How I Pitched this: Are DUER's Pants Worth the Hype?
In the world of fashion and apparel, differentiation from the rest of the marketplace can be challenging, especially for young brands. The fashion industry is at a point now where keeping up with the latest trends and pumping out styles seems to be status quo. Producing apparel has never been easier thanks to decreased production costs, streamlined operations and more supply chain access. This allows brands to create more styles, and consumers to stock their wardrobes with a wide variety of affordable pieces based on what’s en vogue.
On the flip side, this increase in production and reduction of cost has led to the rise of fast fashion – or inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to ever-changing trend cycles. According to recent studies, the number of garments purchased by consumers has increased by about 60%. The kicker: apparel is being worn for half as long as it was in previous decades and some estimates suggest that consumers treat these lower-priced garments as disposable, throwing them away after just seven or eight wears. Combine this with the increase in clothing made from cheap fossil fuel-based synthetic fibers, and you’ve got a recipe for landfills full of discarded clothing.
Combating and reducing the influence of fast fashion is no easy feat, but lately, it seems consumers and brands alike are waking up to the idea that fashion doesn't need to be so fast, and maybe it’s more important to invest in fewer, well-made things.
This is where I introduce you to the Vancouver-based performance apparel brand, and OutsidePR client, DUER.
DUER came on the scene in 2015 with a mission to address the problem of fast fashion. Instead of chasing the latest trends and producing high quantities of affordable clothes, they focused on creating versatile pieces made from blends of natural materials and technical fibers, founded on the idea that clothing should be timeless, durable and comfortable for just about every task one can imagine.
It can be a challenge in the US media landscape to communicate the benefits of minimal, classic apparel at a premium price point, especially when trends drive a large portion of clicks and readership. Add in the fact that DUER is a relatively new Canadian brand and the challenge of capturing the US media’s attention continues to grow.
Recently, I had the pleasure of working with an editor at Cool Material who reviews products and determines if they are “Worth the Hype.” Cool material is a US-based men’s lifestyle digital publication. Their readers align very well with DUER’s male-majority customer base, and a piece focused on whether a pair of minimalist pair of pants priced at $135 dollars was worth your hard-earned investment is exactly the type of partnership needed to help grow DUER’s presence among a key group of consumers.
When I first reached out to Cool Material, I didn't know the editor was working on the “Worth the Hype” series, but after reading a pitch I sent outlining DUER’s philosophy and product quality, the writer decided to call in samples and put them to the test. You can read the final piece from Cool Material here and learn a bit more about the writer’s impressions of DUER’s flagship No Sweat Pant, but I feel like the following quote sums everything up perfectly.
“Good pants never go out of fashion. Sure, trends come and go, but pants that fit well and hold up to all of the things guys put them through over a garment’s lifetime will outlast anything purchased to fit whatever is currently en vogue, from baggy to skinny to loose fit. Multi-purpose pants that wear in with your day-to-day, instead of wear out, will get you through work meetings just as well as a weekend that leads from one adventure to the next. Recently, my go-to has been DUER’s No Sweat Pant.”
The challenge for PR professionals is always finding compelling angles for media to dig into, and we often fall into the cycle of chasing trends ourselves. But what I’ve learned through working with DUER over the past year is there are always opportunities to tell stories that go against the grain, and that timelessness can be just as powerful of a message as keeping up with the times.
My team and I continue to see success telling DUER’s unique story. Working with young brands takes a ton of tenacity, especially in a saturated space like fashion and apparel. Lucky for us, DUER creates some of the highest quality apparel we’ve tested, and the media is beginning to catch on. As my colleague, Eric Hockman likes to say, “It’s important to show, not tell” when it comes to communicating the value of a particular product. It is my hope that by continuing to invite journalists to try DUER’s products for themselves, they and their readers will see that owning fewer well-made, comfortable, timeless pieces of clothing can add value to their lives and change the way they think about fashion.