NY Times says the era of $300 premium jeans is over

[jet]

Come on guys, let me hear again how this doesn't apply to us.

 

[impolyt_one]

The $580 Dior jeans in the article are probably Galliano women's Dior, not Dior Homme. The rest of the article is pretty duh.

I think the bargain-priced jeans niche, like Cheap Mondays, etc, still has some legs though, I am surprised that more smaller companies don't step up to do more cheap jeans. Uniqlos are good and they have the ways of making a good pair of $50 jeans (they have $9 Uniqlo jeans in Japan now), but I think even a small company could make run of the mill jeans for like $75 that most people here could like. A few years ago on superfuture, I think people came around to the fact that black Acne hex cash weren't really any better than a pair of black CM's, not for the price differential anyway.

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by jet

Come on guys, let me hear again how this doesn't apply to us.

It doesn't apply to us because we are hobbyists. There are people here, or on Sufu, or on Hypebeast, or wherever, who will happily eat Ramen for a month in order to save for item X, whether that be a pair of Somet jeans or Dries sweaters or a pair of Nike Pigeons. Let's face it, it's not normal behavior. Stores like BiG and Selfedge and a little more insulated from the general economy, though even specialty stores are obviously not going to do as well as they might in boom times. However, the kill rate is much higher at stores that cater to a more mainstream customer, the customer who is interested in looking good, but is not fanatical about clothing. This is especially true of stores catering to women, since a greater fraction of women than men have a casual interest in fashion - thus the massive losses by stores like Scoop and Intermix.

I'm immune to sarcasm today.

 

[Mauro]

Fok has a point. women still do the majority of the shopping and the squeeze is on. They honestly do give a **** if clothes last they just want to look good for the moment.

Jet- this article is relevant to you either because you really aren't a retail shopper anyway.

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

I think the bargain-priced jeans niche, like Cheap Mondays, etc, still has some legs though, I am surprised that more smaller companies don't step up to do more cheap jeans.

You can totally do it. You are not going to get the best jeans in the world, but you can definitely make some pretty decent jeans. There are two barriers to this, however.

1) Companies have gotten used to denim as a cash cow. Maybe that will have to change - for example, a large number of companies gave up on the $75-$100 tee.

2) The consumer has become conditioned over the last 5 years or so to the perceived value proposition of current pricepoints. It's going to be hard to convince a customer that your $80 jeans are just as good as that pair of $200 jeans, much less that pair of $300 jeans.

 

[Geste]

Originally Posted by Epaulet

...Where's the logo? Where's the celeb connection? It's the disappearing aspirational customer who is causing this shift.

that really sums it up! Well put!

 

[Mauro]

^^ you will never be able to do that here in the states and make money specially if you want to wholesale them.
Farbic, wash, and CMT it isn't happening ( maybe if you are huge and make a billion pairs at a time)

 

[Gus]

Most companies in order to reach maximum sales are dialing back prices. The average consumer has suddenly become more practical and will receive far more lower priced options over the next year in fashion, home decor and personal accessories. The new buzz phrase in product development is "to reach the upper mid-tier consumer".

You will start to hear more phrases like "affordable premium" rather than "luxury"

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Mauro

^^ you will never be able to do that here in the states and make money.
Farbic, wash, and CMT it isn't happening ( maybe if you are huge and make a billion pairs at a time)

Who said anything about doing it in the states? Impolyt lives in Korea.

 

[Mauro]

fair enough.

I think that's do able. let's say you buy a really nice fabric and cmt is well below that fabric cost then you are set. I think labor laws will be busted but if you don't care about that then *******. Go for it!

 

[Get Smart]

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

You will start to hear more phrases like "affordable premium" rather than "luxury"

sounds like my seats on British Airways

but yea, maybe more of these high-end+lower-end collabs loom in the near future

 

[spacemanvt]

Mauro your location is Soha NYC?

 

[impolyt_one]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

You can totally do it. You are not going to get the best jeans in the world, but you can definitely make some pretty decent jeans. There are two barriers to this, however.

1) Companies have gotten used to denim as a cash cow. Maybe that will have to change - for example, a large number of companies gave up on the $75-$100 tee.

2) The consumer has become conditioned over the last 5 years or so to the perceived value proposition of current pricepoints. It's going to be hard to convince a customer that your $80 jeans are just as good as that pair of $200 jeans, much less that pair of $300 jeans.

very valid points as well.

I actually want to make some TOJ jeans too, but they won't be cheap, unfortunately. I have gotten so used to suiting up for this job, that is, a nasty white tee, beater jeans and shoes, and throwing my big Julius duffle full of notebooks over my shoulder, and going all over to find these ancient sage people who make good clothes, and searching and searching for materials and stuff; I know that when it's time to make my own jeans, getting my girlfriend to take me down into the depths of Japan to seek out the masters, the textiles, that is pretty much the only way I can envision it. I figure the jeans will probably cost like $200 or so but I have a specific set of details in my head and they must be MIJ, IMO. I kind of feel that is a default thing now.
There's probably nothing wrong with other selvedge denims but the level of awareness these days on these kinds of forums kind of necessitates nothing less than that.

 

[Mauro]

soha,NYC ( southern Harlem) arlington, Va

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

Most companies in order to reach maximum sales are dialing back prices. The average consumer has suddenly become more practical and will receive far more lower priced options over the next year in fashion, home decor and personal accessories. The new buzz phrase in product development is "to reach the upper mid-tier consumer".

You will start to hear more phrases like "affordable premium" rather than "luxury"

I heard this too, but I assumed that this would happen primarily at the retail level, in cooperation with large suppliers, and with smaller vendors scrambling to get on board before they sink.