The news
Just a couple of days ago, news broke of giant retailer Nordstrom selling “muddy jeans”. The retailer has posted on their website a pair of Barracuda Straight Leg Jeans, created by Japanese clothing designer PRPS that has taken the concept of “distressed jeans” to the next level. The brand did no add the classic cuts to their jeans, but mud.
The mud is not real mud, but it does look extremely realistic and makes the jeans seem to have been worn in a real puddle. The brand described them as “Heavily distressed medium-blue denim jeans in a comfortable straight-leg fit embody rugged, Americana workwear that’s seen some hard-working action with a crackled, caked-on muddy coating that shows you’re not afraid to get down and dirty.”
The critiques
The pants have made headlines around the world and the reaction has not been extremely positive, as most people ridiculed them for their latest offer. Also, given the price of $425 that Nordstrom is asking for the jeans makes many people disappointed.
The main things for which the jeans have been criticized is that they are not really practical, as who wants to wear that; because of their price and because they are in a way insulting true work, by just offering the illusion that the wearer is a worker, when in fact the jeans are nothing but an expensive piece. The reason why people get annoyed with this type of things is because the wearer is capitalizing on things he is not morally allowed to capitalize on. In other words, people don’t like someone to just look like a worker if they can’t even screw a light bulb.
Our positives
However, with all this being thrown around, we have to say there are a few things we like about Nordstrom’s jeans.
First of all, it needs to be said that there is obviously no way that dirty clothes are going to become a trend (unless someone really pushes them through heavy marketing). There might be some people out there who are going to buy these jeans and be very high and mighty about their purchase, but it’s probably going to be the same crowd who gave very “competent” answers and comments when Jimmy Kimmel’s show asked at Fashion Week about fake designers.
The positives of the jeans are two (there might be more, but we can only think of two). One, is that it is a great marketing tool. The news about the jeans has made it to pretty much every news outlet, it has been on the front page of websites such as Reddit and everybody has been talking about Nordstrom and their jeans. While the jeans are ridiculous, this has placed Nordstrom at the top of the “fashion chain”, being the one who makes decisions everybody else finds confusing. In a world where fashion hierarchies are being reestablished, you definitely want to have people debating you – movers and shakers are always controversial.
Secondly, what we like about the jeans is that, while they might not be the most creative thing that people could come up with, it is definitely a push in the fashion world. The clothing industry has not been making really impactful headlines for a while. Clothes today are very calm and don’t create much stir. In this sense, it’s great to have something shake things up a bit.
We have already made a forecast that couture is going to make a come-back, but before that happens, fashion needs to recreate a statute for itself – and the $425 muddy jeans are just an effect of that.
So, if you want to buy and wear a $425 pair of muddy jeans, we support you to do it, but we would not wear them ourselves. We’re not encouraging you buying it, but we do encourage you to take a look at fashion and discuss clothing and role they play and meanings they have in our culture. That can definitely lead to new beginnings in fashion.
Fraquoh and Franchomme
Further reading:
Trend forecasting: Fashion Weeks ahead (2017/2018)
Is there a crisis in fashion blogging?
What were the most-searched for fashion questions in 2016? And how Attire Club had the answers
Fashion forward: Keywords of 2016. Where to next?
The different types of jeans cuts
Incorporating denim in your everyday style
The jeans and t-shirt combination done right
P.S. We want to hear from you! What do you make of the Barracuda Straight Leg Jeans? Would you wear them? Why do you think Nordstrom put them out there? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!