J.Crew Collaborations Have Reached A Tipping Point

If you have let your J.Crew game slip over the last 12 months, you might be thoroughly confused next time you walk into one of their brick and mortars. Why? Because J.Crew, the once self-defined brand, has become a curated, collaboration-centric micro-department store.

Here’s a few of the brands they have recently rubber-stamped: Barbour, Belstaff, Woolrich, Thomas Mason, Levi’s, Nike, New Balance, Vans and Alden. All that is well and good; it certainly doesn’t bother me. After all, the company has been on fire and their styles have dictated to the rest of the retail space where mainstream fashion is going. However, the number of collaborations the company is selling reached a tipping point when I opened the new bathroom reading material that showed up at my apartment a few weeks ago.

As I perused the catalog, I came to the realization that we have reached utter collaboration madness. In what we call a heat check in basketball, J.Crew dared us to drink the Kool-Aid with their newest partner: Lee Jeans.

Yes, the same shitty denim line that sits behind the Wrangler rack at Kmart has teamed up with J.Crew to try and convince the public that $220 is a reasonable price for a pair of Lees. Think about that. By my estimate, that means you can go to Kmart and buy a pair for $24.99, or you can go to J.Crew and pay 10 times more – Japanese selvedge or not.

In 2008, you didn’t want to be caught with your pants down in a Scottsdale spec neighborhood. In 2012, you sure as hell don’t want those pants around your ankles to be a $220 pair of Lees.

7 comments

Aron Phillips says:

Mar 29, 2012

Great stuff, Highway.

iamtheavalanche says:

Apr 18, 2012

Good article.

Felix says:

You’re right on the Jcrew’s excessive collaborations.However, I don’t think you’re giving enough credit to Lee jeans. A long time ago, before Levi’s dominated the current denim market, Lee’s and Wrangler were of similar level to Levi’s. When washed denim became a rising trend(especially with celebrities), many of these “raw denim” companies were flushed out(ie. Lees). Now, with the resurgence of Americana, denim companies are trying to capitalize. Levi’s has done it with their LVC collection. Lee’s is now trying to get their share of the pie(although a bit late). So, they aren’t specifically forcing something that they’ve never done before, but revitalizing their history to a new market. However, not many people know about the history(especially Jcrew’s customers), so it’s natural that they seem like a bunch of try-hards.

Camo is Dead says:

Apr 19, 2012

Good piece. There is an over-dependence on collaborations nowadays. The BAPExCDG capsule was absurdly wack.

DD says:

Aug 21, 2012

It doesn’t matter if Lee’s were at the same level as levi’s a while ago. The fact is, they are known as shitty department store jeans that can be bought off the clearance rack for 10 bucks. Jcrew tries to be “original” and to make the Jcrew man look “rustic-original,” but when he buys the $150 Timex, and $220 Lee jeans, he is not being original, and in my opinion, does not really look all that great. Go get a cool Timex (without the rounded crystal) for $50. Get a nice brown leather strap for it. And please, do not put on Jcrew $220 Lee jeans thinking you’re original. I really do love the styles that Jcrew has promoted, but Lee jeans…. come on guys.

Also, before you drool over Jcrew’s new watches from Mougin and Piquard, know that you can get REAL, ORIGINAL, automatic pilot watches (Fleiger watches with the SAME Type B dial) from German companies like LACO and Stowa, often for less that Jcrew’s price tag.

I guess I’m really just saying before you get too excited about the Jcrew collaborations, do some research. If you still want to get your Jcrew merch, go right ahead. But the original pieces are sometimes found elsewhere.

Cheers

Cease says:

Dec 8, 2012

This isn’t a “collaboration” per se, JCrew is just importing the jeans that Lee is selling in Europe. As Felix mentioned, American consumers wanted a certain type of jean Europeans wanted a different jean and Lee catered to both. Now higher end heritage obsessed American consumers want selvedge and history and JCrew is selling Lee’s European jean to it’s American consumers.

Jim says:

Oct 22, 2013

Two words: James Dean