How True Religion’s expansion beyond denim spurred revenue

True Religion is as intrinsically linked to early-2000s fashion as Juicy Couture tracksuits and Von Dutch trucker hats. Known for its coveted (and formerly quite expensive) jeans since launching in 2002, denim was the name of the game for the brand with the smiling Buddha. Two bankruptcies later, and though many might still associate the brand with its hallmark blue jeans, it has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years beyond the denim category. This year, True Religion reported that its nondenim categories—including activewear, outerwear, and accessories—accounted for 60% of sales, making it the brand’s most profitable year.

“We still have a stronghold in denim. That’s what we’ve been known for for 23 years,” said Kristen D’Arcy, CMO and head of digital growth for True Religion. “But, it’s really exciting as we think about ourselves—and now the customer does too—as this urban casual lifestyle brand.”

This year, True Religion is projecting sales figures just under $500 million and is on track to reach $1 billion in annual sales over the next few years, according to D’Arcy. Growth is being led by its women’s categories—which now account for 50% of overall sales—as well as its e-commerce channel, which it aims to account for 60% of sales.

Womenswear for the win

D’Arcy and Tina Blake, SVP women’s design and brand image, explained that for the better part of 23 years, many customers associated the brand with menswear.

“From a gender perspective, women’s was just on the back burner for many years,” Blake said. “The company just focused on men’s because that was what they knew for many, many years, so I think the right product paired with a refocus on women’s has helped that growth just be gangbusters.”

Retailers are increasingly looking to boost their total addressable market through product extensions. Krista Dalton recently told Revenue Brew about how lifestyle brand Tecovas, which has a primarily male clientele, decided to expand into women’s workwear boots.

Omnichannel strategy

While benefiting from new customer profiles and a focus on value, (though its jeans often cost north of $200 in the early 2000s, today they range from $49 to over $150), True Religion’s omnichannel strategy is also aiding its growth. While e-commerce is steadily growing to make up 60% of the business, its brick-and-mortar stores are also proving successful. The brand operates out of roughly 60 stores and will open more in the new year. Additionally, True Religion has distribution partnerships with brands like Pacsun, Tilly’s, and JD Sports.

“It’s just making sure that our profitability is incredibly solid in each of those new stores, and it is,” D’Arcy said. “It beats industry averages and there’s a lot of productivity for sales across other categories outside of denim, with a very healthy penetration in women’s.”

Blake echoed D’Arcy by stating it’s important for the brand to operate in various channels to keep reaching customers where they are.

“We’ve made great strides in the last couple of years between the specialty wholesale business, not walking away from the department stores, our own stores, and online,” she said. “The marriage of those three different facets of the business is giving us a really interesting position from which to grow all categories.”

Steady growth

D’Arcy explained True Religion’s momentum is anchored on a three-part growth strategy that involves product, marketing, and retail.

Building “brand heat” is a crucial part of the mix, and something True Religion has traditionally been very effective at (singer and reality TV star Jessica Simpson was a major advocate when the brand first launched). D’Arcy said today this is coming through celebrity partnerships (rappers Quavo and Latto have appeared in recent campaigns), and the brand has several other partnerships with a number of “culturally relevant” figures lined up for 2026.

“The objective of that is to build the brand heat, to make sure that the brand is out there in a big way and current product that’s shoppable right now,” D’Arcy said. “Whether it’s content that we use to fill our ecosystem—so our website, our social channels, etc.—or them pushing out content to their very engaged audiences, the objective there is to further traffic and sales, both online and in store.”