Luxury designers are breaking the denim ceiling with $39,000 jeans

Ty started with unique treatments that drew inspiration from ’90s acid wash, giving heavyweight Japanese denim a foggy effect. Collections have progressed to denim burnt through with chemicals for a deliberately imperfect result.

“Denim may have been seen as streetwear and more affordable, but it has been put on the top echelon of fabrics,” Tanaya says. “We treat it like a luxury fabric, thinking abut hand-feel and drape.”

“If it looks vintage, then you have gone too far. Someone can go out and buy a vintage pair of jeans easily. This has to look different and have that feeling of newness.”

Intellectualised denim pieces by Sydney designer Christopher Esber – a favourite of Zendaya, Margot Robbie and Gemma Ward – are becoming almost as well-known as his crisp cut-out dresses and twisted fabric details.

“The idea of reconstructing denim icons is something we consider each season,” says Esber, who sells deconstructed jeans for $540. “There is a sense of ease when it’s offset or contrasted by something serious or glamorous, but it still feels elevated.”

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“Our moss-coloured denim is actually a raw denim that has only been washed at the edges of seams. Our idea was to invert the traditional washed denim effect that occurs around pockets and waistbands, to create a tonal effect, which reflects denim’s truest and rawest hue.”

Next month, sustainable fashion champion Bassike will relaunch its elevated denim range with pieces produced in Australia using Japanese fabric.

“The garments are meticulously crafted and washed in Australia, resulting in a beautifully unique garment,” says Bassike creative director and co-founder Deborah Sams. “All elements are considered, even down to tiny details such as stitch type, length, and colour.”

For the time being, international and Australian designers are sticking to a relaxed, straight-leg style but for those willing to spend big on calf-hugging skinny jeans currently banished from the zeitgeist, there’s a bedazzled glimmer of hope.

“We never rule out anything as a possibility for future collections,” Sams says, “Skinny jeans still have a place, it’s all about the timing.”

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