Warp + Weft on Catering to the Consumer
The CEO of Warp + Weft, a denim brand that prides itself on having the world’s most inclusive jeans, is a 28-year-old woman.
But for Sarah Ahmed, who also happens to be the creative director for powerhouse denim brand DL1961, being under 30 has meant being in better touch with today’s consumer and what a wearer wants from their denim.
“You see certain trends explode and you see how people are emotionally responding to those products and that’s very powerful. The first week we launched Warp + Weft we got hundreds of emails saying thank you, because we really tapped into this market segment where they were craving quality product with inclusive sizing,” Ahmed told Carved in Blue. “That had the message that everyone is welcome.”
At Warp + Weft, all jeans are under $100 retail, and sized for women petite, regular and plus, sized from 00 to 24. On it’s website, the company touts having a jean that’s more inclusive than fashion has typically been, with sizes for everyone and fabric which is made by the brand and designed to “look fresh out of the box after a red eye flight.”
“The message was not to be scared of denim because it really does scare people. I always wonder why and I think it’s because of the nature of the styling,” Ahmed explained. “Denim sort of reveals all, so making denim approachable was a big thing that we did in Warp + Weft. We are on the route to succeed when millions of people are wearing our jeans.”
Part of Warp + Weft’s success has been in its receptiveness and responsiveness. The company welcomes feedback of all kinds from customers, and Ahmed sees to it that the right person in the company gets wind of the message and makes any adjustments or improvements as needed.
“I think overall we validated that what is needed in the market was not to put a celebrity in a campaign and to tell people what to do. No, the need in the market is to ask people and to really see what they want out of something that they’re wearing every day. Create an approach to the brand,” Ahmed said. “And that’s really what Warp + Weft is.”
The brand is making its mark at a time when more brands are turning to more inclusive sizing as women’s body shapes change and trends shift to more personalization and customization.
A recent article in New York magazine’s The Cut, “Plus-Size Fashion Can’t be Ignored Anymore” pointed to a 2012 market research study that estimated 67 percent of American women wear a size 14 or higher. Since then, as more brands catch on to this fact and make attempts to satisfy an equally fashion-hungry consumer who so happens to fit in sizes outside of the range most brands make, the market for plus-size clothing has grown to roughly $20.4 billion, with growth upward of 17 percent in the last three years.
“Only about 20 percent of the merchandise in the market caters to them [women who wear sizes 14 and up] and I think that’s changing very rapidly. You should embrace your body. I think people have a perceived ‘norm’ and then there’s an actual norm. And bridging that gap is what we are doing in Warp + Weft,” Ahmed explained. “I’m not interested in a perceived norm. I am interested in you. I am interested in what you are wearing every day and what your needs are, and what we found universally is, across different markets between plus and petite, everyone requires a denim to be comfortable. Now women want to wear that item from day to night; they want to wear their denim to work; and on the weekends and wear their denim every single day of their life. They want to feel supported in their denim. I think Warp + Weft is where it’s recognized because we are the sort of denim that wants to include women emotionally. That was a very powerful launch.”
Delivering on the denim that today’s consumers want has meant incorporating TENCEL® fibers into the fabric giving the product a high-end feel at a moderate price, and to help with the feel and fit.
“People want different things, they want their denim to do different things,” Ahmed said. “I also think that the premium customer is so used to high fashion products that they are not scared of denim. That’s why the introduction of fabric with TENCEL™ fibers was amazing and made it all the more better.
To keep up with the trends and consumers’ tastes, Ahmed said she often turns to Instagram.
“I think that Instagram is a very visual way for me to see the world. People across cultures are on Instagram. I think that it’s a very great equalizer too,” she said. “I see the response of different body types to our jeans. There are women with different body types, from different cultures, in different sizes and proportions who respond to our denim. They all have the same emotional response to it. Which is great.”
Ashley Graham, a model who has done a lot to shift the perception of size and beauty, has also brought body acceptance to the fore using Instagram, where she has 4.9 million followers.
“Ashley Graham is an amazing advocate for plus, straight, petite because her message is not just about plus. Her message is love your body. And I think that’s where the market is going,” Ahmed said. “We are then able to provide sizes that cater everyone. That is real.”