PARIS — Smartening up its act, a luxury look is the next big thing for the premium denim category, experts say, using fibers like Tencel, MicroModal and Cupro.
A number of Europe’s denim mills have launched fabrics catering to the trend. New product lines by Spanish premium denim giant Tavex, for instance, include its spring 2012 Denim Couture range, billed as a tribute to the tailoring tradition, which will launch at the next edition of Denim by Première Vision in December. The line houses a range of luxury denim blends such as linen, Cupro and viscose, along with silky satin and taffeta constructions. Similar to Tencel, Cupro is a regenerated cellulosic fiber with cotton properties and a silk hand. David Bardin, the firm’s European marketing director, cited growing demand from brands for noble blends.
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“We sense there is an evolution away from vintage to more high-end, ready-to-wear-inspired fabrics,” Bardin said.
Royo will introduce its Suave plus+ product line dedicated, in the words of creative director Panos Sofianos, to “the luxury of softness and comfort,” at the Denim by Première Vision show. The range features sustainable fiber blends with “high quality values,” such as Lyocell-Tencel. Sofianos said the firm also developed cashmere denim blends for Hugo Boss and D&G, likely to be used in the brands’ fall collections.
A selection of niche brands is using luxury fibers to optimize the comfort aspect of their denim lines, developing softer handles and lighter weights. However, designers said maintaining an authentic look is paramount.
“We’re not into [noble fibers for the sake of it]…it’s more about finding fibers that will wear well, such as cashmere which ages really beautifully,” said Jean Ivor, head of product development for Nudie Jeans.
The brand over the past few seasons has developed dry hemp and cashmere selvedge denim with a small mill in Italy.
Similarly, for Notify Jeans founder Maurice Ohayon, who has been experimenting with luxury blends for a while, noble fibers are not just for show. For next spring, the brand introduced lightweight styles in a silk blend denim, retailing at 280 euros, or $390 at current exchange rates.
“It’s important that the blend adds comfort but does not affect the visual aspect of the weave,” said Ohayon, adding the main challenge is finding fibers that blend well with denim’s main ingredients: cotton and Lycra spandex.
Bahzad Trinos, sales manager for fledgling Canadian jeans brand Naked and Famous, said the brand has received strong demand for its current 16-percent-cashmere jeans, which he described as having a crispy, raw denim exterior and brushed interior that “feels like pajamas.” The brand’s vision is based on pushing the boundaries for denim blends and weaves.
Spring launches include jeans with a 10 percent stainless steel blend, retailing at $420, and the brand’s Frankenstein big slub alternating twill style, priced at $140. The latter style combines both right- and left-hand twills to give a gritty, irregular surface. The idea behind the stainless steel style — not to be worn at airports — is that the wearer can customize their own extreme creasing and fading effects.
“The interesting thing is its memory retention,” Trinos said. “Scrunch the fabric into a knot and it holds.”