Circulose
TRADE SHOW REPORT
New Initiatives at Kingpins NY Include the Jeanius Hub and Made in Japan
The love of denim fabric, jeans and a passion for how denim is made was celebrated at the invitation-only Kingpins show held July 23–24 at Pier 36 / Basketball City in New York.
Roughly 80 premier high-end denim companies showcased their products and services to nearly 700 attendees including representatives of Levi’s, Gap, Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, R13, Kulson, Who Decides War and Telfar.
“We look for innovation, and we like the direction of denim going more sustainable to conserve the environment,” said Claudia Rico, senior designer, product developer, Chef Works in San Diego, a leading manufacturer of chef wear. “Chefs are artists and want to be unique and wear garments that make them feel good, comfortable and trendy.”
Jeanius Hub
Kingpins launched the Jeanius Hub to highlight next-gen, cutting-edge companies.
Circulose created a textile-to-textile recycling innovation. “This is the best spot to be for designers, brands and the value chain to find our patented technology,” said Amber Harkonen, circular business manager North America. “It’s able to take cotton textile waste at the post-industrial level and turn it into a white pulp that can then be extracted as virgin-quality viscose fiber.”
“If you want radical results, you need radical innovation,” said Jennifer Thompson, co-founder and CEO of COLOURizd, based in North Carolina and Hong Kong. It’s a radically sustainable commercial technology for coloring cellulosic and synthetic yarn with zero wastewater discharge.
The future of denim is digital, according to J.P. Samedi, vice president, operations, at LAB Denim Los Angeles, a Switzerland-based technology that injects dye into denim to create any type of design 100 percent water free and with a negative carbon footprint. “If you can think it, we can do it. We can re-create any vintage standard in any fit and any wash. You can make your notes on a computer one day and reprint it the next day and approve your samples by end of the week so you can catch the trends as they’re happening,” noted Samedi.
Egypt-based fabric producer DNM displayed seasonal concepts moving away from wool and acrylic with new yarn technology and weave types in herringbone and striped denim with elegant, softer looks in beige, gray and other colors.
Collection maker Cotton Fabric from Istanbul featured multiple concepts with different textures and looks. Its denim skirt/jacket combo uses multiple applications including sulfur dyeing, foil coating and washing to give it a metallic look with rich texture.
Made in Japan
Kingpins introduced a new and well-received area devoted to Japanese mills and manufacturers. “When I first had the idea for Made in Japan, I traveled around the country meeting with Japanese mills to see the thought and care they put into their products,” said Vivian Wang, CEO of Kingpins. “I also spoke to them about their approach to denim and sustainability and how to share those stories with the Kingpins community.”
