PURSUITS; Style -- Womenswear: China Jumps Into the Denim Fray; How knock-off fabrics are shaking up the premium jeans market
THERE'S A SURPRISING new Chinese knockoff that's gaining popularity in the U.S. -- denim.</br></br>Factories in China are ramping up production of denim meant to compete with the expensive Japanese fabric that has become the hallmark of premium jeans. That's good news for consumers, because they'll now be able get the look and feel of fancy jeans -- what the industry calls a "soft hand" -- for less than $100, or half what today's highest-end jeans can sell for. But the bar is high, and some makers aren't yet convinced of the quality of Chinese denim.</br></br>What has given Japanese denim its cachet is a combination of sophisticated washes and high-quality yarns that absorb color more evenly and look antiqued. Expensive labels from Kasil to 7 For All Mankind often tout the fact that they use Japanese denim.</br></br>Now, however, Chinese factories are starting to churn out denim with a similar appearance and texture -- for about half the price. Japanese denim generally runs $5 to $12 a yard, depending on the finish, while Chinese denim is $2.50 to $3.50.</br></br>For some companies, Chinese denim provides a way to move up the denim hierarchy. Next week, Eddie Bauer, which mostly produced $50 jeans made with basic U.S. denim, will also start selling "premium" trouser jeans, trench coats and skirts made of Chinese denim and priced between $68 and $98. On the high end, makers like Joie and Odyn are planning to use the less-expensive Chinese fabric for jeans with more costly hand-distressing or embellishment that will retail for about the same price as plainer styles in Japanese denim.