Odes to workwear and versatility as Cone builds solar capability
US-headquartered denim producer Cone Denim showed a softer side of its fabrics for spring-summer 26, with strong nods to workwear and drapey constructions but not straying too far from the authentic-looking denims it is renowned for.
The collection includes 100% cotton, engineered to be soft but still looking heavy; striped fabrics that are anticipated to be prevalent in stores from next year; as well as its classic-looking selvedges.
Blake Gaines, product design manager at Cone, said: “Cone Icons are constructions that were popular in 1970s and 80s: 15oz denim, authentic slubs, cross-hatch. High-end brands are adopting heavyweight fabrics now but we can still make lighter-weight fabrics that have the DNA of Cone, with odes to workwear and Western wear. We’ve also created a nylon warp which works for workwear or fashion, with high durability.”
The mill supplied the fabric for One Denim – a Kingpins initiative with designer Piero Turk and technology producer Tonello – that shows how one fabric can be used for multiple styles; a theme in the collection. “These fabrics can go into multiple silhouettes or genders, so it helps brands use one fabric for various SKUs to reduce consumption,” added Mr Gaines. “You can leverage it in so many ways – jackets, wide legs, skinnies – one fabric can create multiple looks.”
At Kingpins Amsterdam in October, the mill also highlighted its Cone Community fabric made in collaboration with COLOURizd (which directly infuses pigments and a binder into the yarn, eliminating the need for traditional dye bath), fabrics containing Circulose and a range coloured with natural dyes.
The mill has multiple stock fabrics, particularly at its Chinese mill, which means customers can be assured popular styles will remain available, with lower minimum order quantities.
Cone has recently installed its first rooftop solar project at the Jiaxing mill. The initiative will generate 9 MWH of electricity annually, reducing the plant’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around 17%, which will help the company towards its target of a 46% reduction in Scope 1, 2, 3, and GHG emissions by 2030. It also has an ambition to attain 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
Cone Denim’s vice-president of manufacturing, Brad Johnson, said: “The installation, alongside our other efforts like Zero Liquid Discharge at our plant in Parras, Mexico, proves our efforts to maintain our reputation as a sustainable supplier committed to trust, traceability and transparency.”
Launched 130 years ago, Cone Denim operates as part of Elevate Textiles, with manufacturing in Mexico and China and a network of sales, product and merchandising professionals in Greensboro, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
Image: Brad Johnson and members of the Cone Denim Jiaxing team. Credit: Cone Denim
