Even billion-dollar denim brands need to be refreshed time to time.
In August, Target relaunched Universal Thread, its women’s denim brand introduced in 2018 as part of the retailer’s private label expansion.
“Our goal was to deliver the most relevant and refined fits for today’s guest—styles that feel modern, versatile, and comfortable,” Jenny Breeden, Target’s SVP, owned brand product design and packaging, told SJ Denim.
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Denim is a key driver in Target’s apparel business. Part of the retailer’s second quarter apparel results were driven by women’s denim, which saw a 28 percent comparable sales increase, fueled by new styles, silhouettes and washes. Breeden added that the retailer is also seeing rising search interest for Universal Thread denim on Target.com, showing “strong guest momentum and excitement around the refreshed assortment.”
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen denim trends evolve significantly, especially coming out of the pandemic,” she said. “During that time, interest in denim dipped across the board, and our assortment didn’t fully reflect what guests were looking for in that moment. When guests returned to denim, they were looking for fits that offered comfort and ease without sacrificing style.”
While skinny fits remain relevant, Breeden said Universal Thread has seen a clear shift toward looser, more relaxed silhouettes.
“In 2023, we introduced our ’90s Baggy Fit in response to that feedback as well as clear trends we were seeing, and it quickly became one of our top five denim styles. That success reinforced how important it is to proactively scan for incoming trend signals in combination with listening closely to our guests to evolve alongside them,” she said.
With the relaunch, the design team set out to offer more variety in relevant fits and washes, more flattering silhouettes, and elevated fabrics—all at an accessible price point and with the quality guests expect from Target.
The updated assortment includes seven new core fits: skinny, straight leg, wide leg, ’80s slim, ’90s baggy, easy barrel and palazzo. The collection features a refreshed palette of versatile washes, from clean dark indigos to vintage-inspired fades and sun-washed light blues.
Design and fit decisions were based on consumer insights and fit testing. Before selecting final fits, the Universal Thread team tested a wide range of fabrics for stretch, recovery, hand-feel, performance and wash range. Once the best materials were chosen, the team moved into fit testing, including in-person try-on sessions with women across a broad range of ages and sizes.
Breeden said that unfiltered feedback—how jeans feel, move and make someone feel while wearing them—directly shaped the brand’s design refinements.
Target is also delivering speed to market. The retailer’s owned brand production process allows it to be more responsive to trends by leveraging raw material and fabric platforming strategies that reduce lead times by 25 percent.
“Our denim team keeps key high-volume, seasonally relevant proprietary fabrics on hand—like our Universal Thread denim—so when trend signals emerge, whether silhouette, wash or detail, we can immediately partner with our garment mills to ramp up production or adapt styles without waiting on fabric lead times,” Breeden explained.
She added that a great example of this quick response is Universal Thread’s leopard-print baggy jean. “Last fall, our team spotted the trend taking off on social media. Because we already had raw denim reserved, we were able to quickly introduce the print, which went on to drive millions of dollars in incremental sales and became a social favorite among guests,” she said.
Universal Thread is proving to be a springboard for several of the company’s sustainability initiatives. Each denim item incorporates 20 percent recycled cotton.
Earlier this year, Target eliminated potassium permanganate in all owned brands, meeting its 2025 goal. Additionally, Universal Thread is one of two brands that have become Target’s first owned brands designed for a circular future.
As of February 2025, all Universal Thread’s apparel items are enabled with Target’s first EON Digital Product Passports (DPPs). Accessible through QR codes on clothing tags, the DDPs can enhance the consumer experience through a “shop the look” feature and a “seamless resale” feature, which enables consumers to resell products on Poshmark through EON’s 1-Click Resale to auto-populate resale listings into the marketplace.
The refreshed collection is getting a new look in stores as well. Guests can now shop the new in-store denim wall to simplify fit and rise shopping.
