Top 10 Carved in Blue Stories in 2020

Top 10 Carved in Blue Stories in 2020

Looking back on 2020, it was a year filled with disruption. And as we all adjusted to the new normal, Carved in Blue brought together the industry to discuss how they were coping and creatively adapting.

We pulled the data and found the top 10 stories that got the most traction this year. From sustainability to emerging designers, these are the topics that resonated the most with our readers in 2020.

Here’s to more conversations with our community in 2021!

10. SDW Students: Saúl López Gil

For some young designers, there’s no other choice but sustainability. 

Jeanologia and TENCELTM recently worked with university design students for the Sustainable Denim Wardrobe collection and Softwear Project, and Carved in Blue is chatting with some of the students to learn about the sources of their inspiration and how they see today’s modern design world. 

Read more.

9. THROW.NYC Kickstarts Disruptcycling

There’s upcycling and then there’s “disruptcycling,” and one creative designer is tapping the crowds to bring it to the masses.

After turning heads with his #BannersToBags collab with Messe Frankfurt’s Texworld USA—in which discarded trade show banners and signs were turned into fashion totes— Anthony Lilore, founder and chief re-designer at THROW.NYC, has launched a Kickstarter campaign with more bags and more designs.

Read more.

8. Chinese Mills on the Outlook for ‘Made in China’ Denim

China has long been the leading supplier of denim to the United States, but lately this dominance has been challenged.

From January to May 2020, the denim imports from China to the U.S. dropped 67 percent. As a result, Mexico and Bangladesh surged ahead of China in import volume, leaving China in third place.

Even before the impact of the coronavirus, China’s denim imports to the U.S. had been slowing as a result of the trade war between the two nations. With brands seeking to mitigate risk factors including tariff hikes, there has also been a push to diversify the supplier base outside of China. In response, Chinese manufacturers are expanding to locations such as Vietnam to avoid future disruptions.

Read more.

7. Mill Trends: The Latest in Who’s Doing What With TENCEL™

Since we’re all practicing social distancing, we’re bringing the market to you.

Carved in Blue caught up with a series of leading mills to find out what their key message is for this season, and what new styles they have with TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal.

Read more.

6. Mill Trends: The Latest in Who’s Doing What With REFIBRA™ Technology

Since we’re all practicing social distancing, we’re bringing the market to you.

Carved in Blue caught up with a series of leading mills to find out how they’re addressing circularity, and what new styles they’re bringing to market with TENCEL™ Lyocell with REFIBRA™ technology.

Read more.

5. All in the Family: Atelier & Repairs’ and Prps’ Father-Son Duo

Sometimes participating in the family business means forging your own path in the same field.

Both apparel veteran Maurizio Donadi and his son Mattia Donadi were drawn to denim in their formative years for its aesthetic, but neither of them originally expected to go into the industry. 

Read more.

4. What We’re Watching: The Best of Blue Lenz This Month

Blue Lenz is our YouTube channel devoted to denim. Check out the channel for the best denim videos from our Carved in Blue conversations, mill partners and brands.

Catch up with some of our favorite recent videos.

Watch the videos.

3. Combatting Climate Change Starts with Net Zero Carbon

In the effort to fight global warming, cutting carbon should be at the top of the fashion industry’s to-do list.

Going beyond reducing their carbon footprints, many companies have long-term goals of reaching net zero carbon operations. At Lenzing, we are working toward carbon neutrality by 2050. But ahead of that target, we are doing our part with the introduction of carbon-zero TENCEL™ branded fibers.

For this new product within the portfolio of TENCEL™ branded fibers, Lenzing first lowered the carbon footprint by 65 to 80 percent compared to conventional lyocell and modal fibers. What cannot be eliminated is offset to reach net zero.

Read more.

2. Hardwear Highlight: Ladies Workwear Pant

With tradeshows on hold, Carved in Blue is putting its capsule collection out one digital post at a time.

This week, we’re highlighting the Carved in Blue® Ladies workwear pant.

Jeans are much more than just jeans – they’re the one piece of clothing that really represents the cultural, economic and technological change that has taken place in the past hundred years; from the original Levi’s overalls designed for miners in the 1870s. The increasing amount of fits, washes and styles on offer today are just limitless.

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1. Mill Trends: The Latest in Who’s Doing What to Achieve Circularity

Since we’re all practicing social distancing, we’re bringing the market to you.

Carved in Blue caught up with a series of leading mills to find out how they are addressing circularity, and what new styles they have that use TENCEL™ Lyocell with REFIBRA™ technology.

Read more.