"A new luxury or premium look is giving the traditional five-pocket denim a life beyond basics. New denim makers are responding to the changing mindset of consumers who now prefer brands that offer comfortable styles and designs besides using sustainable fabrics and adopting responsible manufacturing practices."

A new luxury or premium look is giving the traditional five-pocket denim a life beyond basics. New denim makers are responding to the changing mindset of consumers who now prefer brands that offer comfortable styles and designs besides using sustainable fabrics and adopting responsible manufacturing practices.

Increased focus on consumer experience

Though athleisure products such as leggings and track pants briefly diverted the consumer’s attention from denim, jeans have still retained their counter-culture connotation, making them relevant for the moment. And Sharon Graubard, Creative Director of MintModa points out athleisure items don’t have the classic appeal of jeans as jeans are sexy and modest, casual and elegant, and be paired with anything from a simple T-shirt to the most extravagant brocade jacket. In addition, customers can also personalise their denims by modifying their designs and styles.

Susan Lee, Designer and Fabric Merchandiser at Twin Dragon feels luxury has evolved from being driven by brands and a price range to the kind of experience it offers to customers. It now focuses on the end-product and the benefits it offers to consumers. As per Tricia Carey, Director of Global Business Development for Denim at Lenzing Fibersb the ‘street to runway’ trend has resulted in brands including Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors transforming the use of the indigo base cloth in a unique way.

This is evident from the works of Lenzing, which uses Tencel in its denim to give them a more fashionable look. Tencel offers denims a sheen or luster that is more reminiscent of higher-end or dressier styling. It also offers longevity to these denims as such jeans are worn often, washed infrequently, can be repaired and last a long time.

New fabrics, fittings add to comfort

Many luxury makers are primarily using cotton with small amounts of modal, polyester or elastane in their denims. They are also adopting certain blends with other natural fibers like linen, flax and even wool. Brands like Off-White, 6397, ReDone, Chloe, Brock Collection, R13, Frame, Mother, The Great specialise in denim though they also offer collections that include denim in the mix.

MM6 offers subtly innovative silhouettes and washes and treatments. Barneys also has an excellent jeans department. Similarly, boutiques in downtown Manhattan like 3×1 in SoHo and Self-Edge on Orchard Street celebrates the craft of denim, which fits into the current passion for all things artisanal.”

Self-Edge offers an innovative denim range ‘Strike Gold,’ which uses indigo-dyed thread for the warp and a beige dyed thread for the weft in a 17-ounce fabric. The 634S by Iron Heart is the flagship model that brings the brand’s signature 21-ounce selvage denim to a straight-cut jean made with hand-picked U.S. cotton that offers a “super soft hand” in an “ultra sheen” finish.

Move towards sustainable denims

Sustainability, which has become the primary criterion for most denim consumers, is being increasingly adopted by new age brands who are also discussing about the impact that their choice of fabrics has on the environment. A case in point, the brand Twin Dragon, which uses powdered indigo in place of liquid indigo for saving water. It also uses laser techniques instead of traditional washing and also turned to recycled and sustainable fibers for its denims.