Custom jeans are just a click away

Once upon a time, there was a lady who went into a clothes store, tried on a pair of jeans and bought it. "Haha, nice joke", you will say if you are a woman, because reality looks quite different. Every woman knows this, and so does every man who has ever had the pleasure of accompanying a lady when shopping for jeans. According to the two ETH students Andreas Guggenbühl and Michael Berli, every woman tries on about 15 different pairs of jeans on average before deciding to buy one, which may even end up being not quite a perfect fit. Inspired by their female friends’ tales of endless and often frustrating shopping trips, they set to finding a way to create the perfect pair of jeans on the computer. Apparently, they succeeded: their external pagecustom jeans web storecall_made is officially online since the beginning of December.

The project first started taking shape about two years ago at ETH Zurich when the two were working on their Bachelor theses: the mechanical engineering student Andreas Guggenbühl was deriving two-dimensional patterns from three-dimensional models and the computer science student Michael Berli was investigating how sales techniques used in traditional clothes stores can be simulated online. “First, we just cut apart some regular off-the-shelf jeans to analyse how they were constructed”, says 24-year-old Michael Berli.

Taking your measurements in ten minutes

The intentionally simple ordering process on their web store is based on software they developed themselves. This software generates a 3D model from the body measurements entered by the customer, who can then look at it "just like in the mirror at Zara or H&M", says co-founder Michael Berli. From this 3D model, a pattern is created using a mathematical algorithm.

To order a pair of jeans at www.selfnation.ch, you just need ten minutes and a tape measure. After choosing a jeans model, you receive step-by-step video instructions on how to take your measurements. Ten days later, your pair of jeans is sent off to you by post. The price is CHF 219. A designer from Berlin is responsible for creating the various jeans models, a dressmaking workshop in northern Bavaria produces the end products, and the fabrics come from Italy. "We believe in short transportation routes and premium quality", says 25-year-old Andreas Guggenbühl. But do the jeans really live up to this promise? Jana Krause, who was one of their first customers and who describes herself as "on the short side", is absolutely thrilled: "Until now, I always had to have my jeans shortened, but these custom jeans fit perfectly", says the 24-year-old. Of the 90 test customers, whose feedback helped the two company founders to perfect the process, some have already ordered another pair of jeans.

Ambitious expansion plans

Customers who are not happy with their custom jeans can have them altered for free at a tailor’s in Zurich, and if they are still unhappy they can get their money back. "Our collaboration with our partner tailor is a win-win situation: they get potential new customers and we can keep improving our system with every piece of feedback", says co-founder Guggenbühl.

Since this alteration service is only available in Zurich so far, the target market of Selfnation jeans is still rather limited. As of early 2014, however, new partner tailors in other cities will join. "Soon we can cover all of Switzerland", says Guggenbühl. An expansion into other European countries is underway, too. And when will there be made-to-measure men’s jeans? "Probably in six months", says Guggenbühl. What’s more, further product ranges such as sports clothes are planned as well.