American Eagle and Aerie Marry Denim Look and Comfortable Fabrics With New Collection
American Eagle and Aerie are sharing sisterly bonds. The two divisions of American Eagle Outfitters are teaming up on a collection borrowing from each others’ expertise.
Using American Eagle’s denim, the collection features summer-focused styles ranging from denim shorts, dresses and fleece matching sets to leggings, sports bras, swim, intimates and accessories. There are a total of 34 items in the collection.
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Both AE and Aerie transformed classic silhouettes from their main assortments, adding polka-dot and washed denim prints. Additional items include accessories such as a bucket hat, scrunchie and sarong, all made from the Aerie swim material.
The collection uses a new technology called Cool Transfer in order to transfer AE’s denim fabric onto non-denim fabrications. The technology was used across both brands’ denim and woven pieces, as well as Aerie’s seamless ribbed bralette, shortie and bodysuit that was given a special stone wash technique and Aerie’s cotton bralette and boybrief that were dyed to give the high-low effect of denim.
The collection retails from $30 to $150 and will be available starting Monday on AE.com and Aerie.com, as well as the Gateway in SoHo.
“The best collaborations start at home, and American Eagle and Aerie are certainly cut from the same cloth. A Match Made in Denim is a unique opportunity to highlight the power of two industry-leading brands and showcase some of our best categories,” Jen Foyle, president and executive creative director of American Eagle and Aerie, told WWD.
She said it was a great way to offer exciting products to their customers, especially with the collaboration coinciding with one of their biggest seasons, and during this year’s particularly strong jeans cycle.
American Eagle is the number-one jeans brand for 15- to 25-year-olds, the number-one jeans brand for women overall, and the number-two jeans destination across all demographics, said Foyle.
As for how the collaboration works, she said the bras, underwear and men’s underwear are made to be soft and have a lot of stretch. “Inspired by AE’s iconic jeans, the design team used the same fabric innovations for A Match Made in Denim that are used to make the Aerie and Offline products so buttery, comfortable and most loved,” she said.
“One of the technologies used to create the denim effect is really cool, literally,” she explained. “It’s called ‘cool transfer’ and takes the denim fabric characteristics, cast and fades and transfers them to your fabric of choice. We also used some interesting garment dyeing and washing techniques to give you the best of both worlds — a denim look and a very comfortable feel.”
One of the things she loves about the collaboration is that it challenges the teams to think differently across the entire AE and Aerie assortments, she said. “And you will start to see these new techniques pop up in our upcoming seasons,” she added.
Foyle noted that the idea originated from both their brand teams. She said there’s a lot of excitement happening with Aerie and American Eagle right now, and that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the #AerieREAL movement. American Eagle will also launch a new marketing platform on July 25. She said they are always looking at ways to innovate and maximize their brands. “Although we are focused on growing our individual AE and Aerie brands, something that has been a big unlock for AEO this year is the notion that we are better together,” said Foyle.
The label will say American Eagle [heart emoji] Aerie: A Match Made in Denim.
Asked if Aerie has ever had denim in its lineup, she said they have occasionally introduced a few denim-inspired pieces, like soft shorts and oversize button downs. “However, Aerie’s approach has always been focused on comfort. That’s why we are excited to lean into AE’s expertise in denim to create products rooted in the heritage of both brands.”
As for whether American Eagle has ever done intimates, Foyle said, “Our men’s underwear business is consistently a standout category. When it comes to women’s intimates, we lean into our experts at Aerie. A Match Made in Denim allowed us to bring together the best parts of both brands — with AE’s iconic denim adding a fun, fresh look to the fabric of some of our fan-favorite Aerie intimates.”
As reported, for the first quarter ended May 4, Aerie’s revenue of $373 million rose 4 percent, with comp sales up 6 percent. American Eagle’s revenue rose 8 percent to $725 million, with comp sales growing 7 percent.
In releasing AEO’s quarterly results, Foyle said, “There are two different stories here. We have been repositioning the brands, amplifying American Eagle as well as Aerie. Both brands exceeded expectations.” She also cited the “health” of the retailer’s customer file. “There’s been nice growth in new customers and in reengaging customers, particularly on the AE side,” she said.
Secondly, “It’s the magic of product. Women’s at AE in particular saw growth. Jeans are coming back, where we will definitely have nice tailwinds into the back half,” said Foyle.
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