There is big news coming from the HABITUAL brand for the spring season - we’re launching a line of premium men’s denim.

HABITUAL saw a void in the marketplace for a sophisticated, handcrafted men’s jean. The line is all about clean, modern, “city-inspired” looks and Handmade in USA craftsmanship. In the words of Design Director Jennifer Wojinski, “It’s a very tailored and sophisticated look with a European aesthetic. It’s more of a city look than the vintage look a lot of other brands are going for these days.”

Fit and Wash:

We’ve chosen a comfortable, higher rise that sits right at the hips, going against the trend of lower rise denim that has been prevalent the past several years. You’ll be able to find slim straight, straight, skinny, and relaxed boot fits, along with denim trousers and jackets. We are focusing on medium indigo, dark indigo, grey and black washes. You will also see a hand-applied black pigment coating, available on the skinny fit and the jacket, lending a leathery, rock & roll inspired feel. Some designs will have a minimal amount of hand-distressing.

Craftsmanship:

All of the looks will be hand crafted and hand finished in HABITUAL’s Los Angeles Factory with as little machinery as possible. The designs are cut from the best European denim fabrics, and laundering is done by denim artisans. We use fair labor practices at all levels of the production process.

How can you spot HABITUAL Men’s Denim?

We’ve opted away from aggressive embellishments and focused on a few subtle identifiers that will set HABITUAL Men’s apart and signify premium craftsmanship.

For most of the men’s line, you will find our signature Glory pocket in the front, on the coin pocket, along with a white contrast stitching that stretches up to the waistband. We are featuring both button and zipper flies, all with custom hardware and rivets. In back, you’ll see a leather patch stamped with the HABITUAL logo and tucked neatly underneath the top seam of the pocket, along with a white bartack on the back center belt loop. Inside, an artist-designed pocket lining features a skull, a crying eye, and an architectural arch along with a variety of text elements. Reinforced seams feature a black binding with the word “Believe” subtly visible.

The Fine Print:

The line will be available at retail in January 2012 at specialty department and specialty stores, retailing from $175 to $195 for basic washes, $225 for looks with hand distressing, and up to $325 for premium selvage. The denim jackets will retail at $275, except for one with calf leather sleeves, which will run $575.

Buyers and editors can get a true first look at the line at ENK, in Las Vegas, August 22-24th. You Can Find HABITUAL at booth number 11015. To make an appointment, please contact Christina Zamarripa at christina.zamarripa@pmkbnc.com.

The media conversation about whether premium denim is worth the expense, and if the high end jeans market will sustain itself, is one which has been a constant for the past several years.

We first took notice of the debate in a 2006 op-ed from NY-based Psychopedia.com, which predicted the death of premium denim, based on a perceived closing of the gap between the quality of inexpensive and premium denim. One of their core arguments relied on American Apparel, seemingly unstoppable at the time, who was preparing to launch a fashion forward, made in U.S.A. denim line in the neighborhood of $60 (we all know how that story has gone). Last June, a Consumer Reports study comparing premium, mid-range, and inexpensive denim brands went as far as saying that “marketers might deserve a special place in hell for turning blue jeans into a luxury item”. Studying fabric shrinkage, fabric quality, and construction, they claimed there was not a huge difference between the price points, and concluded that consumers “pay a lot for fashion and hidden details. Buy what pleases you.”

Most recently, the Wall Street Journal revisited the debate in July, breaking down the line by line costs of a pair of True Religion Jeans, from fabric to hardware to labor, to explain why a pair of jeans might retail for as much as $375.00 or more. The Journal did a fine job of explaining how hard costs add up: premium denim companies source fabric, rivets, leather, and other materials, and then manufacture the final product here in the states. Based on a total of these costs, the companies set a wholesale price and a suggested retail price to the consumer.

But even these articles fail to consider some additional considerations that set premium denim apart.

First, all materials are not created equal. Much like you pay extra for organic produce in the grocery store or farmer’s market, the highest quality denim, with the best stretch recovery and structural integrity, fetches a premium price. Even if the construction is flawless, using a lower quality denim sacrifices quality. For HABITUAL, we source only the finest quality denims woven from the highest quality cotton.

Another factor is that “Made in the U.S.A.” does not necessarily mean “Handmade in the U.S.A.” If you have seen the video of our Glory pocket being made (2 minutes, edited down from what is actually a much longer process), true premium jeans are sewn by hand according to a very specific design specification. Even after the hand sewing is completed, we often add an additional wash process, hand whiskering, hand distressing, or other treatment such as coating that requires an additional expertise and craftsmanship.

While HABITUAL does have core styles that stay in the line for seasons, many of them get new washes, new finishes, new fabric treatments, and even new fits season to season. For most of the 20th century, blue jeans were made for work. Slowly, jeans became a staple of American style, and later, models like Brooke Shields made jeans into must have fashion items. We introduce a Fall, Holiday, Resort, and Spring line every year to keep up with the most current wants and needs of the consumer and remain relevant within trend cycles. A lot of time and work goes into the seasonality of premium denim. And getting these seasonal changes right requires a best in class design team (another expense) and the right sales team to get the product distributed (yet another expense). And this is all before a single dollar goes into marketing.

But beyond all of the expenses, there is an intangible, experiential element that the right pair of jeans brings. Much like having a really special meal, it is about more than just the taste of the food and the best ingredients. It’s a total experience, the care that goes into preparation and presentation, the service you receive in the restaurant, and the meaning you bring to the meal personally, as the meal invoked memories of childhood or brings you back to a first date. Our goal is for the HABITUAL brand to spark an emotional response, because the customer knows the dedication and care that goes into the whole production process.

This is why we are confident in the stability of the premium denim market. There will always be a consumer that demands the best quality denim from premium brands like HABITUAL, because they understand the value of having a high quality product where no expense is spared, and where all the elements matter. And there will always be the customer who enjoys the emotional experience of finding the perfect pair. Our hope is that the care we put into a pair of HABITUAL separates us not only from  less expensive denim brands, but from other premium lines as well.

Pick up any fashion magazine and you’re likely to find a feature that was shot at a private residence somewhere in the hills of Los Angeles. Maybe it was shot at a celebrity’s own home, or it’s an empty space looking for a bit of PR exposure, or maybe it’s one of the many LA homes designed by a famous architect like Frank Lloyd Wright or John Lautner. Between the canyon vistas, city lights, and expansive pooldecks, it’s a look that every photo editor has wanted at some point.

Our last look book shoot was inside an industrial loft.  With floor to ceiling windows, wood slats, bricks and cement floors, it lended the Fall 2011 line a definite New York vibe. For spring, we’re bringing it back to Los Angeles, and it’s our turn to try the home in the hills look. A few scouting visits turned up a beautifully maintained 1920’s Spanish style home in Pacific Palisades overlooking the ocean. The stepped gardens, trellises, stone stairways, benches, koi ponds, archways, and stucco surfaces offered exactly the greenery and texture we wanted to complement the spring line.

We got started in hair and makeup early, before jumping right into the shoot. Because we only make denim, we take a lot of time before the shoot to select tops, shoes and accessories that highlight the best features of the jeans. For example, if we’re showing a high waisted trouser, we can’t pair it with a long shirt or the photo won’t show off the height of the rise. For the most part, looks are preselected and arranged on rolling racks so they are ready to go and help the shoot move quickly.

One of the major concerns with shooting outside is lighting. You’re racing to get everything finished before the sun goes down, and styling, changing into and shooting 21 looks in one day makes for a tight schedule. Also, direct sunlight can make for really harsh lighting. Luckily a thin ocean layer rolled in towards the afternoon and created a brilliant soft light.

First priority during the look book shoot was to capture the core product shots we needed for the look book, a vital tool for sales and publicity which needs to show off the best pieces in the line. Things worked very smoothly and we finished all the shots we needed for the look book by 5:00PM, which left some time to have some fun. As our photographer Tamara joked, “we went from selling product to selling sex”. We shot edgier looks with more artistic blocking and camera settings to capture additional photography for promotional use, advertising, or even the look book itself. 

As expected, casting worked out perfectly; Angelika was fun to have on set, and knew exactly how to show the clothes. We even snuck in a couple of shots of her tattoo, a small Maltese cross on her back - the exact same shape as the HABITUAL Glory pocket. Back in the office, as we’ve started to review the shots, the raw images are so strong we are realizing we won’t need to do much editing in post at all. We can’t wait to send the final Spring 2012 look book off to the printers in a few days.

You already know where the HABITUAL “Glory” pocket comes from, so we thought you might like to see how they are made. It’s a multi-step process as a series of skilled workers cut the cross out, attach it to lining, sew it onto a pocket, and finally fix it to the leg of the pair of jeans. Because every Glory pocket is hand-made, each one is unique to your pair of jeans. Along with the classic Glory pocket you see in this video, other versions of the design, such as distressed or studded Glory pockets, can require additional steps and even more hands-on craftmanship.

Have a look inside the LA factory to see how we take ordinary cloth and turn it into the Maltese cross pattern that decorates the back pocket of many HABITUAL denim designs.