Collaborations and Creativity Were on Display at Kingpins Show New York
Although the weather was freezing in New York last week, it didn’t put a damper on attendees’ moods at Kingpins Show. From Jan. 22-23, global mills and buyers gathered in Basketball City at Pier 36 for two days of networking, new collection presentations and education.
Kingpins Show was a great opportunity for the TENCEL™ denim team to showcase our latest collaborations in the States. This included two different collections in partnership with ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei.
For the SAISEI Collection, we worked with Kaihara Denim for high-end stretch denim. The line features circular LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers with REFIBRA™ technology and Roica™ EF yarn, allowing for less resource consumption with the recycled material concepts.
Working with Advance Denim, we developed The LoopTy Collection, which combined Roica™V550 with Lenzing’s low-impact, biodegradable TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers. The LoopTy lifestyle capsule includes a range of fabric weights for both tops and bottoms. Among the garments created as showcase pieces are gender-neutral and one-size-fits-all styles.
We also showcased another creative line, The Fancy Collection, at the TENCEL™ booth. For this concept, we worked with the industry to go beyond the typical denim constructions. Denim is not limited to three-by-one or two-by-one weaving techniques, and companies can innovate with different structures and applications to bring inspiration to the industry.
Outside of our own booth, we enjoyed seeing how our mill partners were using TENCEL™ in their collections. This included the use of fiber technologies such as matte TENCEL™ for authentic, dryer looks.
Denim is a canvas for creation, and there was plenty of creativity on display at the show. Tonello presented “Denim Renaissance,” recreating classical art on denim using wash techniques. Similarly focused on artful denim, Juan Carlos Gordillo teamed with Cone Denim and Jeanologia for Ethica, which featured handpainted garments.
Within The Boxes showcase area, Lil Denim Jean curated the Lil Denim Show, which this time featured a creation from Israel Yanir. The Vintage Showroom was also back with some key archival pieces. US Denim Mills brought the giant jeans from its Roots collection to stage a photo booth.
At the show, we were able to reconnect with our fellow denim industry partners and friends to research, discuss tactics and make decisions on how we can collaborate to bring our respective sustainable ideas to life and create a better future. The show also served as a valuable touchpoint and gathering for the denim community, allowing global partners to engage with mostly U.S.-based brands.
We’re looking forward to meeting our denim friends again at Kingpins Show in Amsterdam this April, when we will have new collaborative collections to share!
