GUSTIN is a San Francisco based premium denim manufacturer who have been in business for the last six years, selling their wares at some of the best boutiques in America. They’ve earned a reputation for excellent fit, high quality and classic stylings, and now look likely to impact the fashion industry with an interesting new take on retail which they’re starting up via Kickstarter.
$81 For Premium Selvage Denim
The idea GUSTIN has come up with is to design a complete collection before turning the collection over to customers to come up with the final word in which individual pieces will be produced and shipped. Basically, the consumer audience chooses what ends up being made at full scale.
Further, whatever you do purchase will be shipped directly to you, and thus you’ll wind up just paying wholesale costs rather than the markups that tend to be applied on top of a product. For example, the denim they’re starting the project with will be a paltry $81, compared to the $205 you’d expect at market value.
GUSTIN’s denim entry
Basically the idea is that through their Kickstarter, they’ll raise up to $40,000, at which point they’ll have a collection created from which you and the rest of their customers can decide what goes into full scale production. After the $20,000 mark is reached, GUSTIN will be able to start bringing in materials, and will be able to begin to have the garments handcrafed in San Francisco.
When the final collection is ready to go, instead of giving customer the options to purchase each piece, there’ll be funding levels shown. When the audience pushes a particular item up to its funding goal, the item will be produced, sold, and delivered to consumers at wholesale pricing.
GUSTIN denim after 1.5 years, 6 months, and new (left to right)
The entry into the market that GUSTIN are taking is through raw denim, a niche market that they’ve been in for the last six years. They pride themselves on what they call the “3 F’s”: Fit, Fabric and Finish.
“Fit” to them means a classic, straight leg fit; “Fabric” means a 13.5 oz Cone Mills denim with a classic red selvage line, and “Finish” signifies handcrafted garments without cutting any corners and including excellent and subtle detailing.
GUSTIN Denim Details
They’ll be moving into production with sizes between 29-34, as well as 36; and the recommendation is purchasing one size up from your typical jean. Inseams are 34 for the 29-33 waists, and 36 for the 34 and 36 waists. These will be produced after the Kickstarter campaign finishes and once they hit the $20,000 goal. If you do get involved, the jeans will be shipped out no later than April 2013.
You can get in touch with them at [email protected] if you have any further questions about the whole project, though most questions are answered on their Kickstarter Page.
