The Leading Brands In Men’s Denim

Shopping for new jeans is – thankfully – no longer a case of traipsing around a department store, gradually tearing your hair out as you try on endless pairs that don’t fit or suit you.

Many of us already know the brands we like and exactly where to get them. We’re denim-savvy: more educated on construction, cut and wash than our forebears.

But what if you’re still not sure which brand and style is right for you? With denim (in all its guises, not just jeans) set to be big throughout spring/summer 2015, now’s the time to start swotting up on terms such as mid-rise, acid wash and raw selvedge, as well as tried and trusted jeans purveyors and the all-new names in denim.

To get you started, we’ve curated a list of five of the best denim brands on the market, and their key jean styles to look out for this season.

1. Acne Studios

Although perhaps best known for being synonymous with clean, minimal Scandi design, this achingly cool Swedish label started out in denim, manufacturing 100 pairs of classic straight-legged, five-pocket raw denim jeans, complete with red stitching – “the Coca-Cola of fashion,” according to Jonny Johansson, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Acne Studios.

These were given to friends, family and some of Stockholm’s key influencers as a way of testing the market for their wares, and since that first highly successful foray, Acne Studios has gone on to consolidate its position within the sector.

The brand’s enduring appeal stems from its timeless and classic outlook when it comes to denim, as Johansson explained to Style.com: “I don’t like what you call the stereotypes of fashion, which would be the flare, the super-skinny. I like a five-pocket [style], and I’m not too much into fancy stuff… It has to be very straightforward for both men and women; I’m very [into the idea of] unisex.”