As fashion, jeans are a lot like designing socks. They seem so simple. But in reality, they’re one of the most difficult pieces of clothing to manufacture well because of what we expect them to do. Materials are fundamental. Stitching is critical. Movement and function must elevate style, not compete with it. Wear ability is paramount above all else.
Resolving the denim paradox was
Eytan’s simple mission when he conceived The Regulars. How do you make the
perfect pair of elevated jeans for men who live in them every day?
For the next six months, I literally scoured the planet, personally flipping through every rack at the top boutiques in New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Tokyo, and rummaging through the leftovers of every high-end department store in between.
“I went on the hunt to find any pair of denim at any price point that fit, that I loved the look of, and that was comfortable,” recalls Eytan. “It was such a simple objective. But there wasn’t a single pair of jeans that checked all the boxes.”
For The Regulars, jeans start
with fabric. Everything else is frosting. Eytan envisioned a new denim
brand that could go from day to night, not only stylistically, but also
functionally. I wanted denim that would stretch and recover, and keep its
shape, fit, and feel for an eighteen-hour day.
“I had a very clear vision,” says Eytan. “I wanted to make a pair of jeans that would be comfortable and flexible for a ten hour overseas flight and still look great after getting off the plane and walking into a meeting in a sport coat. Millions of men do everything in denim, from black tie events to t-shirts for coffee. I wanted to create a new category of denim that was truly day to night that would wear well with everything and also stay true to a refined, confident fit.”
More practically, Eytan started The Regulars by remembering everything that every one of his customers’ had ever told him about jeans. In turn, he experimented with an updated fit tailored to the modern man’s body, movements, and style. At the same time, he dispatched people to source the highest quality fabrics from the most exclusive mills that push the boundaries of what denim can look and feel like.
“He eventually developed his own
proprietary Regulars fabric,” says Eytan. “Recovery was the key for me. I
always want to feel like I’m wearing something that I just put on. With The
Regulars, that meant making jeans that would look the same on Thursday as they
did on Monday.”
“Pocket placement on the back of denim is so important,” Eytan tells me when I ask him what he means by that. “That might seem like an afterthought to you. But no one should have their wallet hanging out from under their sports coat from behind because the pockets are too low. There are other better places for that. Hardware should also be carefully selected to elevate each wash, and stay true the vibe of the design. Or I just don’t include it all.”
This meticulous consideration of details—and more importantly, knowing when not to do anything at all—embodies The Regulars approach to style as much as its signature fit. Eytan and his designers are constantly called to task to justify every characteristic of form and function, from pocket placement and length proportions, to stitching and scaling.
“The world of fashion has been evolving for women for a long time,” says Eytan. “It’s taken men’s fashion a little longer in the U.S. to catch up, and for men to infuse denim into their wardrobe as an essential. That’s now changing so fast as more and more men are looking for something they feel better in, and look better in, all day long.”
Since its low-key launch in
October 2021 with it’s swagger skinny style—on a small T-stand in a back corner
of Traffic Los Angeles, The Regulars has been on a slow,
shark-fin-out-of-the-water trajectory that’s all of a sudden claimed prime real
estate on the floor.
“I still spend almost all of my time on the floor selling our jeans, just like I did selling clothing twenty years ago,” says Eytan. “If you go into Traffic Los Angeles, I’m there. My relationships with the stores, the managers, the owners, and the salespeople are the most important thing we have as a new brand. I know what it’s like to be on the floor. I pride myself on this. When I’m in stores that carry The Regulars, it’s my goal to make sure that I know everyone in there.”
The high-profile exposure hasn’t gone unnoticed either, most conspicuously by the A-list crowd, who have quietly been gravitating away from denim brand, “no comment”, to The Regulars. “Stay true to the DNA of the brand and always listen to your audience and their feedback,” Dann says when I ask him what he learned most from his mentors Donna Karen, Armani, and Versace before he went out on his own.
“Build good relationships
also—all the time. The people who understand your brand are the ones who are
going to sell it best. It’s the salespeople on the floor who have the trust of
clients and buyers at the end of the day. That’s back to the basics 101.”
