Contemporary women’s brand Ulla Johnson’s latest venture underscores denim’s post-Covid takeover.
The label announced it’s branching into denim after showcasing several jeans and a denim jacket at its Fall/Winter 2022-2023 presentation on Sunday during New York Fashion Week. Designed with the label’s signature feminine twist, the garments reflected the new wave of relaxed denim, anchored by wide, slouchy styles in a range of washes.
The collection features the Agnes, a high-rise straight leg; the Elodie, a high-rise wide leg; the Daphne, a low-rise boyfriend; and the Genevieve, a high-rise straight leg with a cuffed ankle and pintucks down the center front.
The brand’s inaugural denim range also includes the Odette jacket, characterized by dropped shoulders, a nipped drawstring waist, shearling collar and antique brass detailing. Colors abide by the collection’s palette of soft neutrals and warm fall hues: Select styles are available in Umber, a rich brown; Rosewood, a neutral blush; Danube Medium Indigo, a light wash denim; and Tigris Rigid Wash, a dark wash denim.
All denim in the collection uses 100 percent cotton fabrics. Jeans feature a leather logo-embossed back patch and a hand-hammered ring attached to the back belt loop that nods to Ulla Johnson’s signature jewelry made in partnership with Kenyan artisans.
Though this is the brand’s first official denim launch, the category has been on Johnson’s radar for some time, and the team spent a year and a half developing the collection in Los Angeles, a hub for U.S.-made denim. Previous collections have included denim jumpsuits, pleated shorts and wide-leg jeans.
Now is a strategic time for brands entering the denim category, as a new report from Research and Markets projects that the segment will spike to $76.1 billion by 2026, up from $57.3 billion in 2020. The global shift to more casual clothing, coupled with pandemic-related waist size fluctuation and the new denim cycle of looser fits, has catapulted denim back into the spotlight.
The denim collection is now available for pre-order, with jeans ranging from sizes 24-31. Retail prices are $395-$650. Consumer orders will begin to ship in July.
