California Apparel News

For those who think the denim bubble has burst, think again. American Rag Compagnie’s founder and chief executive officer, Mark Werts, is planning to open a 5,500-square-foot World Denim Bar adjacent to the American Rag location on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. The new store is an independent venture for Werts who has licensed the store to American Rag. In addition, the iconic Los Angeles retailer opened a 13,500-square-foot American Rag store in Newport Beach, Calif.’s Fashion Island on Sept. 22. This is the first U.S. expansion in more than 20 years for the retailer, which first opened its doors in San Francisco in 1984. The store also has 10 doors in Japan.

The opening of the World Denim Bar has been delayed since May due to structural issues, but the wait will have been worth it. No expense has been spared on the rustic and industrial-meets-chic deacute;cor. Antique countertops were imported from the south of France, 1930s industrial factory lights from Brooklyn and delicate Murano lamps from Italy. The fineries will juxtapose the industrial look of exposed ceilings, concrete floors and antique wood lining the walls. The new addition will create an American Rag “complex” of sorts comprised of the World Denim Bar, American Rag, Cafeacute; Midi, Maison Midi, an eclectic Mediterranean-meets-modern furniture and houseware store, and the Maison Midi showroom and offices, which will be housed above the World Denim Bar.

Banking on past experience, Werts has confidence that denim will continue its strong run. American Rag has a good track record. Its eclectic mix of vintage clothing, cuttingedge designer lines, footwear and accessories has earned it a nomination for this year’s L.A. Fashion Awards Retailer of the Year.

Werts said that in the 21 years that American Rag has been open, he has never had a year where denim wasn’t a significant portion of his business “Denim is really important in L.A. and L.A. is the center of denim for the world,” said Werts. James Hammonds, denimbuyer for American Rag and World Denim Bar, agreed saying, “I’ve only been working here for four years, and twice I’ve heard denim is over this year, and it’s always maintained about 25 percent of our business. All of a sudden people started wearing skinny jeans, and we’ve had a bigger year than we’ve had in a while,” he added. “You just have to stay on top of the next thing and not get too comfortable.”

The whole idea for Werts’ denim emporiumwas formed over cocktails with Levi’s former chief executive and current board chairman, Robert Haas. The idea was to bring the best denim brands together under one roof offering staples such as Levi’s, the original jean, plus more than 25 of the top denim brands. “We’re in an age of diversity,” said Werts. “I don’t think people want one brand anymore, they want a multiplicity of brands.”

The store will sell Levi’s including Japanese and European styles in a shop-in-shop format. Other brands with in-house shops will include Diesel, J Brand and the largest selection of Evisu ever before sold in the United States. Each will have their own deacute;cor, such as the rustic Saville Row look of Londonbased Evisu’s store, outfitted with dark wood, a fireplace and a giant stuffed Kodiak bear.

The denim bar will be one of the largest suppliers of J Brand in Los Angeles and one of the largest suppliers of Tsubi. Other lines will include Joe’s Jeans, Serfontaine, Taverniti, Yanuk, Cheap Monday, PRPS, Ernest Sewn, Nudie and Goldsign. Each will have its own section on the wall with their name engraved on a large metal sign. In addition, a small selection of hot lines such as Lips, Chip & Pepper, April 77, Sass & Bide, J. Lindberg, Paige, Dondup, Habitual, Edun, Julien Red, Saddlelites, Edwin and Loomstate will also be available.

For those who want a custom look, the World Denim Bar can provide that too. The store will offer a high-tech $200,000 computerized Body Metrics machine that can create a virtual body scan for $30. The disc can be used to create custom jeans or for shopping online. According to Werts, the machine is the way of the future. It is the first of its kind in the United States, but has been tested successfully overseas by Serfontaine owner Mik Serfontaine.

In addition, custom washing for men’s styles will be offered through a company called the Denim Atelier. Custom washes will not be available for women, although the store will do custom-tailored jeans for both men and women. “It would be kind of a mistake to get into the custom washings for women because of the fit, unless we had a loose-fitting denim trouser,” said Hammonds. “If you’re dealing with shrinkage in a tight-fitting jean, the fit changes.” Even with the custom offerings, the plan is to keep the store’s focus on core denim styles. Anything with an extreme “fashion” look will be housed next door in American Rag. “The idea of this store is that absolutely anybody should be able to walk in and find a pair of jeans here,” Hammonds said. “We will have everything under the sun.”