What We Saw at Bluezone and Kingpins New York
Last week, the TENCEL™ Denim team was in New York and Munich for two major denim shows.
Bluezone, part of Munich Fabric Start, kicked off on Jan. 23. The two-day show featured exhibitors from Italy, Spain, Türkiye, China, Pakistan, Eygpt and more. A total 11,000 attendees gathered, creating a busier show than previous years. Most came from Germany, Eastern Europe, Italy, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Benelux, but there were also attendees from the United States and South America.
Throughout the event, there were panel discussions and presentations on trends, emerging consumers, recycling and sustainability. Orta and Long John recounted their project to make the most sustainable pair of jeans, and speakers from Isko and Jeanologia talked about repurposing and saving denim from landfills. A panel on the “Denim Deal 2.0” discussed the scope and milestones of the deal, as well as what is next.
There were also multiple screenings of the “Denim Hunter” documentary about Viktor Fredbäck’s quest to find vintage jeans in the United States. Viktor and the film’s director Emilio Di Stefano held Q&A sessions after each showing of the film.
Alongside Bluezone is Keyhouse, which focuses on innovations and sustainability. Sessions covered buzzy topics like artificial intelligence, product development technology, circularity and material developments.
A Denim Hall of Fame exhibition showcased personal denim pieces from industry personalities including Diesel’s Renzo Rosso, “Godfather of Denim” Adriano Goldschmied, former G-Star exec and founder and CEO of Cocircular Lab Adriana Galijasevic, consultant Piero Turk and Denham founder Jason Denham.
We were thrilled to see how mills including Orta, Panther, Kipaş, İskur, Çalık, Advance Denim, Artistic Fabric Mills, Prosperity and Realteks used our fibers in their collections. In addition to the denim team attending Bluezone, Lenzing participated with a booth in the main hall of Munich Fabric Start.
Across the Atlantic, Kingpins New York ran from Jan. 24-25. At the show, we were able to reconnect with our fellow denim industry partners and friends to research, discuss ways and make decisions on how we can collaborate to bring our various ideas to life for 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.
At our booth, we highlighted the various applications and ranges our fibers cover, shedding light on various sub-topics we have gathered from the industry. Among the collections on display, matte TENCEL™ continued to drive interest with many brands and designers looking for “cotton-like” authentic pieces but with a lighter, softer and drapier weight and feel. In addition to the authentic look, the Kaihara x Lenzing x Jeanologia Collection was also a big hit as it encompassed a cohesive collection covering various ranges of our fibers including TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo Technology, TENCEL™ Modal Black and TENCEL™ Lyocell through authentic looking constructions. In addition, the TCE Collection provided an alternative hand feel and wash effects to the market. Lastly, recycling stories continues to be a topic of interest, which garnered interest towards our Zero Virgin Cotton Collections.
Our team presented our innovation collections and exchanged ideas with brands such as American Eagle Outfitters, Gap Inc., Madewell, Macy’s, Supreme, Heritage 1913, Hudson Hill and more. Meanwhile we reunited with our mill partners from all around the world as usual. We were happy to see our concepts were concluded in mills showcase collections.
After kicking off the new year with these events, we cannot wait for the next shows this spring, including Kingpins Amsterdam in April where we will launch a new collection.