Michael Buckley on True Religion’s journey beyond denim and toward 1 billion dollars

True Religion made its name with horseshoe-stitched jeans that sold for hundreds of dollars at department stores in the 2000s. Today, sportswear and accessories make up more than half of its product assortment, and chief executive Michael Buckley no longer calls it a denim brand. “True Religion is an authentic and accessible lifestyle apparel brand born from denim,” Buckley told FashionUnited.

That shift has been good for business. The company expects revenue of 550 million dollars this year, up from 470 million dollars in 2025, and it is aiming for 1 billion dollars in sales within the next five years.

“We’re building on what makes True Religion distinctive. That means deepening our U.S. business, continuing to expand our product assortment, strengthening wholesale and direct-to-consumer, and reaching customers where they shop,” Buckley said.

For Buckley, the 1 billion dollar target is the latest chapter in a long relationship with the brand. He first joined True Religion in 2006, when its jeans sold for 300 to 500 dollars at Neiman Marcus and Barneys, and returned as chief executive in November 2019.

In the years between, Buckley led Robert Graham Designs from 2011 to 2016, steering its sale to Differential Brands Group for 180 million dollars. He then ran Differential, owner of Hudson Jeans, Robert Graham and Swims, from 2016 to 2018. Earlier in his career, he also held leadership roles at Diesel Jeans.

“When I joined True Religion in 2006, you could recognize our jeans from across the room with the signature stitching, horseshoe logo, and the fit," Buckley said. “It taught me that a great brand has to stand for something unmistakable."

His return taught him a different lesson. “Legacy doesn’t mean preserving an outdated business model. Our customer base, product assortment and distribution broadened. What didn’t change was the DNA that made True Religion recognizable in the first place. We kept the codes and changed the business around them.”

Research first

His first move on returning was to study who was actually buying the brand. “That insight changed how we approached pricing, distribution, product, marketing and communications,” he said.

What he found was a customer base that had never left. “It became clear that True Religion had maintained a remarkably strong connection with a culturally influential customer base,” Buckley said. “In many ways, it was about recognizing and serving the customer who had been there all along, not finding a new one.”

The road to 1 billion dollars

Buckley names two growth engines: e-commerce and physical retail. True Religion has more than 60 stores in the US and is “tracking toward a goal of 150 or more,” he said.

E-commerce is expected to account for about 200 million dollars of this year’s revenue. In May, the company hired former Foot Locker and Urban Outfitters executive Andrew Rauch to scale its digital business. Buckley has said TrueReligion.com should represent 40 to 50 percent of total revenue.

Why stores still matter

“Physical retail gives consumers something digital can’t completely replace: discovery, fit, community and experience,” Buckley said. “The power of our omnichannel model is that every channel can reinforce the others. A customer may discover a True Religion product on social media, engage with the brand online, visit a store to experience the product firsthand and then come back to purchase through ecommerce.”

Beyond its own channels, True Religion plans to supply more merchandise to wholesalers, including off-price accounts, and entered the TikTok Shop in September.

On where the next growth comes from, whether international, categories or channels, Buckley said: “We see meaningful opportunity across all three, but the priority is to follow where consumer demand is the strongest.” He added: “We see 110M in our total addressable market, and will look to double or even triple the number of people shopping True Religion in the future.”

Denim and market context

Denim remains part of the brand’s identity. “It’s where our craftsmanship, stitching and some of our most recognizable brand codes were created,” Buckley said.

True Religion’s growth stands out in a slow US denim market. Category leader Levi Strauss & Co. grew third-quarter revenue 4.3 percent to 1.61 billion dollars, but its US business fell 1 percent on a reported basis.

Same approach across brands

Buckley describes the same approach at Robert Graham, Differential and True Religion. “First, understand who is actually buying the product. Second, protect what is distinctive about the brand. Product, price, distribution, inventory, marketing and channel strategy all have to reflect the consumer you’re serving.”

“That philosophy has been remarkably consistent throughout my career: know your consumer, know what makes the brand different, and then build outward from that.”

Buckley’s strategy was on display during New York Fashion Week in September. True Religion held a retail event on September 9 and an invite-only night, “That Was Then, This Is Now,” at Flyfish on September 13. “New York Fashion Week is about putting the brand where our consumer actually experiences fashion – in retail, in music, in nightlife and in culture,” Buckley said.

Legacy

Asked about his legacy, Buckley returned to the brand’s long-term future. “True Religion is a brand with extraordinary heritage, strong cultural relevance, and a deeply loyal community,” he said. “Positioning True Religion for decades of continued relevance and growth is one of the contributions I’m most proud to make.”