Amsterdam denim brands - Mo Veld · Amsterdam is a fertile breeding ground for denim innovators. WGSN reports on the key brands to watch. Amsterdam's notoriously liberal, non-conformist

Amsterdam is a fertile breeding ground for denim innovators. WGSN reports on the key brands to watch.

Amsterdam's notoriously liberal, non-conformist casual spirit makes it one of today's most exciting denim capitals. Labels combine a no-nonsense attitude with a strong sense of identity.

Leaders rather than followers in the denim arena, expect bold, innovative and often conceptual reinterpretations of traditional themes.

G-Star Raw, Blue Blood, Denham the Jeanmaker, Atelier LaDurance, Kuyichi, Intoxica, Gluejeans, Circle of Trust, Rockford Mills

G-Star Raw

Gluejeans Denham the jeanmaker G-Star Raw

Intoxica Kuyichi Blue Blood

Amsterdam denim brands

MO VELD, WGSN 21.12.09

Page 1 of 11Amsterdam denim brands 21/12/2009

13/01/2010http://www.wgsn.com/members/trends-info/fast-track/features/ti2009dec21_090253

� A worldwide success, the brand is boosting its Just the Product motto through a strong brand identity

� On September 15, the brand introduced the NY Raw Structor Pant at New York Fashion Week

� The brand's youngest 3D silhouette, the pant serves as a design base for both male and female markets

� G-Star is active in Dutch fashion drafting some of the country's best design talent and participating in the Arnhem Fashion Biennale

� It also sponsors Lichting 2009, which brings together the best of Holland's seven fashion academies in one show

� The G-Star Raw Talent Award worth 10,000 Euro is an annual award at Lichting

� On May 15 2009 G-Star Raw opened a three-storey flagship store on a corner of P.C. Hooftstraat in Amsterdam

� At 450sq m, this is one of G-Star's largest mono-brand stores

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Blue Blood

G Star G Star

G-Star at NY Fashion Week G-Star Raw G-Star at NY Fashion Week



� Founded in 2003 by Steve te Pas, Blue Blood is an ambitious new luxury denim and fashion house, combining high fashion with a strong dose of craftsmanship through Japanese premium denim and traditional tailoring

� Blue Blood's designer label Avelon oozes sartorial connoisseurship

� A highlight for spring/summer 2010 is the Steve Fat Slim, named after Steve McQueen

� This 14.5oz organic-denim style combines a loose-fitted waist with legs that disproportionately narrow to the ankle

� Showing no less than 3.8-inch selvedge, this fatty style originates from having the Avelon #1 jean altered by an expert tailor without losing the selvedge

� Blue Blood's three Amsterdam stores serve as a blueprint for an ambitious retail roll-out plan

� PC142 or First Store, located on luxury shopping strip PC Hooftstraat, is the main store, selling both men's and womenswear

� CS18, on wealthy residential Cornelis Schuytstraat, combines Blue Blood denim with vintage couture finds in a boutique style

� PS13 on Prinsenstraat emphasises the true-blue aficionado spirit of the brand

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Denham the Jeanmaker

Blue Blood



� Blue Blood's founding designer Jason Denham launched his own brand Denham in spring 2009

� Denham has 20 signature premium denim styles in over 35 washes, complemented by a collection of tees and jackets

� The brand's motto is "the truth is in the details" and philosophy "worship tradition: destroy convention"

� The spring/summer 2010 collection called Foreign Office is heavily inspired by the Denham Garment Library

� Highlights for men include the Medic Intel Sportcoat inspired by a 1941 POW medic's sportcoat and Cutter+ tapered jean, with a slim hem. It has a dropped front yoke creating a visual lower rise

� For women look to the Spy Boro Field Jacket influenced by a WW2 Sahariana field jacket and key low-

Denham the Jeanmaker



fitting drop-crotch denim styles Genie and Lady, inspired by traditional Moroccan and Turkish harem pants

� Another big buzz for spring is the chino

� Denham's headquarters are on Prinsengracht, one of Amsterdam's historic canals in the 9 Little Streets area

� A small storytelling store set-up includes the original tailor's scissors from the logo. It also introduces legendary Japanese jeanmaker Hiro, who not only delivers traditionally crafted selvedge, but also Denham's very own For Goodness Sake sake

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Atelier LaDurance

� Located and produced in Provence, Atelier LaDurance's founder Gerard Backx started the label to supply his Amsterdam shops with denim in 2002

� It started out as a hobby project, but soon became one of the premium denim labels to watch

Atelier LaDurance



� One of the few remaining specialist factories in Provence produces the denim using artisanal Japanese selvedge denim

� The collection concentrates on original late 40s styles and a classic functional French aesthetic

� Graphic designer Boy Bastiaens created the brand's distinctive identity, which includes the gold logo-embossed heavy dark brown grained-leather patch, genuine Vichy-check pocket lining (blue for men, red for women) and repair capsule attached to each pair of jeans

� The straight-cut, low-waist, slim tapered-leg Prescot and the baggier Royal with adjustable backstrap are the centerpieces of the men's unwashed-denim and khaki-coloured twill collection

� The streamline women's range compromises of only one jean - the low-waisted, tapered-leg Versatilette with western-style hip pockets - and a skirt adapted from the Royal cut

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Kuyichi



� Established in 2001 by Dutch NGO Solidaridad, Kuyichi was the very first organic green denim label

� Today Kuyichi is respected for both its lead role in developing innovative sustainable materials and its strong collections

� There are three lines: Pure Denim, focusing on Kuyichi's core values; Pure Premium, the most authentic and purist denim range; and Pure Plus, a small directional women's line with an 80s fashion edge

� Kuyichi also uses recycled PET, hemp, Lenpur, linen and leftover Japanese denim and recycled cotton

� For spring/summer 2010, Kuyichi builds on the trend for looser fits like the boyfriend, an upsized hot pant and a mid-thigh skirt for women, as well as regular slim-to-loose tapered fits for men

� Kuyichi is currently preparing to launch the autumn/winter 2010/11 collection Love the World

� Kuyichi partners with fast-growing independent umbrella label Made-By, also initiated by Solidaridad, which enables customers to track and trace their purchases down to the sustainable and fair trade-style manufacturing, mills and plants

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Intoxica

Kuyichi



� Intoxica Jeans is also a member of Made-By

� Founded by Kentroy Yearwood in June 2005, Intoxica uses only the highest quality, artisanally produced and 100% sustainable Japanese denim, bamboo and recycled paper

� With its environmental approach, it is bravely pioneering on the new luxury frontier

� The collections feature an all-over slender yet loose, comfortable and layered look with an emphasis on dropped crotches and necklines

� This sits well with Scandinavian and other Northern European high-end fashion boutiques

� One of the key features of Intoxica Jeans are the knee-high turn-ups

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Gluejeans

Intoxica



� Gluejeans was launched during Amsterdam Fashion Week in July 2008

� It was the winner of the prestigious Dutch Design Award for best fashion product that year, with the highly distinctive innovation of using glue instead of stitching

� Developed by the multi-discipline Dutch design duo G+N, until recently the jeans were only available made to order from Droog Design's flagship and Gluejeans Amsterdam fitting room in the notorious redlight district

� With the 300-run limited-edition Gluejeans #1 nearly sold out, the new collection combines glue with stitching, including jackets from reversed jeans, with a line of bags to follow

� For the new collection, the glue technique has been further developed for more regular lines and green-grey has been added to the black and red glue finishes

� A new sustainable laccase enzyme is used to bleach the denim at 30 degrees Celcius, giving it a greyish tone, and lowering the brand's eco-footprint further

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Circle of Trust

Gluejeans



� Amsterdam-based brand Circle of Trust has positioned itself as a premium-denim market challenger

� Making serious waves in the women's and kidswear markets, it delivers highly fashionable styles with a premium denim look and a fair trade business ethic under the 100 Euro price point

� Founded in 2005, Circle of Trust has over 200 selling points in Holland alone, and recently started exporting to Scandinavia and Belgium

� Fits range from denim leggings to boyfriend styles and come in a wide range of washes from classic, vintage and destroy treatments to progressive tie-dye, retro, bleach and painted

Circle of Trust



� The striking extra-long leather patch across the waistband and the knotted circle logo are strong brand motifs

� Its commitment towards a sustainable ethical future makes the brand stand out

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Rockford Mills

� With an autumn/winter 2010/11 launch planned, Rockford Mills aims to challenge premium denim snobbery through a mid-market label with a high-end, vintage-inspired flavour

� Initiator Kees Scholten - until recently creative director at Tommy Hilfiger - aspires to combine the best Northern African manufacturers and European mills to deliver denim for a sound price, including a good retail mark-up

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© WGSN 2009



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Amsterdam denim brands - Mo Veld · Amsterdam is a fertile breeding ground for denim innovators. WGSN reports on the key brands to watch. Amsterdam's notoriously liberal, non-conformist