Catch Up with the Best of Carved in Blue in 2025
Carved in Blue is all about telling denim and textile stories, whether it is through our blog, podcast conversations or social media. Over the course of a year, we publish a lot of these posts, so as the year wraps, we’re taking a moment to reflect on some of the cream of the crop.
Read on for the top podcast episodes, blog posts and Instagram posts of 2025.
Blue Cast Episodes
Four years in, our Blue Cast podcast this year brought on guests from all corners of the denim industry and beyond. Here are the most listened to episodes of 2025.
511: LaundRe’s Salli Deighton
Salli Deighton’s roughly 35-year career in denim has taken a number of turns, from brand-side designing and development for labels like Wrangler and Lee to consulting for retailers like Tesco, Asos and Marks & Spencer. Her latest chapter is LaundRe, a venture that is bringing denim finishing back to the U.K.
LaundRe’s onshore positioning fulfills the need for quicker turn, more responsive production. This not only allows for flexibility in initial production runs, but also lets companies refinish or tweak items that might not be selling as successfully. For instance, merchandise could be rewashed to a different denim shade or turned into shorts or cropped styles.
518: Newtimes Group’s Alex Angelchik
Between tariffs, geopolitical tension, transportation upheaval and other disruptions, fashion companies are navigating a dynamic, consistently changing environment. As group managing director at Hong Kong-based sourcing firm Newtimes Group, Alex Angelchik has a front-row seat to how brands are strategizing and pivoting in this moment.
As Alex explained to Lenzing’s Tuncay Kilickan on this episode of our Blue Cast podcast, even before the tariffs hit earlier this year, Newtimes Group and many of its customers had already diversified manufacturing away from China due to the geopolitical tension between the production powerhouse and both the U.S. and Europe. Among the destinations that received some of these volumes were Bangladesh, India, Jordan and Egypt.
515: Gozen’s Dr. Sedef Uncu Aki
Usually when new material innovations are introduced, they are touted as a substitute for a conventional material—for instance, a faux leather. But rather than being a replacement for traditional textile fibers, Gozen’s Lunaform is going a step further with the goal of building a “new material reality,” explained the startup’s CEO Dr. Sedef Uncu Aki on an episode of our Blue Cast podcast.
At the helm of the quickly scaling startup is Sedef, who joined as chief product officer in 2024 and took on the CEO role in May. She came to Gozen with about a quarter century’s worth of experience in textiles, including stints at Turkish denim mills Bossa and Orta.
514: Andrew Olah
Within the denim business, Kingpins founder Andrew Olah is something of an industry celebrity. His origin story began in the 1970s, as he joined and then took over his family’s textile agency business in Canada, following in his father’s footsteps. A few years after relocating the company to New York in 1998, he launched Kingpins as a party to meet more customers, and by 2008 it had blossomed into a commercial event. The rest is history, and today Kingpins spans shows in New York, Amsterdam, China and Hong Kong.
After passing the CEO torch at Kingpins to Vivian Wang earlier this year, Andrew has entered a new era of his career. As he explained to Lenzing’s Tuncay Kilickan in this episode of our Blue Cast podcast, his goal is to put commercial pursuits aside and focus on nonprofit work. Two of these nonprofit endeavors are Transformers Foundation—founded in 2020—and the Ethical Denim Council—launched in 2022.
519: Neil Bell
Neil Bell’s resume reads like a laundry list of the biggest names in the business: Wrangler, Levi Strauss & Co., Gap, Arvind, Artistic Milliners and more. The throughline of these stints was the textile engineer’s work to help establish innovation hubs and rethink processes ranging from stonewashing to dyeing.
After striking out on his own, Neil has continued to focus on innovation. His work today revolves around taking material developments to the market and scaling them by connecting each link in the supply chain.
Carved in Blue Articles
Where to Find TENCEL™ Denim Pieces
The materials in denim fabrics make all the difference in how a pair of jeans feels and wears. TENCEL™ Lyocell gives jeans breathability and a super soft hand feel, while keeping the authentic denim look and feel.
Lenzing’s denim team has compiled some TENCEL™ denim pieces from major brands and retailers for both women and men. If you are due for a denim refresh in the new year, check out the styles below.
Egyptian Denim Manufacturers on the African Nation’s Attraction
In recent years, Egypt has become a key center for denim production, and it has attracted investment from manufacturers based in other countries.
A number of Türkiye-based manufacturers have made moves to the North African country just across the Mediterranean Sea. In 2011, Taypa opened the T&C Apparel and Washing Facility, which today has a workforce of more than 5,000 and an annual capacity of 15 million garments. 2011 also saw the opening of DNM Denim in Damietta, Egypt, which was funded by Turkish based Eroğlu Global Holding. DNM creates millions of meters of fabric with sustainability as a North Star.
Industry Experts Weigh in on Winning Water-Saving Solutions
Water is one of the most precious natural resources, but the industry hasn’t always treated it kindly. Following wakeup calls about the waste and scarcity that stem from water-intensive processes, denim makers are developing methods that reduce their water impact.
Carved in Blue asked industry insiders to share what technologies they feel have been most impactful. Read part one of this series—featuring executives from Artistic Milliners, Hameem Denim and WIC MIC Group—below for insights on what is driving progress.
Adriano Goldschmied and Giovanni Petrin on ‘Innovative Entrepreneur’ Luigi Martelli’s Legacy
Luigi Martelli, the founder of finishing firm Gruppo Martelli, died on Jan. 4 at the age of 84.
Specializing in washing, dyeing and finishing, Gruppo Martelli worked with brands like G-Star, Nudie Jeans, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. Luigi was an early adopter of sustainable technologies such as laser and ozone finishing solutions from Jeanologia and Tonello. In 2016, Martelli was acquired by Elleti Group, and the Martelli team’s collection of vintage garments are part of the museum archive opened and operated by Elleti, according to the Spin Off.
Juan Carlos Gordillo Creates Painterly Collection with Cone Denim and Jeanologia
Guatemalan-based designer Juan Carlos Gordillo is known for his upcycled denim creations, but his latest collaboration sees him putting an artful spin on fabrics from Cone Denim.
For this project, dubbed Ethica, Juan Carlos hand painted fabrics with abstract images of florals and butterflies, making one-of-a-kind pieces. For an added personal touch, the designer sewed the garments by hand.
Instagram Posts
Thank you to everyone who listened, read and followed. We’ll be back in 2026 with more to discover!