Quality, price, service and a steady flow of innovations are among the top four traits denim brands in Germany look for in mill partnerships. Brands favor mills with lineages of quality, service and innovation. Among the reasons brands cut ties with mills are bad quality, delivery delays, unreliability, high prices and lack of sustainability, followed by high minimum orders, lack of innovation and bad service.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to denim brands. If possible, they pay attention to social and environmental factors when selecting denim fabrics. Recycled denim is especially an area of growing importance. Consumers in Germany are willing to pay a significantly higher price for denim made in a sustainable way.

Transparency and function are part of the package. Retailers believe labels that name the fabric producer can serve as an argument for higher prices. Jeans boasting functional features can command far higher prices. Women’s skinny jeans and straight fits are expected to gain momentum as well as cropped jeans and high-waisted jeans. However, destroyed/repaired, bleached or raw denim for women are expected to decline.

The quantity of women’s jeans in the German market is expected to decline 34 per cent by 2020 and that of men’s is expected to increase 33 per cent.