Guess was established in 1981 by the Marciano brothers, who left the south of France in pursuit of the American dream. Inspired by a European influence, the Marcianos put their innovative touch on the apparel industry, redefining denim. One of their initial designs was a stonewashed, slim-fitting jean, the 3-zip Marilyn. Bloomingdale's was the first department store to welcome the brand by ordering two dozen pairs of jeans. They disappeared from the shelves in just hours. This was the beginning of a long success story.
The Marcianos vision moved the brand into new frontiers. GUESS became a symbol of a young, sexy and adventurous lifestyle. Throughout the decades GUESS invited people to dream with its iconic and timeless advertising campaigns and turned unknown faces into famous models including Claudia Schiffer, Carre Otis, Eva Herzigova, Anna Nicole Smith, Laetitia Casta, Carla Bruni and Naomi Campbell. Today GUESS is a global lifestyle brand with a full range of apparel and accessories, 19 licensing partners and 1,210 stores in over 80 countries.
Here is the campaign video for S/S 2010
Also...2nd video on the lifestyle brand famous for its trendsetting styles and unforgettable campaigns, and FIDM / Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, are thrilled to announce the GUESS Design Challenge launching during the Annual FIDM Debut Fashion Show to benefit the FIDM Scholarship Foundation.
Diesel Jeans’s new slogan announced today, “Be Stupid” pretty much sums up consumerism and overpricing clothes to ramp up demand. Let’s not have some faux-enviro, pseudo-political, under-ageless sexy marketing, like that of The Gap or American Apparel. Let’s get right down to mindless following, shall we?
How do you find yourself wearing $200 torn jeans, gladly mimicking a high-end trashy, uber-trendy, super-shallow, somewhat preachy corporate re-branding slogan? Easy: Be stupid.
Was “Hipster Idiot” too on the nose? Was “Trend Sucking Moron” too easy to spoof? Was “I Buy What I’m Sold” too gimmicky? Just to prove I’m not making it up. Here is their press release:
BE STUPID
Diesel SS’10 campaign is a shorthand for bravery, spontaneity and saying “yes”
Sick of being told that all your good ideas are “stupid?”
Well, we got news for you: there’s nothing dumb about stupid. After all, Diesel was stupid enough to start selling new jeans that looked old – and look where that got them!
When somebody says “don’t be stupid,” what they’re really saying is “Don’t have fun. Don’t be daring. Don’t provoke. Bury your sense of humour. Get serious.”
So we say: “Get lost. We’re with stupid”
Stupid is the liberating alternative to dry-as-dust cerebral (so called “smart”) and it takes courage, loads!
Stupid is the very word all those folk use to dismiss anything original and genuine.
Stupid is about having the guts to risk, to take on the new and inventive, however dangerous.
Stupid is about passion, strange sex, wearing the wrong thing in the right place, swapping roles trying something new, failing, trying again – and failing better.
Diesel is stupid and thoroughly identifies with it and lives it as the clearest expression ever what the brand is standing for.
Photographers Kristin Vicari, Melodie McDaniel and Chris Buck help visualize the positive rebellion of the Be Stupid movement providing images that, working together with razor sharp captions, anchor an entire philosophy that will go on a multimedia campaign devised by the Diesel creative team in partnership with the Anglo-American agency Anomaly. The classic red Diesel logo makes its signature return to endorse and celebrate “Be Stupid” as the way to Successful Living. Shooting in California, a stupid amount of ingredients were thrown into a stupid mix: a bus, four houses, a couple of parks, an animal wrangler, the desert, an artist’s studio, a bar, an attractive elephant, a Burbank supermarket and wolves (animals can be very stupid – which is why we love them.). They shot on top of trucks and rooftops, made rain, turned a head into a flowerpot and flashed boobs publicly, often.
Be Stupid calls out to each and every one of us. It’s the key to successful living. It’s about following your heart and not your head. You can’t outsmart stupid – so don’t try. Long live stupid.
Diesel should start selling wigs, because when I see a bunch of 35-year-olds riding skateboards with “Be Stupid” t-shirts on, I’m pulling my hair out.
The story of premium denim is one that is intricately intertwined with the launch of 7 For All Mankind in Los Angeles, California in the Fall of 2000. 7 For All Mankind was the first company to truly bring premium denim to scale, marking Los Angeles, California as denims’ venerable center for research and development worldwide changing the landscape of denim forever.
7 For All Mankind’s premium jeans literally exploded onto the scene, quickly earning critical acclaim and an immediate following for its innovative use of fits, fabrics, and finishes in denim. Sales for the first year reached a staggering $13 million, an unheard of figure in the denim market, and have continued to show exponential growth year after year. In the past seven years 7 For All Mankind has become both an established modern classic for its sophisticated fits as well as a leading trendsetter for its newest fashion forward washes and designs.
The brand, famously dubbed “Sevens” by fashion editors and stylists, grew to fame in no small part because it became an instant favorite among Hollywood’s elite. 7 For All Mankind jeans continue to rank as a preferred jean among Hollywood’s leading ladies such as Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Garner and Liv Tyler. Male celebrities such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Affleck, and Ryan Reynolds became fans of the brand shortly after the launch of the 7 For All Mankind’s men’s collection in 2002.
The company continues to grow and evolve as a true denim lifestyle brand, expanding its product line to include women’s, men’s, kids, sportswear, handbag and footwear collections. The brand’s offerings also continue to expand through innovative collaborations with highly regarded designers such as The Great China Wall, Zac Posen, Azzedine Alaia, Evan Yurman and Pucci. Exciting partnerships that push the envelope of design and creativity are now a signature part of the brand’s exploratory endeavors. 7 For All Mankind continues to merge the worlds of denim and couture to redefine the fashion landscape. The brand is currently sold at its owned retail stores, www.7forallmankind.com, luxury department stores, and high end specialty boutiques in over 80 countries throughout the world.
What are two things every girl wishes for?
1. To be Rich and
2. To be Skinny.
Well thanks to Michael Glasser and Joie Rucker, this dream has come true.
Launched in select high-end boutiques and department stores in late November of 2006, Rich & Skinny is an exciting jean collection created to fill a void in the denim market. Rich & Skinny is a partnership between Michael Glasser, founder of denim heavyweights Seven for All Mankind and Citizen of Humanity and Designer Joie Rucker, former owner of the wildly successful brand Joie. Glasser’s hands on experience, coupled with his comprehensive business and retail experience along with Rucker’s design sensibility has helped secure the team’s success.
After studying the market and trends, Glasser found the denim market to be stagnant and later came across a unique new European denim that blended cotton with Lycra Spandex and hence, the idea to create a new denim line was formed. Besides its incredibly soft fabrics, Rich & Skinny is also known for their wide variety of up to the minute denim styles. Their basics line offers styles like the slim sleek, super skinny, traditional boot- cut Rich, and a zipper leg jean the “vivid”. Stepping away from the traditional 5-pocket jean, they’ve created such iconic jeans as “the Boyfriend” jean, and the denim legging “Legacy” even the “Skinny Boyfriend” which take you from day to night while retaining the playfulness of the Rich & Skinny Brand. What further sets Rich & Skinny apart from other denim brands is their great color palate, consistently offering customers the choice to wear reds, purples, pinks along with more subtle colors such as Black, White, Dark Silver and a fantastic array of denim washes. The attention to detail displayed in their handcrafted signature R buttons, sumptuous silk pocket and waistband lining and a rich purple velvet label; all add to the beauty and richness of this incredible line.
With the success of Rich & Skinny, owners Michael & Joie decided to challenge themselves and create a sumpously contained line of denim for men, called “Rich” by Rich & Skinny. The men’s line is comprised of 3 basic styles, strong (slim), Bold (Boot), and chill (relaxed) and four washes. With the dynamic teaming of Michael Glasser and Joie Rucker it was inevitable that Rich & Skinny would become one of the hottest denim brands.. Rich and Skinny can be found in select retailers such as Nieman Marcus, Nordstrom and Intermix and on the bodies of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities. “Rich” is for all the details, “Skinny” is how the jeans make you look and feel. Rich & Skinny is how it makes you feel.
For more than 17 years, Joie Rucker (Co-Owner) has been a leader in the fashion industry. Her contributions over the years have played an integral role in the denim market and have helped secure her place in the industry. After completing a degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco, Rucker began her career working for the popular brand SAM & LIBBY. Recognized for her talent and creativity, Rucker was recruited by Levi Strauss & Company to head up design for the Silver Tab jean division. There, she oversaw Girls, juniors and the Women’s collections and was known for her innovative silhouettes and washes. Rucker’s designs contributed to the company’s sales, which tripled within a 2-year period.
Rucker left Levi Strauss after seven successful years to serve as Vice President of Design and Product Development for Guess Inc. There she was responsible for twelve product deliveries per year from concept to production. Rucker was also accountable for the re-launch of the Boys division as well as conceptualized and launched Brand G; a new category for Guess Inc. While there, Junior sales grew from $200 million to $600 million annually and Men’s grew from $100 million to $250 million as a direct result of Rucker’s comprehensive experience of the business coupled with her unique design ability.
In 2001, Rucker with partner Sean Barron formed Joie, a casual chic clothing line for women and men. Rucker was the Creative Director and co-owner of Joie. Her responsibilities included overseeing all design aspects from conceptualization to production of product. Joie’s distinct designs and incredible fit garnered quick success. In the spring of 06, Joie partnered with Michael Glasser to form Rich & Skinny Jeans. Rucker is the principal designer and Co-owner. In less than three short years Joie Rucker has been a driving force in bringing higher fashion to the denim world. Rich & Skinny is known for their great fit, wide variety of color, and trendsetting styles, this is due the Joie’s instinctive sensibilities. Rucker’s experience has truly led her to be recognized as an innovator in this competitive industry. Rucker’s designs can be seen on celebrities and trendsetters everywhere.
Michael Glasser (Co-owner & Founder) was born in Bronx, New York with fashion sense imbedded in his DNA. As a teenager, Michael worked as a stock boy in a clothing store, and when asked to bring stock to a customer, he would not just bring what was requested, but also what he thought would look good. Often times, the customer took his recommendation. He was soon giving the store buyer merchandise suggestions, which usually turned out to be best selling items.
After high school, with confidence, a desire for success, and an innate sense for picking a winning design, Michael was offered a job with Mr. Pants, a manufacturer in NYC. Soon Mr. Pants went from mediocre to star of 7th Avenue because of Michael’s fabric choices. He became known as the “man with the magic eye”. Every fabric that he chose and made into pants became one of their top selling items.
After his success on 7th Avenue, Michael partnered with a California manufacturer and started Simply Pants, a women’s pants line. He moved to Los Angeles where he currently resides, to run the company. In a few years, Simply Pants went from $15 million – $120 million business due to both Michael’s vision and instinct for picking current trends as well as his talent for predicting future ones. Michael was an apparel star on both coasts and business was great. However, due to unexpected challenges in the business, Simply Pants went bankrupt after nearly 4 years.
For twenty years, throughout the mid 70’s through 90’s, Michael started and or ran a number of successful jeans and apparel companies. These companies included French Dressing, the original premium denim line, Bronx Casual Clothing, a very successful novelty denim line, and Democracy, the first line to use Tencel in the fabrication of the denim.
In 2000, Michael made one of his most important marks on the jean industry. He partnered with Jerome Dahan (former head designer at Lucky Brand Jeans) and Peter Koral (from L’Koral, a financial backer) to launch Seven for All Mankind Jeans, the first mega successful premium denim line. Using his experience, vision and insight into the jean industry, Michael identified a tremendous void in the denim marketplace. There was not a jean product available whose price fell between an $80 pair of Lucky Brand Jeans and $250 pair of Japanese imports. He and Jerome designed a product with a superior and sexy fit similar to a European jean yet with more details. SFAM Jeans became an overnight success that opened the floodgates for the launch of a myriad of other premium denim lines. In 2002, Michael and Jerome exited SFAM after a dispute regarding profit sharing. The dispute went to trial and the jury ruled in their favor and awarded them a financial settlement.
The denim industry was still in their blood, and in 2003 Michael partnered with Jerome Dahan again and launched the next mega successful premium denim line, Citizens of Humanity. Citizens is known for creating denim designs that are comfortable to wear and extremely flattering in both style and fit. Michael and Jerome’s success also allowed them to give back as they donated a portion of all sales to Conservation International, truly representing the “Citizens of Humanity”.
In early 2005 Michael decided to retire from the industry. He felt that there were not enough challenges remaining for him. But, retirement did not last long when Michael met designer Joie Rucker, and soon together they both found inspiration from the sluggish state of the denim industry and a Japanese import they found at a jeans bar in a mall in southern California.
By 2006, retailers were extremely overstocked in basic five pockets jeans that were no longer selling as fast. The industry had not changed much since he launched SFAM in 2000. Michael with Joie felt that denim needed to go in a different direction. With the inspiration of the superfine denim fabric found in the Japanese import combined with what he thought was the next phase in denim, Rich & Skinny Jeans was formed in July 2006. The first product was shipped in September 2006. Rich & Skinny Jeans (the way they make you feel) is beyond the 5-pocket jean, with a focus on color, unique washes, a wide variety of fashion forward styles, and of course an awesome fit with just the right amount of attitude. Rich & Skinny has proven again that Michael Glasser is truly an Icon in the denim world.
To best care for your jeans, it is important to follow the care instructions found on the manufacturer’s wash tag inside each pair of jeans, since every jean may have slightly different wash and care instructions. It is also advisable to wash your jeans inside out to best protect against fading and general damage to special details. Be mindful when washing new denim with other apparel items because some dyes used in certain types of denim can transfer to other clothing. Some fabrics require dry cleaning only and should not be placed in a washing machine or dryer. Carefully caring for your jeans will ensure your jeans will fit perfectly.
Will my jeans shrink?
It is not uncommon for your jeans to shrink any where from a ¼ to a ½ an inch if you put your jeans in the dryer after washing. The jeans will usually stretch out a bit with wear and then shrink back once washed. If your jeans require hemming, we do recommend washing your jeans according to the wash and care instructions, before bringing them to a tailor
Why should I ask to have the original hem re-attached?
Not only is it aesthetically more pleasing, but also the majority of designer jeans have extra abrasions on the hem for a more vintage look that gets lost from a standard hemming job. It is also makes it less apparent that the jeans have been taken up.
I’ve purchased jeans that are a little long and need to be hemmed. What is the best way to go about doing this?
Almost any tailor can shorten your jeans to fit you perfectly to wear with heels or flats. Make sure to specify that you want the original hem put back on once the jeans are shortened. This will ensure that you do not lose the authentic look and styling of the jeans’ hem once they have been shortened.
Wash your jeans according to the wash and care instructions, before you take your jeans to be hemmed, since the length may shrink a bit.
My jeans feel too tight. What should I do?
Denim will usually stretch, so always putting your jeans on and wearing them for a bit before you make your final assessment on how your jeans fit. Sit, stand, walk, etc. and they should begin to stretch. If your jeans feel like they have stretched a little too much you can try placing them in the dryer in order to help shrink them back to their original shape. Remember to consider the wash and care instructions from the manufacturer.
Will my new jeans bleed?
The more unprocessed the denim, the more likely it is to bleed, so in terms of being a sign of quality, bleed is good. Some cottons lose their dyes when you wash them, especially fabrics with vivid colors. The dyes can stain other fabrics in your wash load. The first time you launder your jeans, wash them alone to prevent dye from bleeding onto other clothes.
Why should I ask to have the original hem re-attached?
Not only is it aesthetically more pleasing, but also the majority of designer jeans have extra abrasions on the hem for a more vintage look that gets lost from a standard hemming job. It is also makes it less apparent that the jeans have been taken up.
Why are some jeans so expensive?
There are so many components and factors that go into making a pair of jeans, –such as different manufacturing processes and treatments that contribute to the quality and look of the fabric. For example, the fibers used to create denim may be made by regular spinning cotton and some fibers are made with a special spindle called a ring spun, which spins the cotton unevenly and gives the finished fabric more character and depth, making it a more expensive and more authentic procedure.
This is followed by the cost of cutting the fabric, sewing all the pieces together, and adding the trimming (buttons, zippers, rivets, embroidery, pockets, belt loops, etc.). Even within these trimmings there are some companies that use nickel rivets and buttons, which are the cheapest. Finally, there is the washing, which is usually the lion's share of the cost. There are so many different forms and techniques of washing denim that sometimes the washing costs more than the fabric, cut and sew together!
The more details jeans have, the more expensive they are. So every little detail adds extra cost to the manufacturing and, inevitably, the quality of the product.
What should the proper length of my jeans be?
The recommended length for a perfect fitting pair of jeans varies depending on the style of the jean and your style preferences. The proper length will also depend on the shoes you wear with each pair of jean, but in general your pant’s hem should rest comfortably on the top of your shoes. To help us determine the appropriate length for you, please measure the inseam of a pair of jeans that you already like the length of.
