Diesel Sets Up L.A. Denim Gallery
Italian contemporary denim maker Diesel, which reported sales of more than $600 million worldwide last year, will offer exclusive denim styles to its retail customers in London, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
For the past two years, the company offered most of its exclusive styles at Diesel Denim Gallery in New York’s Soho district. Most of these styles, which are hung on the walls like pieces of art, have been sold as limited samples, said Nicole LeMaitre, Diesel’s West Coast spokeswoman.
Because of tremendous consumer response, the company has decided to offer an exclusive selection to three of its best-known accounts, LeMaitre said.
Beginning June 15, Ron Herman at Fred Segal Melrose in Los Angeles, Jones in London and Villains in San Francisco will sell Diesel’s exclusive denim.
Each pair is like a piece of art because of the line’s intricate treatments and dye finishes, said Villains Buyer and General Manager Randy Brewer.
Ron Herman and Villains will each receive approximately 36 pairs of Diesel’s exclusive denim.
“Besides San Francisco, Los Angeles and the Denim Gallery in New York, you won’t be able to get them anywhere else in the U.S.,” LeMaitre said. “It’s too difficult to produce large orders because of the process involved in making each pair.”
The company plans to issue no more than 1,000 pairs of the jeans, which will retail for $209. Diesel’s limited-edition jeans will feature custom details, such as hand-sanding and scratching, and will each have a specially numbered Diesel Denim Gallery label. The novelty washes will have clever names such as “78 Years Slept in a Chest” and “Caught in a Work Tool.”
“The names are meant to reflect the treatment process of each pair of denim,” LeMaitre said.
—Claudia Figueroa
