Kingpins kicks off in style in Amsterdam
24/04/2024
It was a busy day of meetings and networking as brands and retailers met mills, manufacturers, fibres and chemicals suppliers and the wider industry. Despite talks of struggling retail sales for some, there was no shortage of innovation and optimism.
At the Future Fits Forum, Scotch & Soda’s Imogen Nulty-Verstraeten, consultant Lucia Rosin and designers Danielle Elsener and Floyd Rorije presented results of a project to turn two pairs of Levi’s into an article that reflected where designs might head. The panel discussed with Michelle Branch from Markt & Twigs how fabrics and societal influences affect new fits, with a general view that extreme wide styles will continue and skinny jeans will be making a comeback (see Inside Denim’s Guest Comment, Malin Ekengren, and our Roundtable on stretch).
On this topic, stretch fibre makers Lycra and Hyosung presented new developments: Hyosung with expanded bio-derived offerings, and Lycra with its innovative Fitsense – “invisible targeted shaping”. This development - which it has been working with mills including Soorty, Calik and Advance on for 18 months – will let brands “choose” where they add extra support or lifting effects in finished jeans by using a targeted heat activation on the fabric at the laundry stage (see separate story).
Exciting news from France’s Marmara Hemp as results of its Cradle to Cradle certification came through, achieving a rare Platinum level rating.
Amy Leverton from Denim Dudes presented important trends for autumn-winter 25-26, while Doug Gunn from The Vintage Showroom highlighted how movements centred around London’s Portobello Road in the 1960s influence today’s, and tomorrow’s, designs. As with previous Kingpins’ shows, he curated looks from the TVS collection that demonstrate how history informs the future (see Inside Denim, Clocking On).
Consultancy Endrime, led by Mohsin Sajid and Sadia Rafique, launched a new book: a tome containing more than 3,000 vintage denim items, chronicling the articles for posterity as well as for designers and students to use as inspiration for future designs, the first of a series of publications.
Salli Deighton and Kelly Farewell from LaundRE presented updates to the UK-based upcycling and finishing project, showcasing jeans that had been destined for landfill but given a new lease of life through a partnership with Jeanologia, as well as updates on its mission to create a hub that will re-wash or finish overstock from UK brands, enabling stockpiled items to go back into retail.
Zennure Danisman, Stefano Aldighieri, Jordan Groskamp and Alljan Moehamad brought their ‘key pieces’ to the show, sharing with Kingpins’ Vivian Wang why they hold special relevance to them.
An Arvind-sponsored artwork, ‘Birds of a Feather Flock Together’ by Indian artist Amit Ambalal, was on display at the entrance to the show, travelling to the Netherlands from the Indigo Art Museum in Ahmedabad. The Arvind Foundation is among several stakeholders that seek to preserve the area’s historical ties with natural indigo cultivation, promote indigo as a medium for artists, and support local Indigofera tinctoria farmers.
Also at the show, Bluesign launched a series of talks to promote the expansion of its Bluesign Denim initiative, with an aim to create a certified end-to-end product, from the chemicals to the finished garment. Part of this will include certifying fabric mills and laundries, and ultimately garments for the brands, with exciting partnerships set to be announced by this autumn.
Inside Denim will be covering these stories from Kingpins, as well as many others, in greater depth over the coming days.
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