California Apparel News

Los Angeles–based American Rag believes in denim in a big way.

In July, the retailer will debut a new retail concept in partnership with San Francisco–based Levi Strauss & Co. The details are still a closely guarded secret. “Levi Strauss & Co. is thrilled to be partnering with Mark Werts, founder of American Rag, on a new, innovative denim venture that we will be introducing in select markets this summer. We aren’t disclosing specific details about the venture at this time, but stay tuned for more information later this spring,” the denim giant said in a statement.

Werts is equally tight-lipped, adding that plans call for “a new, innovative denim venture that we’ll be introducing in select markets this summer.”

Closer on the horizon is the debut this month of a new World Denim Bar, set to open mid-April in Orange County, Calif.

According to Werts, American Rag’s denim business has grown steadily, defying the drag of the Great Recession. Part of that strength has come from the World Denim Bar, a denim-focused shop-in-shop that debuted at the Los Angeles store in 2006 with a product mix that features premium denim from 80-something brands and complementary sportswear and accessories. Now, American Rag is poised to launch a 4,000-square-foot World Denim Bar at its 13,000-square-foot store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Calif.

“The World Denim Bar has been really profitable for us. It makes sense to expand the concept and bring it to Fashion Island,” said Jennifer Althouse, American Rag’s denim buyer. Like the original World Denim Bar, the new World Denim Bar in Newport Beach will retail a mix of premium denim, sportswear, shoes and accessories. “The concept is exactly the same,” Althouse said.

Brands represented will include RRL, Levi’s, J Brand, Earnest Sewn, AG, Genetic, Nudie, Acne and Rag & Bone. The new World Denim Bar is smaller than the original, which clocks in at 5,500 square feet, and will feature a slightly more edited brand mix. Like the original Denim Bar, the new store will feature select dressing rooms equipped with what Werts dubbed the “Ass Camera”—a closed-circuit camera hidden in a mirror that allows denim shoppers to check out their posterior in a television embedded in another mirror. “What people care most about in their denim is the rear view,” Werts said. The Ass Camera, which is also available in the Denim Bar’s Los Angeles store, is novel and fun, Werts said.

Build-out of the World Denim Bar started just after the 2010 holidays and will launch with a party set for April 21.

The World Denim Bar, which replaces the location’s previous denim offerings, is part of a larger renovation for the Fashion Island store.

Cafeacute; Beau Soleil, a restaurant that’s attached to the store and serves French cuisine, also got a makeover. Primarily a lunch spot in its first iteration, Cafeacute; Beau Soleil now boasts an expanded menu for lunch and dinner and an added takeout service. Its repositioning as a full-service restaurant is expected to elevate the cafeacute;’s profile and make the Fashion Island store more of a destination. “It’s all part of the ongoing evolution of our approach to ’lifestyle’ retailing,” Werts said. “It’s about experience entertainment, food, music and fashion.”