Seven (hundred and seventy-five million) for All Mankind
By Victor - Thursday July 26th 2007 |
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Depending on your perspective, Los Angeles today may have either lost or regained a small slice of its soul. Seven For All Mankind Jeans has been sold to North Carolina-based VF Corporation for a sum that can only be described as “whopping” $775 Million. The Los Angeles-founded brand affected culture in a way few do, pioneering the high-end jeans market with its launch in 2000.
For kicks, a bit of unintelligible business press release-ese follows. (Which I swear is its own distinct dialect of English):
“These brands extend our reach to important and growing consumer segments, broaden our presence in healthy and growing channels of distribution, provide us with additional vehicles to expand our direct-to-consumer business through owned retail stores and online sales and offer the potential for continued growth internationally,” said Mackey McDonald, chief executive of VF…
With acquisition of Seven, VF Corp is one step closer to total brand domination. Their portfolio already includes Blue Chip brands Wrangler, Lee Jeans, Vans, JanSport and North Face. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before we see Sevens on racks in Target under their ownership.
But did Seven cash out of the jeans game at the right time? Take, for example, as a current indicator of the stupefying absurdities towards which the high-end jeans racket has drifted, that apparently none other than Damien Hirst has recently decided to design high-end Levi’s for their ‘Warhol Factory X line (who knew?) of Levi’s for 2008. Are mass-produced Hirst/Warhol co-branded Levi’s the culmination of the genre; the ironic death blow? Laughing right in consumers’ faces while taking ever more of their money for the same exact product?
Good riddances all around then, perhaps.
the one week I forget to scan femalefirst.co.uk they go and report on hirst jean design…typical
wow, good job on posting actual news
wtf ever happened to that LA benevolent society? this site is two posts away from turning into a concert photoblog
“regained a teeny bit of it’s soul.”
–regained a teeny bit of its soul.
“If its any indication of the stupefying absurdities”
–If it’s any indication of the stupefying absurdities
“Perhaps its good riddances all around then.”
–Perhaps it’s good riddances all around then.
Proofreading anyone?!?
I second commenter Alex:
Less jeans-related “news”.
More LA Benevolent Society activities.
Please?
have there been many activities going on though? well okay, there were some HP 7 book release midnight parties last Friday but I thought that was only for members of geekdom like me. and there’s the SD comic con, but again same reason, plus it’s not in l.a.
Hirst + Warhol + Denim… Genius.
Are you crazy this will be off the hook!!!
I am doing this!
My first introduction to Hirst was when I walked into a small London gallery in 1998 and saw this. It will be interesting to see how a conceptual artist designs a commercial product. Or is that an oxymoron?
Los Angeles Fashion designer Adrian Nyman is the creative director & lead designer behind the Warhol factory X Levi’s X Deamien Hirst line. http://www.iqons.com/Adrian+Nyman
Nyman has been working directly with Hirst to create an Avante Garde,high brow collection for Levi’s.
The collection will make its debut during NY fashion week at the Famed Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea.