Blue Lenz Video Awards: Announcing the 2022 Winners
Video content can serve a number of purposes: it can inspire, educate, entertain and more. The TENCEL™ denim team has always been interested to see what the brands, mills and influencers in our industry come up with, leveraging creativity, storytelling capabilities and denim knowledge.
Two years ago, we launched our Blue Lenz YouTube channel with the aim to capture and curate all the latest original video content cover stories, education, sustainability initiatives, fabric innovations and trends from the denim community. Through industry submissions, the channel’s library has since grown to more than 430 videos, and it counts upwards of 1,000 followers.
For those of us who grew up in the era of MTV, we recall the launch of music videos. It was at that time that music and videos came to life and that eventually led on to the birth of the MTV Music Video Awards in 1984. We asked ourselves “Why can’t the denim industry have the same?”
In 2021, we embraced this opportunity by establishing the Blue Lenz Video Awards, an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in the denim industry. In an effort to highlight and champion the best in our industry, as well as to credit people and teams behind each of the denim videos, we nominated videos in six categories. And we enlisted a group of esteemed judges from around the world to debate and deliberate the winners. The judging panel was: Margherite Verlicchi of Menabo, Michelle Branch from Markt & Twigs, Wouter Munnichs of Long John Denim, Panos Sofianos from Bluezone, and denim expert Kara Nicholas.
To honor and announce the winners, we held our second annual award ceremony on Aug. 31 at Bluezone, the Munich Fabric Start international trade show for denim, street and sportswear. Read on to see who won.
As a category of textiles that boasts some of the deepest roots and richest of histories, denim has been an influential component of popular culture and fashion for centuries. Denim is ubiquitous. Denim has impacted music, art, politics, culture—and that is what we hope is reflected in the content of the Blue Lenz Denim Video Awards.
Best Educational Video/Series
We realize the only way to bring change is to educate, including education of the next generation of denim designers and executives.
Winner: Transformers ED Series by Transformers Foundation
2nd place: Kingston University MA Fashion – Denim Project
3rd place: Ever Evolving Talks by Calik Denim
Best Denim Design/Collection
While we will also love our five-pocket jeans, the evolution of design and mix with technology is key to evolving the industry.
Winner: ORTA – Blueskyer NFT
2nd place: WASSSH! Spain is Different by Jose Medina
3rd place: Naveena Denim Mills x Endrime x Officina+39 Future Cellulosic Collection
Best Sustainability – Connection to the UN SDGs
Lowering our footprint and incorporating the social and environmental United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals is our collaborative goal.
Winner: Raymond UCO – A Day in the Life
2nd place: Blackhorse Lane Ateliers – “Community Membership” April 2022
3rd place tie: Celebrating Women at AGI – Women’s Day
3rd place tie: Collaboration with the Textile Institute of Pakistan
Future Forward
There are those who have the ideas and determination to keep pushing the denim industry to the next level.
Roots in Looms – Artistic Milliners – World Circular Textiles Day
2nd place: ORTA – Always Take the Scenic Route
3rd place: Advance Denim – Jeans Redesign
Honorable Mention
Sometimes a video is so good that we just don’t know what category to put it. This year’s winner represents authenticity and community.
Winner: Naveena Denim Ltd. (NDL) X Salli Considered Fibre to Finish
Best Overall Video
When creative forces collide—the right product, people, producer, models, hair, makeup, location, you name it—that’s what we can’t always plan for, but it happens.
Winner: CBL X Miles Johnson A Lighter Touch
2nd place: Hempy Collection by Bossa
3rd place: Naveena Denim Mills x Endrime x Officina+39 Future Cellulosic Collection