MANUFACTURING

After Decades as a Shirt Maker, Kennington Tries on Pants

Since the late 1950s, Kennington Ltd. developed a reputation by mixing bright prints and paisleys with button-down and oxford-style silhouettes for men’s shirts.

The Los Angeles–area label reportedly had annual revenues of $100 million during its heyday in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Kennington shifted gears and worked on private-label business. The label went on hiatus in 1992 but made a comeback in 2013 when it dusted off its archives and started selling its brightly colored button-down shirts to retailers such as Ron Robinson.

Now it’s getting into pants.

In January, at the Agenda trade show in Long Beach, Calif., Kennington introduced a line of men’s pants. “We thought it was the right time,” said Alan Walters, director of apparel operations. “We always had a shirt presence, but we wanted a rounded collection.”

The first pants collection introduced by the label is manufactured, dyed and finished in Los Angeles. However, it is made with Italian fabric. For its first line, Kennington made chino pants and corduroys in two fits.

There’s the “Slim Parker” fit, a slim-fit bottom. It is 98 percent cotton. To give it a bit of stretch, 2 percent spandex was woven into the fabric.

The other fit is the “Parker.” It is more relaxed and is intended to give a good shape to the guy who may not be on a strict fitness regimen, Walters said. It has a higher rise in back and a lower rise in front. “It covers the body better,” Walters said. “It doesn’t fight against the stomach as much. … We made it for a regular guy rather than the man with a model’s body.”

The pants come in eight colors, mostly earth tones, which Walters called stone, sand, earth and turmeric. Wholesale prices range from $48 to $52. Later this year, Kennington will introduce denim pants.

For more information, contact alan@kenningtonltd.com.