Mills Update: Japanese Makers on Raw Materials and Denim Developments
In a time of trade volatility, brands are shifting their sourcing strategies to guard against tariffs. Denim manufacturers are soldiering on, leaning on innovation and their internal capabilities to drive business while also keeping a watchful eye on the situation.
Ahead of Kingpins Show Amsterdam, which happened last week, Carved in Blue caught up with denim mills to discuss the sourcing landscape, their latest launches and where denim trends are headed for Fall/Winter 2026. For the first time, Kingpins had a section of the show floor dedicated to Japanese makers, including mills and manufacturers.
“Japanese denim has been central to Kingpins since our very first show,” said Kingpins CEO Vivian Wang. “We appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of Japanese denim fabric and jeans makers and created a special section within the Kingpins show to highlight the work of a curated selection of companies.”
Here, executives from Rainbow Textiles and Shinohara Textile Co. discuss the sourcing landscape and how they are using TENCEL™ fibers.
RAINBOW TEXTILES, INC.
Kohei Takakubo, managing executive officer
Carved in Blue: Tariffs are top of mind right now for the industry. How are trade policies impacting your business—particularly in the U.S.?
Kohei: [It’s leading to] consideration of change of purchased raw materials by country of production, change of country of production and adjustment of blending ratio, etc.
Carved in Blue: What do you expect consumers will be looking for in Fall/Winter 2026? How are you developing denim to meet their expected wants?
Kohei: [We’re developing] easy care/function and synthetic denim to meet consumer demand.
Carved in Blue: What collections are you debuting at Kingpins Amsterdam this week? Do any of your textiles incorporate TENCEL™ Lyocell and/or Modal?
Kohei: We showed TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo Color technology and cotton jaspe denim.
SHINOHARA TEXTILE CO., LTD.
Yuuki Shinohara, president and CEO
Carved in Blue: Tariffs are top of mind right now for the industry. How are trade policies impacting your business—particularly in the U.S.?
Yuuki: We believe that the impact of the U.S. policy and the retaliatory policies of other countries will be felt not a little in the form of lower sales volume due to higher production costs and selling prices.
However, even before we were affected, we have always been conscious of differentiating our products from those of other countries and creating standards that people want to use even if they are expensive, so there will be no change in what we do.
In fact, we feel that this could be an opportunity for us, as we believe that when the cost of various items becomes high, apparel makers will be willing to make products that can be sold even.
Carved in Blue: What do you expect consumers will be looking for in Fall/Winter 2026? How are you developing denim to meet their expected wants?
Yuuki: We are conscious of materials that are easy to understand in terms of quality even if they are expensive.
Carved in Blue: What collections are you debuting at Kingpins Amsterdam this week? Do any of your textiles incorporate TENCEL™ Lyocell and/or Modal?
Yuuki: We exhibited a 100 percent TENCEL™ Lyocell denim with a special texture using Super Zero.