Ask the Experts: What Was Denim’s Greatest Moment in 2018?

Ask the Experts: What Was Denim’s Greatest Moment in 2018?

A lot happened in the denim industry in 2018 and we’re expecting more exciting things ahead in 2019.

So many great moments happened in the denim space this year—from innovations to sustainable initiatives and new technologies that advance the world’s favorite fabric.

With all of that considered, we had to ask: What was denim’s greatest moment in 2018?

Carved in Blue rounded up 12 leaders in the blue world  to get their thoughts on this pressing question.

Carved in Blue: What was denim’s greatest moment in 2018?

“I wouldn’t call it a moment, but I definitely saw the denim industry begin to focus much more clearly on sustainability in 2018 – and that, for me, is a big deal. Significant areas of the supply chain seem to be moving in the right direction in terms of preserving resources, reducing their environmental impact and investing in innovation.”

—Vivian Wang, Kingpins

“For me, the Levi’s announcement of its FLX project has been the starting signal to the new jeans industry paradigm. The design process digitalization, from the fabric, and weaving (Light Sensitive Fabric Protocol) to the final wash path optimization (under efficiency & ecological parameters). After that announcement, many other brands and companies have speeded up the adoption of such digital and efficient approach.”

—Alex Penades, Jeanologia

“I would say overall the banding together of the global denim Industry to commit to sustainability and transparency from the farm to the end consumers and everything in between. There seems to be a general cooperation between fiber companies, mills, finishing technology companies, designers, and denim brands to work to help clean up the denim process. I think the ‘inclusive sizing’ movement in denim and non-gender specific unisex jeans were also major steps going forward into 2019. And finally, the whole upcycling movement had grown from ‘crafting’ arena into full-fledged brands. I think the best trends and creativity came from the upcycling segment of the denim market in my opinion. On a personal level, the formation of local non-industry events where we gather the ‘indigo tribe’ socially for the love of denim has been amazing way for me as a designer to really understand 1st hand from the real McCoy, what consumers really feel about denim product.”

—Christine Rucci, Godmother of Denim

“My personal greatest denim moment in 2018 was when my five-year-old daughter Leni told me: ‘Daddy, I would rather wear a jeans today!’”

—Dirk Lehmann, Sportswear International

“I must say that the event that has most impressed me was the Ever Evolving Talks by Calik Denim in Amsterdam last October. Surely it was not just denim-oriented, but having different points of view that open new horizons is inestimable.”

—Lucia Rosin, Meidea

“There were so many great denim moments in 2018 that it’s hard to pinpoint any one huge event.  But there were lots of small ones that cumulatively signaled a great year toward progress in conscience denim. One that springs to mind is the Everlane NYC store opening to long lines of consumers waiting to get in.  I think it signals two important indicators for the market:  sustainable fashion is possible at reasonable prices & the consumer is hungry for it.”

—Michelle Branch, Markt & Twigs

“Many things happened in the World of Denim in 2018, but if choosing one of general character, it would be the high participation at the different denim shows and conferences throughout the year, particularly in its second half. There you could perceive that real denim brands, denim producers and technological partners are aligning their interests for real innovative (with inbuilt sustainability) denim.

—Miguel Sánchez, Gavilanad

“I think it was seeing two close friends release ground breaking denim books–Amy Leverton with her second book in her “Dudes” series–Denim Dudettes–all women’s focused–it was simply masterful how she has created these books and worked with so many great photographers and picked such a special cast of great women in denim. Second was Graphics/branding specialist Nick Williams, with his Denim Branded book. This book is the first of its kind, covering the three giants of denim, but also diving deep into every aspect of denim branding, much more than buttons and rivets, but also covering leather patches and paper joker tickets, labels and everything else in between.”

—Mohsin Sajid, Endrime

“Seeing the growing commitment from brands to source higher volumes of “more sustainable” cotton is very exciting. As the key raw material input for denim, there is a lot of attention being placed on impacts of cotton at the origin. More collaboration than ever is happening with the 2018 launch of platforms like www.CottonUpGuide.org and the brand commitments like outlined in the attached.”

—Daren Abney, Better Cotton Initiative

“The response of more fiber suppliers, mills, brands, chain stores to the call for more sustainable practices on denim production.”

—Panos Sofanios, Munich Fabric Start

“Proenza Schouler’s ‘Made in US’ collection was a happy surprise. It was exciting to see designers that typically work with haute couture trims and fantastical silhouettes apply their sharp eye for details and tailoring to denim, and to work with the fabric in ways traditional denim designers don’t. Meanwhile, the collection was still on-trend, referencing some of the acid wash, tie-dye and western themes trending for 2019 denim.”

—Angela Velasquez, managing editor, Rivet

“I feel like the greatest moment or the greatest statement for denim this year is what felt like a wakeup call to ‘innovation with sustainability.’ It seems like the entire industry finally decided to make sustainability a part of their culture taking this mindset into our development approach rather than just a segment of what they do.”

—Brad Mowry, Artisan Cloth

This is part one of a three part series for Ask the Expert 2018 – watch for more stories.