Highly advanced technology, constantly evolving R&D and new production models–also heightened by the pandemic that forced brands to sell more via e-commerce–have helped reduce the number of jeanswear items produced. Fiber and fabric manufacturers have introduced new textiles and, as a result, new sizing systems help brands offer products that fit different body types and sizes at the same time, guarantee comfort and help to prevent huge quantities of unsold items to be sent to landfill.
Time to avoid waste
According to studies by Soorty, a Pakistani vertically integrated denim company, each year the fashion industry produces around 150 billion garments out of which 30% is never sold and 84% ends up in landfills. The company also discovered that apparel e-commerce is currently worth $360 billion, though an average 40% of clothing sold online is returned due to incorrect fit and size. Therefore, a $144 billion problem adds up in terms of unsold products.
To reduce this, Soorty, has launched its new Re-Sync denim. This new jeans' selection is characterized by a one-size-fits-all technology aimed to support size inclusivity while avoiding an overproduction of waste from the fashion industry. These adaptive jeans provide ultimate support to the wearer, sculpting the body with a 360° stretch comfort and enable the garments to perform well two sizes up or down.
Photo: Soorty
Re-Sync denim by Soorty
Calik Denim, a Turkish denim manufacturer, believes that brands need to find solutions to avoid filling their warehouses with amounts of wrongly sized products and returned goods. “E-commerce has been gaining ground recently,” Calik explains. “Restrictions, store closures and health concerns gave a boost to sales through online channels. In s/s 2020, we launched our Selfsized family of fabrics for the purpose of size simplification by offering high-elasticity fabrics, minimizing the possibility of buying wrong size jeans when shopping online and offer soft and comfortable jeans.”
Photo: Calik Denim
Selfsized denim by Calik Denim
Enhancing body positivity
According to the US jeans brand Good American, the average woman changes sizes 31 times in adulthood, and can shift weight by five pounds (about 2.26 kilos) in as little as a week. With these aims in mind Good American and Calik started a partnership and launched Always Fits Good American, a denim selection to address women's fluctuating sizes as each pair can cover a range of three to four sizes made with Calik Denim’s Selfsized fabrics.
Photo: Good American x Calik Denim
Always Fits by Good American x Calik Denim
Forget traditional sizes
Bossa, a Turkish denim manufacturer, has also started offering Xupple Stretch, a new fabric concept meant to provide a responsive stretch technology with high elasticity aimed to meet different consumers’ needs. “A lot of body image stereotypes are being broken through the fashion evolution in these days and traditional clothing sizes may appear as a mental block to the eyes of consumers,” says the company.
Plunkett Research, as reported by Soorty, has estimated that 68% of women in US wear sizes 14 and above, and they seem to have had enough of not getting their fashion needs met while shopping. Despite this, the size-inclusive market is worth US$165.2 billion and offering correctly fitting jeans and could help satisfy this consumer group while doing away with body shaming, promoting more inclusive fashion and avoiding that huge amounts of wrong size pieces are thrown away.
Brands are starting to be keener about offering jeans that can adapt themselves to different body types and make women feel more confident. US brand Frame, for instance, has launched the concept Le One. “We’re constantly looking for ways to exceed the expectations of the Frame woman and outdo ourselves. And Le One is one of the ways we’ve set out to accomplish this,” says Erik Torstensson, the brand’s co-founder and creative director.
Photo: Frame
Le One jeans by Frame
“Body Positivity” is also the buzzword underlying Gerry Weber’s jeans concept “Onesize4all.” The German fashion brand has started offering its jeans' selection since f/w 2021, available all year long, at €89.99.
“The body shapes the jeans, not the jeans the body,” says the brand underlining the importance of each consumer’s own personality and body type. This special selection is available in two sizes, covering clothing sizes 36 to 40 and 42 to 48 and meant to fit everybody’s shape and ensure greater wellbeing for the woman who wears them.
Key characteristics are a special cut, a highly elastic superstretch denim whose weaving technique has a particularly high recovery, and makes the jeans a high-quality garment destined to be worn for a long time. This way, the search for the perfect-fitting jeans, often associated with many fittings, is eliminated,” Gerry Weber says.
No style limitations
Despite the high functionality of these jeans their authenticity and versatility is not damaged. Calik’s Selfsized fabric concept promises a limitless comfort without compromising jeans’ authentic denim look. It is available in different weights; therefore it is perfect for every time of the year. Moreover, they can be washed as often as the consumer desires. Besides clean look denim, it also offers fabrics with salt and pepper appearances. Skinny jeans and slim fits are the most appropriate styles for these fabrics, but garments with wide leg or flare jeans can be made as well.
Good American’s Always Fits denim selection, for instance, offers skinny fit, and high-waisted jeans available in many washes and completed with stylish distressed details. Generally, these fabrics can be used for womenswear, menswear and kidswear and, as Gerry Weber does, they are available in a wide selection of hues including black-black, dark blue and middle blue.
Comfort, an extra plus
Soorty has developed a very comfortable stretch in partnership with Lycra as its fabrics give the body a comfort space that holds and sculpts but does not compress. Their stretch level can be 60-70% for daily activities, with almost no pressure, and it can reach 100% stretch level with a power that does not make it feel like wearing a corset. While it takes one’s body shape, after 20-30 minutes after it’s off it goes back to its original silhouette.
The Lycra Company has recently presented a series of fabrics for it Lycra Freef!t Technology platform. “Our patented technology utilizes both Lycra fiber and Lycra T400 fiber within one yarn. Through yarn and fabric construction, the denim has a slightly more open structure than typical denim,” explains Ebru Ozaydin, strategic marketing director of denim and ready-to wear.
Photo: The Lycra Company
The Lycra Company's Freef!t technology
More flexible solutions
Among brands using fabrics that allow some slight size flexibility is Replay with its Hyperflex jeans. They are made with denim by Isko and can adapt themselves to different body types like taller and thin, or smaller and curvy, plus leave comfort in case of small weight changes for about half size less or more. Along with it Replay is working on a new genderless concept that will be characterized by a greater flexibility in terms of fit.
Photo: Replay
Replay Hyperflex denims
Among other projects meant to meet specific consumer’s body requests is Weekday’s new design concept Body Scan Jeans. Thanks to a 3D body scanning and an algorithm technology, the Swedish jeans brand’s system can design and produce jeans that guarantee a body-hugging fit, as patterns and measurements are based on an individual body scans performed in store.
Photo: Weekday
Weekday Body Scan Jeans system
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