Wearing jeans to practice yoga seems like a passé way to test how stretchy denim can be. J Brand went one step further, cutting Isko’s Blue Skin fabric into a swim-inspired capsule collection.
The Los Angeles-based premium denim brand is offering a bralette, tank top and bikini shorts with patch pockets in a collection dubbed Above Deck. Made of four-way stretch denim washed in an inky blue, the grouping is a prelude to the high-definition stretch jeans that J Brand will produce with Isko’s fabric in its pre-fall and fall collections later this year.
“We have wanted to use a high-def stretch for jeans for some time now and I am glad that Isko finally has one that looks and washes down like real denim,” said Mary Bruno, who heads J Brand’s design department.
J Brand has had a long-running partnership with Turkey’s Isko. It was one of the first to adopt the mill’s jeggings concept. With the blurring line between swimwear and sportswear, the company can test the waters with new categories, especially to boost sales. Last month, its parent company, Japan’s Fast Retailing, reported that J Brand fell short of its target “by reporting an expanded operating loss” during the period between September 2015 and February 2016.
Retailing from $98 to $118, the pieces will be available later this month on J Brand’s e-commerce site, Net-a-porter.com and Selfridges in London.