Denim Dudes’ Amy Leverton Dishes on Trends, Consumer Shifts and Secondhand Selections
California-based consultancy Denim Dudes has become a go-to resource for the industry, with leading denim brands turning to its forecasting and strategy solutions.
Ten years in, the company founded by designer and forecaster Amy Leverton is moving toward a new subscription model. For years, the consultants had collaborated with Kingpins Show on seasonal trend reports, but Denim Dudes is taking these in-house and making them available for a fee. The plan is also to offer additional exclusive denim-centric content as part of the subscription.
Carved in Blue caught up with Amy to get a top-level look at upcoming trends, hear what’s on her denim wishlist and discuss what’s next for Denim Dudes.
Carved in Blue: Could you give our audience a taste of what is coming for Fall/Winter 2026? What are the key points you’ve identified?
Amy: We always uncover four key trend stories, each grouped by aesthetic and market segment. What works for a legacy heritage jeanswear brand will differ significantly from what resonates with high street vs. luxury consumers. Yet, despite these differences, shared societal shifts consistently underpin each narrative.
This season, we highlight a growing backlash against the overwhelming saturation of micro-trends—think eclectic grandpa, mob wife, balletcore—with consumers pivoting toward either intentional, functional basics or highly personal, expressive style. Picture fashion on a horizontal spectrum: Basics sit at one end, and emotionally driven, creatively led design at the other. In between lies a vast space filled with shallow, derivative product, and consumers are catching on. They’re demanding more. For brands, this means moving decisively toward either end of the spectrum, where true design integrity lives. We saw a similar recalibration around the 2008 market crash, and it’s happening again. There’s so much to unpack in terms of what this means for silhouette, wash and styling direction, all of which we explore in depth in our forecast deck.
Carved in Blue: How is consumer behavior evolving and altering fashion and denim trends?
Amy: I’m so glad you asked this question because the world of trend has changed so much in the last decade, shifting from pop culture-led fads to deeper movements that have required a more nuanced and deeper approach to research. It used to be enough to keep an eye on what the latest bands, celebrities or tastemakers were wearing. Now, trend forecasting also requires us to unpack geopolitical issues, systemic inequality, the wealth divide, austerity measures and the list goes on. These forces have always shaped fashion in the background, but for younger generations, they’re now front and center. Today’s consumers care deeply about what a brand stands for—or as they’d put it, a brand’s aura—not just the rise on their jeans. They’re not looking to be told what’s cool; the power dynamic has shifted. Now, it’s the consumer telling the brand.
Carved in Blue: If they want to dive deeper into the trends, how can our readers get access to the full trend report?
Amy: We’re entering an exciting new chapter at Denim Dudes. Our seasonal forecast deck is currently available [for purchase] on the site as usual, but any day now, we’ll be launching our brand-new website and subscription platform, which we’ve been working towards for the last six months. Alongside our popular seasonal forecasts, the new platform will offer a rich, ongoing stream of insights—from runway analysis and industry news to designer interviews and supply chain innovation features. It’s everything you need to stay ahead in denim and casual wear’s rapidly changing landscape! This is something we’ve been wanting to create for a long time, and now that the foundation is in place, we will be growing our offering even more.
Carved in Blue: What denim items are you currently on the hunt for?
Amy: [She laughs.] We’re always on the hunt! Shannon [Reddy, denim forecaster at Denim Dudes] and I will never pass up a Levi’s Engineered or RED these days. We’re also loving the heavily engineered pieces from Glen Martens’ reign at Diesel, and with the recent Kapital acquisition, anything pre-LVMH production is definitely worth scooping up! A few years ago, we were lucky enough to interview and spend time with Rikke Korff, the visionary who led the Levi’s team back in the ‘90s to create a groundbreaking and excellent take on jeanswear. It’s been interesting seeing those jeans become more and more collectible over recent years.
We barely buy new, and we are actually on the cusp of launching our own vintage curation with American Rag in LA where we are building drops to reflect our trend stories in forecast. AmRag have built an incredible collection of vintage, sitting in a packed warehouse in LA, and it’s been so satisfying replicating our trend work IRL (in real life). Our first drop is a retro ’70s-meets-sport collection based on our SS26 Brand New Retro story, and there’ll be many more to come.
Carved in Blue: Fittingly, your books are titled Denim Dudes and Denim Dudettes. How did you pick the dudes and dudettes that you featured? What makes someone a denim street style star?
Amy: To be honest, as a woman working in denim, I knew from the start that I wanted to separate the books by gender. There are so many unsung heroines in the denim world who haven’t received the recognition they deserve, and I wanted to give them their moment in the spotlight. I began with the men’s edition because, frankly, I knew it would be easier and if I had included both genders, let’s face it, the men would have dominated the pages. [She winks.]
Looking back now, I realize how much the conversation around gender has evolved, and that’s a very positive shift. Still, the patriarchy is alive and well, and women continue to be overlooked in the industry, so in that sense, I’m glad that women and those who identify as female have a dedicated space in the series.
As to the selection process, honestly it really came down to the strength of my network back then. I featured people I had met, admired or heard a lot about, whom I found to be inspirational either in their work, knowledge or approach to denim style. I will always feel guilty about this, but I cut out the amazing Darren Romanelli because he wore chinos to the shoot. So it was never just about names, what mattered most is what they said, who they were and how they expressed their love of denim and personal style. I wanted every page to inspire the reader.
Carved in Blue: What’s coming up for Denim Dudes?
Carved in Blue: I touched on this in the earlier questions, but yes, it’s a big year for us! We’re launching our new website and subscription model, continuing our vintage curation project with AmRag, bespoke client work and now working with Denim by Première Vision in Milan, which we’re really excited about. On a personal note, I’ll also be appearing on the History Channel’s “The Brands That Built America” series this July. Lots in motion—and lots more to come!