• The Wall Street Journal, Friday, October 19, 2007 11:30 AM

VF Corp., which acquired the Seven for all Mankind label in August, faces a familiar dilemma in the notoriously fickle fashion world: how to sustain buzz and expand beyond a single hot product--in this case, $100-plus jeans.

The world's biggest apparel company and owner of brands including Wrangler and Lee has rolled out $795 Seven handbags and $332 cotton dresses in high-end department stores and boutiques. Expansions of its men's and kids' non-denim collections and e-commerce operations are in the works. It has launched a line of sneakers, shoes and boots, and also plans to open 100 branded stores around the world over the next five years.

Seven's success has been based on a very different model from the ad-heavy playbook at VF. Launched in 2000 without no ads but lots of word of mouth in hip circles, boutiques reported having a hard time keeping Seven's jeans in stock. Female fans swore by the flattering fit and snatched up several pairs at a time. As Seven presses ahead with its expansion and store openings, however, it has started advertising in magazines such as GQ.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »