Denim brands, large and small, got into the spirit of April Fools’ Day on April 1.
Instagram was there go-to platform for most of the pranks.
Known for promoting slow manufacturing and small batch design, Welsh brand Hiut Denim & Co., pulled a 180 by “introducing” the first self-walking pair of jeans called The Teslr.
A riff on Tesla’s self-driving cars, Hiut showed a model wearing selvedge jeans and a green screen body suit riding a bike, dancing and touring its Cardigan, Wales-based factory. Hiut joked that the jeans have a dance mode and rhythm detection and obstacle-aware collusion control.
“For the last few months, our Grandmasters have been locked away in a secret location with blacked-out windows developing a world’s first. This will represent the biggest step forward in a pair of jeans since the invention of the rivet by Jacob Davis in 1873,” the brand wrote on Instagram.
Hiut joked that the jeans have a dance mode, rhythm detection and obstacle-aware collusion control.
“Now, if you want to walk the dog and it’s raining, your jeans can do it. If you want to get some groceries, you can send your jeans along. If your jeans ever get lost, there is a ‘Return to Home’ button. The technology was already existing, we would have been fools not to use it,” Hiut wrote.
Followers played along with the joke. @Doodledaydarlings asked if the jeans can “walk themselves right into the washing machine too?”
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Primark got into the no-pants trend with its April Fools’ Day prank.
The Irish retailer took to Instagram stories to share a mood board of leather, denim and bouclé fabric and color swatches and the tagline, “You asked, we listened.”
The mood board was followed by a second story of images of leather, denim and bouclé thongs. It said the undies would be available in three-packs on April 31 and retail for 6 pounds to 8 pounds.
A third story said “jkkkk!!” and linked to Primark’s real assortment of thongs.
The joke isn’t too far from reality, however. Alexander Wang, LaQuan Smith, Free People and Y/Project have each released a version of a denim panty or brief.
Meanwhile, eco-conscious California lifestyle brand Outerknown confused some of its followers by debuting a new ’80s inspired logo on the jokester holiday.
The brand said the crackled logo is an “homage to the iconic neon wetsuits, short-shorts, and overall epic beach culture of the ’80s.”
Follower @jamielillywhite wrote, “Does this even count as a prank?”
Adding to the confusion, the post linked to a limited-edition collection of sweatshirts, sweat shorts and Trucker hat featuring the logo. Only 25 of each product was made. The collection retails for $40-$170.