Naveena Lahore Talks About the Three Things That Set Pakistan’s Denim Apart
Pakistan has continued to position itself as a leader in denim, and Naveena Lahore has been one of the mills solidifying the country’s position in denim creation.
Whether it’s because of available raw materials, attention to quality at its mills or its more competitive prices, Pakistan is onto something when it comes to denim.
Carved in Blue chatted with Naveena Lahore executive director Rashid Iqbal to find out why Pakistan has been a major mover in denim, what’s next for sustainability, and why cost has taken some of the soul out of denim.
Carved in Blue: Can you tell us a little about what sets Naveena Lahore apart from other denim mills?
Rashid: Naveena Lahore has a unique and real commitment to consistent quality above all else, while at the same time showcasing the right development at the right time to meet the trend needs of the demanding brand market. Being one of very few partner suppliers to Levi’s puts us in a privileged position. We value and take very seriously our roles of being both a leader in trend as well as supplier of quality.
Carved in Blue: Why is denim made in Pakistan different from what other countries offer?
Rashid: Pakistan denim is not so much “different” but the combination of its mills, superior cotton and location in the global supply chain makes it unique in the denim world. As a country Pakistan is unique in being able to offer not only the best cotton but it also boasts some of the best denim mills in the world. Best at both innovation and quality at competitive prices. Pakistan is also the best place to supply this quality volume to the cutters of choice in close countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Egypt and onwards to their customer brands in Europe and the USA.
Carved in Blue: What are the trends you see shaping up in denim?
Rashid: While vintage in all its forms is a trend which is always there in some form, what we are seeing now is a “vintage plus.” That is vintage with softness, with performance fibers, with attitude fit for 21st century purpose. Performance in denim is also now demanded due to the multifaceted lifestyles of our consumers. Performance in super high stretch and 4-way stretch, performance in function such as moisture management and temperature control are to name two performance attributes boasting our denims. One important trend to watch is lighter and more fluid denim which plays to the fashion denim user for shirts, dresses and voluminous shapes. Adding TENCEL™ branded lyocell fibers to lighter denims achieves such fluidity unachievable with any other fiber.
Carved in Blue: What new projects is Naveena Lahore working on for denim?
Rashid: Super softness in all weights of denim with our spiral soft technology is something that NDL has achieved, we are now working on phase 2 which is a double softness—double S soft—to all fabrics. As well as perfecting our 4-way stretch, we are working on putting more vintage character into our super memory gene products. All of these development projects are achieved using our sustainability processes plus post-consumer and post-industrial recycled fibers.
Carved in Blue: How important is sustainability to the company and what are you doing to achieve it?
Rashid: Sustainability is hugely important to NDL. We follow industry best practices at all stages of production, namely water saving and recycling, chemical use minimization, G2 Dynamic fabric finishing which saves water, reduces chemical use and saves power. We also use 100 percent BCI cotton and post-industrial TENCEL™ xREFIBRA™ branded lyocell fibers in our denims. These are just a part of a growing investment in sustainability that the company is pursuing.
Carved in Blue: How have you incorporated TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers into your products, and what made you decide to use it?
Rashid: We use TENCEL™ Lyocell in a number of our products to achieve softness and fluidity in stretch denims. This creates a unique look and handfeel. TENCEL™ Lyocell being also “green” fibers fit with NDL’s drive to use as much sustainable fiber as possible.
Carved in Blue: What do you think denim is missing today?
Rashid: Being within the industry we see everything and therefore believe that nothing is “missing” but what ends up in the market is driven by price so there is a great deal of the original denim soul missing to the consumer. If the consumer could have access to more authentic denim with comfort stretch, vintage detail such as selvedge, in dark indigo shade and super fit it would spark a new interest in the real denim rather than the simple stretch fabrics in blue that proliferate the market today.
Carved in Blue: Where do you look for denim inspiration?
Rashid: We still trawl the vintage warehouses but this is becoming a less exciting adventure. Denim is fiber driven, so new fiber and chemical developments are obviously an inspiration. We have spent many years looking back at trends from Japan and the old USA but now we must look forwards, joining hands with suppliers and customers to forge new and revolutionary trends which will shape our industry and make it fit for a greener and fitter future.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Rashid: Obviously anything and everything created with love and pride in indigo, but more specifically your blog has captured the imagination of the industry and has put Lenzing in a place of real influencer both in terms of fiber and philosophy.