Cone highlights new full-service capabilities with fresh looks for spring
US mill Cone Denim’s spring-summer 27 collection presented at Kingpins Amsterdam included an airy double-weave and a Lycra Adaptiv-containing stretch denim as it explained how its recent acquisition by Pakistan-headquartered Artistic Milliners will give customers access to extended expertise and services.
The Easy Vintage collection includes fabrics with slub characteristics, created in a contemporary way, with blends of Tencel for added comfort, Cone design director Pierette Scavuzzo tells us.
She said: “One of our biggest requests is for very vintage-looking fabrics, but they need to be soft and comfortable and lighter weight, to fit in many silhouettes. We’ve been working with our team of engineers to produce a fabric that does all of those things. Character is not going away, but it needs to be comfortable.”
The Lofty Edit introduces a luxurious assortment of ecru fabrics that allows brands to do apparel with colour, in a more dimensional way, she adds. A double-weave fabric that’s airy and gauzy was described as a “top pick” at the show.
On the stretch side, a fabric blended with Lycra Adaptiv, Lycra Coolmax and Tencel was also popular, offering ease of movement and comfort against the skin. “The important thing is it looks like denim: it has slub characters, as well as highs and lows,” she explains. “Sometimes in the higher-stretch ranges, you can get flat looks, but everything we do has to be rooted in denim and character.”
Cone has been working with Artistic Milliners-owned Star Fades International, a Los Angeles-based laundry, for several years, but now the acquisition will enable them to work more closely, added Ms Scavuzzo. Artistic Milliners also owns a garment facility in Parras, Mexico, where Cone also operates a mill.
“Now, we have a laundry in the US and a full package out of Mexico, so from a development standpoint, I can see my fabrics through the laundry, and from a customer standpoint, we can collaborate with them in one place – from fabric to finished garment,” adds Ms Scavuzzo. “Our expertise across the group is complementary and it’s an exciting development.”
