New Guess Jeans Brand to Be Unveiled at Pitti Uomo
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MILAN — “The stone age is behind us, now it’s the air-age” is the message Nicolai Marciano, chief new business development officer at Guess Inc., is conveying with the launch of the new Guess Jeans line.
The official unveiling of the collection and of the trademarked Guess Airwash technology, developed by Jeanologia, a longtime partner of Guess, will take place at Pitti Uomo in Florence.
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The Guess Airwash technology is a sustainable alternative to stone washing, recreating the look of that original technique. Stone washing was spearheaded by Guess in 1981 when brothers Georges, Maurice, Armand and Paul Marciano founded the company. Its modern-day counterpart replaces the water used in stone washing with air and bubbles, eliminating the use of pumice stones and significantly decreasing the energy consumption of stone washing. All fabrications are made of organic or recycled materials.
Nicolai Marciano, 27, is the son of Paul and rose through the ranks, working for a decade at the family company. Among other initiatives, in 2016 he propelled the collaboration between A$AP Rocky and Guess.
Asked to elaborate on the choice of launching the collection at Pitti Uomo, in an exclusive interview Marciano said that a key reason was that he wanted to unveil this next chapter for Guess “in the right location, which is product-related, versus a fashion show in Milan or Paris, where there are big lights and big noise. Pitti is more relatable to the Guess Jeans project since it’s a product innovation story.”
Guess Jeans will also present a new ad campaign throughout the city of Florence, on billboards and taxis, and at the airport.
Also, Marciano underscored the storied link with Florence since Guess’ European licensing agreement was signed in the Tuscan city in the ’90s through a joint venture, Maco, formed by Guess and Fingen Apparel B.V.T., the manufacturing division of Gruppo Fratini, which at the time was a licensee of Calvin Klein and Cotton Belt. In a bid to further boost its bottom line, Guess bought back its licensee in 2004, which “completely changed the business in a very meaningful way,” Marciano contended.
“There is also a personal connection: I used to live in Florence and worked there for some time. Italy is a second home for the company and for me personally,” he fondly reminisced. Marciano observed that Guess has a very strong business in Europe and that Pitti would allow “all the right people from wholesale, internally, and the different country managers to attend. It’s a very big moment for the entire organization.”
The launch will help convey the message that Guess is “coming back in the denim business in a very meaningful way with a new concept and a new wash. We definitely see this as a big initiative for the company and a meaningful opportunity. But it’s all incremental, adding to the business, not cannibalizing any current one. We are taking a lane that hasn’t been a big focus for us in recent years,” observed Marciano.
Marciano explained this is the first time the company is using the Guess Jeans label, although its parent company developed denim products for years. Leveraging this expertise, Guess Jeans will offer a complete wardrobe, debuting for pre-fall 2024 and comprising eight airwashes across denim pants, denim shirts and denim jackets. Jeans appear in three fits for women — skinny, mom and mid-rise straight — and four for men — skinny, slim, straight and relaxed.
Archival Guess designs and graphic emblems spanning the ‘80s and ‘90s are distilled in the first collection with a modern take and a contemporary fit.
Guess Jeans will be at the Pitti fairgrounds but will also stage an “immersive and interactive” event at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. “It’s a retrospective style experience but not only; it will also be about the next 40 years of denim,” Marciano said. “We are taking over the theater, it’s a really amazing space, and works perfectly [with the project].”
While disclosing few details, the young executive said the event will “conceptually present the main story, from stone and water to air.”
“What we are accomplishing in this first half is bringing everybody up to speed in a very effective way, offering a quick overview from product and imagery to key milestones and history,” Marciano continued.
He touted the absence of toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon footprint as being among the advantages of the Guess Airwash technology. “This is not a marketing ploy, and it’s not for a one-off season, it has a meaningful message,” he said.
With this project, the company is checking several boxes: investing in casualwear, building menswear and tapping into a younger clientele. Guess Jeans will be launching “a dynamic marketing strategy” to reach out to a younger demographic and expand its presence in men’s fashion, he pointed out.
The Guess Jeans collection will be available starting in June in select wholesale and retailers worldwide and online. Denim pants will retail at 89 euros. “The price was determined by analyzing a lot of data and analytics — where is the right price point for us? We have a strong supply chain and production development team, so we can offer a really sharp price point with really healthy margins,” Marciano said.
For the first collection, the lineup will include 56 designs for women and 58 for men.
Marciano is planning a global expansion of stand-alone Guess Jeans stores, introducing an in-store concept rooted in the brand’s Californian heritage, also extended to shops-in-shop.
The first phase will see seven stores opening in 2024. The idea, said Marciano, is to open in cities such as Milan, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Tokyo. The first store will be unveiled in Amsterdam in the summer, followed by a unit in Los Angeles on Melrose Avenue across the Pacific Design Center. “This will be a key flagship,” he said.
In the second phase, Guess Jeans is expected to roll out 12 stores in 2025.
Marciano sees growth potential in North America, Europe and Asia, especially in Japan.
He said it was too “early to share financial objectives, but we see this as a major growth initiative for the company and complementary to the Guess portfolio.”
Guess Inc. designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear and other related consumer products. As of Oct. 28, the company directly operated 1,015 retail stores in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Since 1994, Jeanologia has been introducing new solutions, including laser technology, G2 ozone, Dancing Box, E-flow and H2Zero, advancements that not only reduce costs but also save water, energy and chemicals, with the goal to create zero pollution.
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