The Denim Industry is in the midst of a quiet revolution. A long list of brands and designers are ignoring the lure of highly priced and highly hyped premium “novelty” denim and are offering the consumer something altogether more honest. The urge to produce novelty jeans with garish logos and impractical cuts is being replaced by a growing trend to produce minimalist, clean and basic high quality jeans for the fashion purist.
Amongst these brands are KOhZO, Loomstate, Edun and perhaps a lesser known brand Grass LA. Grass Jeans is the brainchild of John Cherpas and Kellie Delkeskamp who are perhaps best known for their success with the Fever Jeans brand. Grass is a complete 180 and takes a purist journey to the denim destination. “There’s a clean feeling to grass.” says Delkeskamp. “Grass is a healthy all-American jean – rugged and sexy.”
Grass comes in five different styles, each with a different fit. The women’s styles are named after local canyons that the designers hike – Topanga, Runyon, Bronson, Laurel and Coldwater. And the budding men’s line is named after mountains. Different washes, from light to dark are also organically named, from star to moon to storm, they say. The brand name is ideal spiritually and metaphorically, they agree. It’s about prosperity and renewal – a new start after relinquishing control of Fever jeans. Fever was “more va-voom” but, then again, that’s what was happening in the marketplace, Cherpas says. “Grass is cleaner, more wholesome but at same time not getting rid of hippie influence. It’s truly a state of mind. It’s a huge bomb when you love your company and this time we’re going to do it differently and we’re going to satisfy our souls.”
Perhaps the grass is greener afterall…