SCADstyle Denim Intel, Part 2: Jeans Banter With Ayr’s Jac Cameron

by Dena Silver

Yesterday, you got a dose of denim knowledge from 3×1’s Scott Morrison, who explained what prompted him to start his editorially-adored brand. Next up: Ayr’s co-founder and design director Jac Cameron shares some more insider details on the jean industry. Cameron came from Calvin Klein Jeans and now runs her own startup biz, Morrispon explains the differences between the two business models and how that translates into a pair of blues…

“I came from Calvin Klein Jeans, which is a massive global business. We made denim across Asia and Europe, and it was a massive model to manage. I was working on the design side with a director and two assistants; we worked with 450 or 500 units. In comparison, I work with just 14 units at AYR.  The experience I got at Calvin Klein was really incredible because you get to work across a plethora of areas. I worked with mills in Indonesia that sell fabric for $2.50 all the way up to the Turkish and Japanese mills that sell fabric for $14 a yard. Having had that experience on a global level, having the chance to do something on a smaller scale was really special for me.

Ayr launched in 2014, so we’re just barely a year old. We launched an incentive for the customer to try the product on, which is Home Try On. That’s for the customer to access the product by paying $1 and getting a selection of denim sent directly to their homes, so they can try on and interact with the product. They can style it how they’d like, before deciding to purchase. It’s a totally different model than anything I’ve ever worked with. And we really believe it’s the future of shopping. We launched small, with just three core fits, but we launched those fits with 14 washes. We’re strategically thinking about what our customer needs and so we’re giving her enough to start reacting to that business. What we’re doing at Ayr is great, it’s very forward thinking and very focused on the future of retail.” 

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