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LA brand Agolde rode the post-pandemic jeans resurgence, becoming synonymous with premium denim of all shapes and styles. Now, the brand wants to conquer the rest of the closet.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, we launched with denim,\u201d says chief executive Amy Williams. \u201cBut at this point, we\u2019ve evolved into more of a contemporary collection brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally founded by \u201cthe godfather of Denim\u201d designer Adriano Goldschmied and the retail pioneer Ron Herman in the early 1990s, the brand was later relaunched by J\u00e9r\u00f4me Dahan, a co-founder of Citizens of Humanity. The brand built its reputation on high-waisted, \u201990s-inspired silhouettes and rigid fabrics \u2014 an approach that cemented its position in premium denim before its more recent expansion beyond it.<\/p>\n
That shift is now material to the business. Today, roughly 40% of Agolde\u2019s revenue comes from ready-to-wear, including knitwear, outerwear, shirting, and vegan leather. While the brand has long offered basics like T-shirts and non-denim jackets, it only formalized its ready-to-wear at the start of 2026, when it significantly expanded its assortment. The business now generates mid-eight figures on its own, scaling quickly from a supporting role to nearly half of the brand.<\/p>\n
Several premium denim brands have attempted to build out ready-to-wear alongside their core categories. Rag & Bone has had some success doing so, while others, including Frame, remain more closely associated with denim despite selling other categories. The challenge is getting customers to come back for more than jeans \u2014 something Agolde appears to be doing at a faster clip.<\/p>\n
\u201cDenim is one of the most natural launchpads in apparel,\u201d says Kristen Classi-Zummo, an apparel industry advisor at Circana. \u201cIt\u2019s the foundation consumers build outfits around.\u201d The brands that succeed in growing beyond it, she adds, are the ones that treat adjacent categories as an extension of that foundation, rather than a departure. \u201cWhen the foundation stays intact, the expansion feels authentic to the consumer \u2014 and that\u2019s what drives repeat purchasing across categories.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Williams, the expansion was, in part, about building out the brand world in a more complete way. \u201cI think with any great brand, you close your eyes and see a very clear DNA for it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Retail partners, including Selfridges, Net-a-Porter, and Bloomingdale\u2019s, have quickly bought into this approach, carrying a broader mix of categories and merchandising Agolde accordingly \u2014 not just as a denim line, but as something closer to a full wardrobe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n