EXCLUSIVE: Activewear Brand Popflex Expands Into Denim

Will these jeans be Taylor Swift’s next go-to pants?

Swift’s favored activewear brand, Popflex, on Thursday will debut its denim category featuring four silhouettes designed to evoke the signature denim look with ample comfort and flexibility.

“That’s going to be the question — why is this activewear brand branching into this whole new category? The thing with us, and with me, is that when I find that there’s something as uncomfortable or that I’m not fully happy with, I want to bring comfort and functionality into that garment,” Popflex founder, chief executive officer and designer Cassey Ho told WWD. “October 2022 is when I started sketching and thinking about different ideas for what this denim could look like. I wanted to bring over the comfort of a legging into a pair of jeans.”

The Popflex denim collection features four styles that nod to ones from the ‘70s to early 2000s, including the wide leg, straight leg, bell bottom and flare. Each silhouette, available in medium and light washes, is crafted in ultra-stretch denim made up of cotton, modal, polyester and spandex.

“I know stretch denim is not a new thing, but I wanted the craziest, stretchiest denim that you can literally do the splits in, without splitting your pants,” Ho said. “The wide-leg jean is based off of our wide legging, which sold out almost immediately. It hugs your hips and thighs at the top and then beautifully waterfalls,” Ho added.

Each style also features details from their cult-followed leggings, such as heart-shaped, corset-inspired seams and placement pockets for a lifting effect, and flattering V-front waistband carried over from Popflex’s bestselling Crisscross Hourglass leggings.

“There’s five lengths so everyone can find their size and the sizing will remain XXS to 3X. A customer who already buys a legging in size medium can buy the jean in medium,” Ho said of the category’s sizes and five inseam lengths of 28 to 36 inches. The line is available to shop exclusively via the brand’s e-commerce, with prices ranging from $80 for the straight-leg jean to $105 for the wide-leg style.

“I wanted to bring more comfort and the activewear vibe into denim. We started out with activewear. The whole goal was to make Popflex a part of her daily life, from morning to night time. So we’ve experimented with more casual wear through jumpsuits, jackets and things like that. We got into panties, sleepwear and swimwear. The next thing I wanted to try was denim,” she said, hinting that if the category launch is successful, additional denim layers will be added to Popflex’s offering in the future.