Agolde

Agolde

Agolde started in Los Angeles in 1993 as A. Gold E., founded by Adriano Goldschmied and the retailer Ron Herman, and the New York Times described it then as a feminine no-pocket jeans line. It was relaunched in 2014 by Jerome Dahan and has been owned by the parent company of Citizens of Humanity since 2017.

Denim

Denim is the reason this brand exists, so start there. Agolde was founded in Los Angeles in 1993 by Adriano Goldschmied, the man behind Diesel and Replay before it, and Ron Herman of the eponymous LA store. The original pitch was a jean that ignored the standard five-pocket blueprint, which in 1993 was mildly heretical.

More Denim

The 1990s silhouettes are the house language: high and mid rises, loose legs, sturdy rigid fabrics. The recurring styles worth knowing by name are the 1990s mid-rise loose fit, the Riley with its raw-cut cropped hem, and the Criss Cross with the asymmetric waist. Those three account for most of what people mean when they say they own Agolde.

Tops and shirting

The brand went quiet and came back. Jerome Dahan, who co-founded Seven For All Mankind and Citizens of Humanity, took ownership and relaunched it in 2014. Between 2014 and 2017 it ran collaborations with A$AP Ferg, Opening Ceremony and Aritzia, which is how a denim label buys itself relevance.

Trousers and shorts

In 2017 ownership passed to the parent company of Citizens of Humanity, which also owns Goldsign, and Dahan stayed on as a consultant. Being inside that group is why the fabric quality is consistent in a way small denim labels rarely manage. It also means this is not an independent business, whatever the branding suggests.

Jackets and blazers

The former Gap denim designer Erin Meehan joined in a design leadership role, and chief executive Amy Williams has been open about pushing the brand beyond jeans into full ready-to-wear. The jackets are the clearest evidence of that expansion. They are still cut like denim pieces, which is a compliment.

More from the collection

One housekeeping note: a few retailers list the founding year as 1989, but the weight of sourcing, including Sourcing Journal and the brand's stockists, says 1993. No awards circuit here either. Denim labels are judged on fit, not prizes.

Our honest take

This is the most reliable denim on the list and the least romantic story, and both of those are fine. Buy the 1990s or the Riley if you want the house at its most characteristic, and treat the ready-to-wear as a competent extension rather than the reason to shop. The fabric is the product.