Free Style
By
Karen Edwards
Vital Stats: Jeffrey Lubell, 50, of True
Religion Brand Jeans in Los Angeles
Company: Designer and manufacturer of pre-mium jeans and
related sportswear
2006 projected sales: $148 million to $150 million
Trendsetters: "Everyone wears jeans," says
Lubell. "It's the one true religion." From the start,
Lubell and his wife, Kymberly Gold-Lubell, 40, envisioned a company
that made superior jeans with the kind of fit and details usually
found in couture fashion. "We wanted to create a luxury
apparel brand in denim," says Lubell. "We saw it as the
next evolution of jeans."
Cutting-Edge Couture: True Religion had a slow start in
2002, prompting Lubell to take a marketing risk and give away his
product. He first offered the jeans to sales associates at a trendy
boutique. The boutique owner reluctantly bought 24 pairs, but they
didn't start selling until the staff started wearing their free
pairs-the jeans sold out in three days. That's when Lubell took
to the streets.
Fashion Forward: Lubell would hand his business card to
unsuspecting people on the streets of Los Angeles and ask them to
e-mail their pant size for a free pair of jeans. The responses
weren't always gracious, but no one refused Lubell's offer.
Today, his products are available online and at boutiques and
department stores worldwide. Countless celebs scoop them up for as
much as $460 a pair.
Perfect Fit: "The best ad we have is for people to
see how the jeans actually look on the body," says Lubell. And
the word-of-mouth advertising is still going strong. "An ad in
a magazine gets thrown away after a while, but you wear a great
pair of jeans forever."