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On Madewell’s homepage, visitors — the majority of whom are millennials, according to the brand — are currently met with the tagline: “Trends come and go. Denim is forever.” It’s a declaration that feels true to the brand, which has always focused on the wardrobe staple.
Madewell launched the first phase of its fall denim collection on August 8. The brand typically runs denim campaigns twice a year, in the fall and spring, said Anne Crisafulli, Madewell’s chief merchandising officer. That said, the category is a year-round focus for the company. According to a representative for the company, denim is consistently Madewell’s top acquisition category, and Madewell customers who shop denim have a higher lifetime value.
The brand will amplify its new denim campaign digitally on Vogue.com and in print in the New York Times. It also tapped creators including Atiya Walcott (94,000 TikTok followers) and Tania Sarin (308,000 TikTok followers) to share with their followers how they style the brand’s fall denim styles.
“We want to be trend-relevant, but we’re definitely not trying to be fast fashion,” Crisafulli said. That involves helping shoppers understand the new leg shapes they should be aware of and also how to wear them. The denim collection of trend-aware shoppers currently includes fashion-forward barrel jeans, loose and baggy styles, straight-leg styles, and perhaps even the skinny jeans she’d tucked away in recent years.
“With all these different leg shapes, we’re [helping her understand] the proportions of the top or the blazer or the sweater that [work] and what shoes to wear. … We think that through, [and bring it into the] store and the shopping experience on the website,” Crisafulli said. “[She knows that] Madewell can offer the full look.”
Trend-forward denim styles are worn by a smaller portion of the consumer base — typically, that’s women who have ditched their skinny jeans, Kristen Classi-Zummo, director of apparel industry analysis at market research firm Circana, told Glossy in May. But for non-trendy customers, skinny jeans remain a popular choice. That’s held true since May, Classi-Zummo said this week.
Throughout the aughts and 2010s, skinny jeans ruled the denim landscape, but now women are wearing a broader assortment of styles. Madewell, which is honing in on a shopper it calls the “modern millennial,” aims to offer a true-to-brand take on all the new styles.
For fall, Madewell introduced the Darted Barrel, a take on the ultra-trendy barrel-leg denim style. There’s also the new Low-Slung Baggy. “It’s low-slung, not low-rise,” Crisafulli emphasized.
The Darted Barrel Leg Jean ($148) was Madwell’s best-selling denim style in each of the five weeks following its launch, driving over 30% of sales in the category. The barrel leg has been an explosive category for denim, with brands like Citizens of Humanity and Free People owning the trend. But for Madewell, getting the trend right meant keeping it relatively simple. “We didn’t go too crazy with a giant barrel shape. It’s a really good proportion,” Crisafulli said.
But Madewell continues to offer skinnies — both for those who never abandoned them and for those ready to return to them. “There’s always going to be this skinny-slash-straight, or slim-leg thing going on. That really never left,” Crisafulli said.
“We still think a slim leg is super city-girl chic,” said Mary Pierson, the brand’s svp of denim design. As such, with its August 8 fall drop, the brand updated its best-selling OG skinny jean, the Stovepipe style. The updated style features a lengthened inseam to elongate the legs and added stretch “for that comfortable, held-in, shape-enhancing fit,” Pierson said.
The fall drop also included the Rail Straight style, which is “not too slim but not too wide,” according to Pierson, who deemed it the ultimate “cool girl” skinny. It sits lower on the hips and features a leg-lengthening inseam.
“[We’re positioning] Madewell as the go-to brand for millennials who want to try fashion-forward denim without feeling silly or uncomfortable,” said Izabel Spina, Madewell’s senior director of brand marketing. “They want the confidence to experiment while still feeling like themselves and leaning into styling that feels approachable. … Having all the right denim and those cool, classic pieces to pair with it is [our signature].”
Madewell declined to share revenue figures.
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