Another label, called April 77, promises to sell their jeans at no more than 70 euros, or around $86, though label designer Brice Partouche told WWD that selling them only in trendy high-end boutiques is key to the marketing strategy.

Though you mostly likely won’t catch me wearing Eiffel tower jeans any time soon (I have a long torso so it would look funny, you know?), or going all that far out of my way to buy a pair of pants, it’s nice to see that some designers are trying to reverse the trend of over priced jeans, especially when attitude is even cooler then the cut.