Innovation and Sustainability Mingle at Munich Fabric Start
Global denim mills converged in Munich last week for Bluezone and Keyhouse, Munich Fabric Start’s pavilions dedicated to denim and innovation, to showcased their Spring/Summer 2018 collections, new sustainable initiatives and collaborations with technology partners from all areas of the textile world.
With innovation in denim moving at a rapid pace, the trade fairs struck the right chord with German and Northern European attendees hungry for forward-thinking concepts that they can adapt in their own conscious collections.
Lenzing was among the exhibitors to present X Venture Collexion, a new collaboration with Cordura, Artistic Milliners and Schoeller Technologies.
The three-piece collection, designed by outdoor apparel leaders Struktur Studio, featured Cordura denim engineered by Pakistan-based Artistic Milliners. The retro capsule collection—designed to honor Cordura’s 50th anniversary—also incorporated Schoeller’s temperature regulating technologies and Lenzing’s TENCEL® for a soft hand.
Cordura Global Brand and Marketing Director Cindy McNaull, Schoeller COO Hans Kohn, Artistic Milliners Global R&D Manager Neil Bell and Lenzing Project Manager Michael Kininmonth were on hand to fete the collection with cake and to discuss the importance of collaboration.
“To us, the future of innovation is collaboration – whether that’s with a designer or with our community of textile innovators – like Artistic Milliners, TENCEL®, and Schoeller Technologies AG,” said McNaull. “Orchestrating these industry powerhouses together is a gateway to forward-thinking design and the fusion of performance technologies in the apparel of today.”
From last season’s collaborative collection of seamless denim, DEN/IM, to Inca Indigo, a recent project with World Textile Sourcing, Lenzing has partnered with several supply chain partners in recent years. Kininmonth said he believes collaboration is “healthy” as no one company has the solution for such a complex industry. “The question in my mind is how many collaborations are being taken up at retail level, where there seems currently to be very little appetite to take risks”
That collaborative nature was echoed across the show floor. Naveena teamed up with Dyneema to roll out out a complete package of durable denim. Orta partnered with Filatures du Parc for a capsule collection of high-quality and fashionable denim made with post-consumer recycled denim. Calik tapped Thermolite to produce temperature-balancing denim.
Adding a couture-like quality to the show, Global Denim Awards winner ITV Denim displayed its luminescent denim collection design by Dutch designer Anbasja Blanken. The touring collection continues to wow with its decadent fringe, pearls, 3-D floral ornaments and embroidery woven with glowing threads.
Mills also presented new eco processes, proving that there are many ways to define sustainability.
Italian mill Candiani shared how Kitotex, a natural polymer derived by recycling the exoskeleton of shrimp, and a new dyeing technique called Indigo Juice, is leading them to “clean up” conventional denim manufacturing. The mill reported that one pair of jeans made with Kitotex and Indigo Juice requires 75 percent less water than conventional denim fabric and 65 percent fewer chemicals.
Berto presented Sky & Blue, new dyeing processes that require less consumption of H20 and electricity, and less treatments on the garments. The resulting look is denim with a broad spectrum of colors, from light blue to gray/black.
In an effort to reduce water usage in textile processing, the mill presented Dye Art, a process that completely changes the way the Turkey-based mill dyes its fabric. The line offers a vintage look, reminiscent of old Levi’s.