Dive Brief:

• Levi Strauss, inventor of that great American clothing innovation, denim jeans, is now working hard to reinvent their signature product.

• Several other retailers, including American Eagle Outfitters and Target, have also worked to revamp their jeans to include more stretch. Both retailers recently released new lines of jeans that feature redesigned fits and stretch fabrics.

• The trend toward more stretch in jeans is a sign of the great influence of yoga wear, which women are increasingly wearing on the street as well as in the gym.

Dive Insight:

It’s not clear whether retailers have taken Google’s groundbreaking first fashion report to heart, considering that the tech giant noted that searches for skinny jeans have given way to more relaxed “boyfriend” jeans and, of course, yoga wear and other athleisure. 

It's not just Google. There’s been a lot of talk about the end of denim these days, with sales dropping 6% last year by some measures. But jeans may be more classic than even the little black dress. 

It appears that some retailers think that jeans of whatever cut just have to get more comfortable to win back consumers’ hearts (and legs). Target, American Eagle, even Levi’s itself are revamping jeans to contain much more stretch and comfort, while still being jeans. These retailers may be on to something, though that remains to be seen.

Even so, the problem for the likes of American Eagle, though, is whether they can ask more for their lovely new stretchy good-looking jeans, when the likes of Target is offering what looks like much the same thing for under $30.