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Turkish coffee, Turkish carpets, yes. But Turkish jeans? No item of clothing is as American as a pair of jeans, and no market is harder to crack. So when the father and son team behind burgeoning Turkish denim brand Mavi set their sights on the New World, people naturally thought they were mad. Even madder, rather than sell their jeans at Wal-Mart on the cheap, as many developing country producers do, the pair went for the gold: fashion-conscious youths willing to fork out $60 a pair.

And for more than a year after Mavi began exporting to select U.S. department stores late in 1996, sales were painfully slow. Then came Molly, a line of low-rise, slightly flared women's jeans with a wholesome name that became a success in the U.S. Word on the street fanned sales, and soon youthful celebrities like Chelsea Clinton, Geri Halliwell and über trendy MTV presenters were seen sporting Mavis. Molly was followed by Mark, Minnie and Meg, and Mavi grew by double digits each year to become one of America's top brands for under-25s. North American sales were $45 million last year, while worldwide sales totaled $250 million. In March, Mavi will make its mark on American soil with its own two-story, 500-sq-m flagship store in New York's Union Square.

It is an unlikely success story. But Sait Akarlilar, the affable 63-year-old patriarch who created the brand in 1991, is nothing if not self-confident. Orphaned at an early age, as a teenager he worked as a seamster in a garment shop. By 19, he owned it. A workaholic of modest tastes, he began manufacturing jeans when Turkey started liberalizing its economy in the 1980s, capitalizing on top-quality Turkish cotton and competitive labor costs to produce for brands like Lee and Wrangler. "Eventually I decided we had learned this business and were ready to do it ourselves," he says. In 1991, Mavi, which means blue in Turkish, was born.

It took some foresight to predict that jeans would take off in this mainly Muslim, albeit secular, country. Like Coke and rock 'n' roll, jeans arrived with American G.I.s in the '50s. They became a leftist uniform in the '70s, but it wasn't until the '80s with the advent of liberal leader — and fan of all things American — Turgut Ozal that they gained mass acceptance. A largely youthful population — some 55% of Turks are under the age of 25 — fueled the rise of Mavi, and by 1996 it had overtaken Levi's as the country's No. 1-selling jeans brand. That same year, Akarlilar invested $20 million to set up Europe's largest integrated fashion jeans factory in Cerkezkoy, a tiny hamlet in rural western Turkey, 120 km from Istanbul. More than 1,500 people work here at the company's mammoth factory in the middle of rolling farmland, churning out up to 11 million pairs of jeans a year, more than half of which are for well-known brands like Calvin Klein, Guess, Esprit and Mustang, and the rest for Mavi.

State-of-the-art production facilities at Cerkezkoy gave Mavi the edge they needed. Unlike other global brands which outsource to many different manufacturers, controlling its own flexible, high-tech production plant means Mavi can afford to tweak each pair of jeans to accommodate different tastes in different countries. Turks are shorter than North Americans, Canadians prefer slimmer cuts, and Germans are fastidiously fashion-conscious. "We don't try to push the same product to different markets," says Ersin Akarlilar, Sait's U.S.-educated son who runs American operations. "That makes it harder on production, but it has helped us a lot in expanding abroad." That difference spawned a slogan: "Mavi Fits."

Mavi now faces a big test as its first generation of aficionados enters their mid-20s. "You don't want to age with your customers," says Akarlilar Jr. "That's one of the worst things you can do, especially with jeans. It's always an issue for us." To avoid that, the company nurtures a young, multicultural design team, mostly in their 20s. Travel is crucial; Akarlilar says he spends about two-thirds of his time on the road, roaming the globe for new ideas. A visit by Akarlilar's sister Elif to Rio inspired her to introduce a Latin edge to the collection.

It's ironic that Turkey's first successful overseas retail brand should be jeans. But Akarlilar Sr. takes pride in having elevated so Western an item to international heights. "I firmly believe that Turkey's future lies with the West," he says in his modest Istanbul offices. Behind him hangs a framed picture of a giant Mavi billboard in Times Square. "We have nothing to do with Eastern culture." His son is more circumspect, but just as upbeat. "There is a lot of push and pull in Turkey being Muslim and yet Western, but Turkey is trying to connect with the West," he says. And connect they will. Following the New York store, Australia and Scandinavia are in the pipeline. Yes, the Turks are coming, one pair of jeans at a time.

• PELIN TURGUT | Istanbul
• Mavi jeans are a Turkish delight