In a category dominated by legacy brands, it’s a feat for any newcomer to make a name for themselves, let alone have a fabric become instantly recognizable by consumers. However, that’s exactly what Paige Denim achieved with Transcend, a stretch fabric that has quietly redefined the way men experience jeans by providing unmatched comfort and superior fit.
This fall marks 10 years of Transcend for men, a turning point for the Los Angeles premium denim brand and a shift in the men’s denim category’s perception of stretch denim.
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Paige has sold more than 10 million pairs of Transcend jeans to men to date, but that was never part of the plan. Rather, it was a Hail Mary attempt to keep buyers interested in Paige for men.
“At the time, we didn’t have a strong presence in major department stores for men’s products—those relationships were mostly established on the women’s side. I’d get meetings with the men’s buying teams, but more out of courtesy than real interest,” said Jon Geller, men’s president of Paige. “The feedback was consistent: there wasn’t a clear point of view for Paige’s men’s offering. Honestly, I agreed. I shared my frustration and eventually was given the green light to get involved on the product side and try to develop it.”
Geller’s solution—to introduce Paige’s No. 1 women’s fabric Transcend—was initially met with resistance. “Stretch was something that had really been kept out of the men’s market, and there was an assumption that guys wouldn’t wear it,” he said.
However, the prototypes were the most comfortable Geller had ever felt in jeans, and after making a few tweaks to washes, the Nordstrom team in Seattle—which Geller had previously been unsuccessful getting an order from—saw the appeal of Transcend too. “When I showed them Transcend for the first time and explained what I was trying to do, the buyer looked at me and said, ‘This is it. This is what you guys do.’”
Nordstrom bought it on the spot, initially for 15 doors and quickly expanding to 50 in just months. Geller recalled the sell-throughs being “unlike anything they had ever seen.” It was the right fabric at the right time as men’s fits were becoming slimmer, and consumers were prioritizing comfortable and versatile jeans. By the next market week, two competitors were touting their own versions of the fabric.
A decade later, the market is dominated by stretch and comfort stretch fabrics—but Geller attributes Transcend’s enduring success to its consistent performance and exceptional ability to absorb and hold color. Its consistency gives loyal customers the confidence to build their entire wardrobe around a single fit and fabric, changing up the color or wash depending on the season. It also eliminates the guesswork that comes with ordering jeans online.
The original mill continues to supply Paige with the specialized fabric, though many have tried to duplicate it.
“Everyone I’ve worked with, from retailers to designers who have joined us from another brand in the men’s space, says, ‘Oh, we’ve got piles of this stuff at our office.’ Everyone’s always trying to figure out the secret to it, and 10 years later, no one’s come close.”
Every brand aspires to create a consistent hero product—and for Paige, that’s exactly what Transcend has become. Accounting for 60 to 70 percent of the brand’s men’s denim business, Transcend denim has proven its staying power. “From the beginning, we’ve built our brand on the strength of our product — not on gimmicky marketing,” Geller said. “I never wanted to position this as a ‘travel pant’ or denim that feels like sweatpants. This is denim — our version of denim — and that’s why it’s still leading the market 10 years later.”
This article was published in SJ Denim’s fall issue. Click here to read more.
