A JEANS STORY: IS DENIM STILL AS RELEVANT AS IT ONCE WAS?
There’s no two ways about it: It’s an interesting time to be a denim brand. Emphasis on the word “interesting.” On one hand, denim has never been more pervasive and relevant (see Pharrell showing up in denim to be honored by the CFDA and the recent Resort collections). On the other, sales have reportedly been down for the last several years (jean sales in the US declined eight percent last year), thanks in no small part to the rising popularity of the athleisure trend and its requisite yoga-pants uniform. There are also environmental concerns in terms of the amount of water denim production requires. It all begs the question: Has the blue jean—first made popular by cowboys in the American West—seen its day and riding off into the sunset or is its true heyday still on the horizon?