Jerome Dahan has an enviable track record when it comes to creating successful jeans brands — he was the founder of both Seven For All Mankind and Citizens of Humanity. Now Dahan is preparing to launch a new collection this fall called The Seven Continents, or T7C.
The new line is men’s only and will come with a hefty price tag — the collection will retail for $695 to $1,195. The plan is to sell it online as well as in upscale specialty retailers.
“It started more as a passion project,” Dahan said. “I’ve been doing clothes for myself for years but I never put them in the market because I was not fully in menswear. But I always wanted to do something that I love. It started with a few pieces, and I ended up making a small collection.”
He credits his wife for encouraging him to create a commercial collection. “Elsa is the one who really pushed me to come back in the market,” he said. “She said, ‘You’re doing it with so much love. You have to offer it to people.’”
Although his other brands were primarily womenswear, Dahan said he’d always yearned to do men’s because he’s never been able to find something he really liked in the market. “So that’s what pushed me to do a men’s line. And there are so many lines that are doing women’s right now, especially in denim, that I didn’t want to reenter that market.”
The initial collection is small, around 15 to 16 pieces total, and offers “some new fits” in jeans as well as workwear- and military-inspired pants, he said. “It’s very classic, but it goes with what I believe is cool today to wear,” he explained. “We have less slim fits and much more volume fits in the workwear and military stories.”
Elsa Dahan, who is a partner in T7C, added: “In the past, he had universal fits for women and now he’s doing it for men.”
But Jerome Dahan is perhaps most excited about the fabrics that he sourced from small mills in Japan. “I would say their fabric — the way they weave and make it — is 40 to 50 percent better than any big mills.” It’s also about double the price.
The trim and detailing are top-notch as well. Dahan said the finishes alone on the buttons cost $1.50 to $2 each and the patches are made in Italy and cost $5 to $7 each. “So everything adds up.”
While the materials may come from overseas, the line is manufactured in Los Angeles where his earlier collections were also made. Dahan was adamant that T7C be produced in the U.S. and said he has the right factories and laundries lined up for his new line. “The team is ready to do something beautiful,” he said.
The label will launch primarily online and the company has partnered with Rainbow Wave Showroom to show the collection to leading high-end retailers. “We’re focusing on our direct business, which we will launch in line with our retail partners. We’re thinking of focusing on some of the best specialty stores across the U.S., Europe and Canada to begin. We really want to start a meaningful partnership with these incredible specialty stores that are across the U.S.,” he said.
When coming up with a name for his new endeavor, Dahan thought back to the other labels he’s created over the course of his career and how their success was really a group effort. “With the other brands, like Citizens of Humanity and Seven For All Mankind, they always meant something more to me than just a name.”
While the idea for a label may have started with him, it was the team he developed that made it come to life. “You only have a dream when you want to make product, but when you have the right contractors, the right laundries, the right people around you, you can make something amazing. And The Seven Continents for me represented the world.”
With his track record, it would be easy for Dahan to rest on his laurels and not get back into the rat race of the fashion industry, but he believes he’s found the formula to make his mark again. “I don’t want to do something just to do something,” he said. “I’m known by doing women’s, right? So all of a sudden I do men’s. I could reenter the market with a woman’s product and try to lead the market but it’s not what I’m passionate about at the moment. This is a new path and really an inspiration for me. We’re excited for the product to get in stores and see how it retails.”
