From Military-Inspired To Distressed and Personalized — A Look At Hudson Jeans’ Spring 2010 Styles

Earlier today, I dropped by the Hudson Jeans showroom in NYC and browsed through their offerings for Spring 2010. And, of course, I made sure to take some pics while I was there, so that I could give you a sneak peak at what’s in store (and trust: this is just a tiny taste test, like that teeny spoon of ice cream they hand you at a Baskin-Robbins store when you want to sample a new flavor). There’s more than one collection to discuss, and they all have a certain cohesiveness determined by the aesthetic principles that guided their creation, but a few trends were visible across all of these subsections of denim. First, there’s a return to that worn-in look that was so popular a few years ago — many of the styles you’ll see below feature unfinished or ripped seams, fabric tears, paint-like splatters, distressed and faded sections, scattered whisker details, and more. Second, there’s a heavy military influence (particularly in the aptly dubbed Subversive collection), which is translated via roomy cargo pockets and Army-esque green/khaki hues. Third, there’s a gender-bending element to the denim pieces that I found rather interesting. We saw the trend surface with last year’s boyfriend jean craze, but  Hudson takes the paradigm to new heights — its DIY collection, for one, is inspired by the idea of a woman taking her boyfriend’s jeans and adapting it to flatter her figure by cutting the waistband off for a hip-hugging silhouette or adding waist ties along the front of the pants.

So let’s get to the specifics. Hudson is launching four high-end collections, all with limited runs and available at only a handful of retailers worldwide (among them Barney’s NY). There’s the Minimalist collection, launching in February at Barney’s. This collection focuses on more rugged denim styles, many of which weren’t washed so as to go back to the essence of the material and why we fell in love with it. Next, there’s the previously mentioned DIY collection, launching in April, which features a number of styles that look as if they’ve been lived in and customized by a female customer. One particular style really stood out to me — it’s a button-front jeans in a indigo blue shade with some whiskering along the thigh area and, most importantly, with a cut-off waistband. Instead of a perfectly stitched waistband, then, you see more of a frayed look along the top so it literally looks like someone snipped off that part of the jean. And here’s the genius part: there’s an elastic along the top of the jeans so that, even though it looks as if it could fall really low, it won’t actually go beyond a PG-13 rated zone. The jeans are pictured below but, frankly, the hanger doesn’t really do them justice. Having seen them on a model, I can definitely say it’s one of my favorite styles from any of Hudson’s new collections.

Next, there’s the aforementioned Subversive collection, which features a handful of military-inspired styles. In the collection, you’ll find an usual harem pant jean, which falls at the calf and is cut so as to taper at that point, while the thigh area is substantially roomier. The style is available in a khaki-tinged olive green that looks weathered and almost antique-like (as if the pants have been in battle themselves) and features roomy cargo pockets on the exterior of each thigh. There’s also a funky straight-legged jean with a gold zipper trim running vertically along the back of each pant leg. The front of the jeans, meanwhile, features an exposed zipper that looks as if the flap covering the closure had been snipped off quickly, leaving behind jagged bits of fabric around the zipper.

Last, there’s the Resurrection collection (also launching in April), which features one-of-a-kind denim styles made from scraps of denim from previous seasons. Jean pockets, zippers, patches, seams, and details are all sewn together to create new looks (such as the ones pictured above, at the very top of this post)— and, since each style is made from “fond objects,” no two styles are the same. I love the idea of recycling materials and giving them a new life but, for me, this was perhaps the least successful of the collections, since the patchwork-esque look of the jeans was a bit off-putting.

Aside from these four higher end lines, there’s also the regular Hudson collection, which is a bit less intrepid and experimental but which also features some gems. New jeggings styles will be revealed (and the fabric feels even softer and lighter than before). Cropped jeans in boyfriend-esque cuts will resurface (this time with a bit more of a lived-in feel). Stone washing, bleaching, ripping, and whiskering will also once again be the norm, as customers move away from the clean, uniform denim look.

Below, you’ll find photos of some of the new styles (many of which I’ve already described), along with a breakdown of dominant themes, for you to admire.

Military Inspired:

The pieces pictured here are part of Hudson’s “Subversive” collection. The cropped jean with the button fly and the cargo pocket is actually a harem pant, so that it tapers at the top of the calf (right below the knee), ballooning up a bit along the thigh (without going into MC Hammer territory). Next to it, on the right-hand side, is one of my fave pieces: a military-inspired, straight-leg jean with a gold zipper trim running up the back of each pant leg.

Weathered White Jeans:

It’s perfectly natural for white jeans to surface around the Spring/Summer months, when temperatures start to rise. But these don’t have that pristine, sleek, St. Tropez-ready feel to them. Instead, the jeans felt a bit weathered, with deliberately discolored, antique-looking spots. It’s what white jeans would look like if you’d performed intensive labor in them and then tried to clean them with a not-too-effective bleach. Below, you’ll find a photo of the Skinny Button Fly jeans in Quilted White, which are part of the Minimalist collection hitting stores in February.

Cropped Boyfriend Jeans:

The boyfriend jean style will resurface for Spring/Summer, with loose-fitting, relaxed, cropped styles. The difference? These
convey even more of a sense of comfort, with faded sections, paint splatter-like details, and rolled-up legs.

The DIY Look Without the DIY Labor:

As I mentioned before, the entire DIY collection was inspired by the notion of a woman borrowing a pair of her man’s jeans and making them her own by snipping off the waistband or adding lace-up ties along the front. Not only do these look “lived in,” but they look like they’ve been altered to fit that woman’s life. It’s like the end result of a Do-It-Yourself project — without you actually having to do anything (and hooray for that!).

 Stay tuned for more details and make sure to visit HudsonJeans.com!