Kingpins Denim Show : New York July 2010– A Review

July 28th, 2010 by Sandeep Agarwal | Filed under Denim Fairs/Exhibitions.

Kingpins – the denim show with a difference – was once again held at New York on July 13th and 14th. The fair had 25 exhibitors from the denim supply chain around the world to make it a complete denim show. Visitors (invited ) included over 150 denim brands, retailers and stores (list of companies under the post) making the show very busy. The after party on the first day was very happening with the elite of the denim world attending it .

On a visit to the show , I discussed with the exhibitors regarding the new technologies related to denim that they might have to offer and many of them had some quite interesting products and views to offer. Here is a summary of some of the new products / technologies that I found with different companies on the show.

Kurabo – Japan

Kurabo , as usual came up with some very interesting products. Besides their Kantanmen super soft finish denim , they also showcased the following products :

Light, soft, drapy selvage
Super heavy 19oz marble selvage : The fabric inspite of being so heavy was unbelievably soft.
Nep denim.
Color weft selvage : These fabrics were quite interesting and gave different washed looks on the front as well as back of the fabric.
Low twist soft :
New Green and light blue shade + pure indigo

Contact Kurabo

Invista, USA

Invista , the LYCRA people , came out with a number of interesting products for the denim industry.
Cordura Denim : Made with a unique blend including nylon , these fabrics are for ‘ Rough and Tough’ wear . With abrasion resistance 4 times that of a comparable weight traditional 100% cotton fabric and a technology that has been used in the military clothes for decades , these denim fabrics are quite useful for those looking for jeans that last .

Super Stretch , Super Recovery and Super Comfort denim Selections

With a right blend of Lycra fibre and the Lycra T 400 fiber , Invista proposes super stretches that stretch more than 30% and still retain their ‘Super Recovery’ to original shape. These fabrics become quite important for the trends like ‘Jeggings’ which favour a body hugging silhoutte where the garment is like a second skin but it still has to be ‘Super Comfortable’ and breathable.
The Lycra T 400 black fibre enables to give a darker look to the garment just by using the yarn in the weft and not calling for any other changes in production.

Contact Invista

Tavex Corporation , Spain

Tavex Corporation is among the largest manufacturers of denim around the world with over 150 million mtrs of manufacturing capacity spread over in 4 countries. They are focusing on therapeutic OR wellness textiles. Jeannie from Tavex described these newly developed fabrics are an important product line .

“ Our first development in our ‘Denim Therapy’ group is called Energizing. It is a regular denim , improved with a bio- ceramic application .This applications pulls in the far infra red rays of the sun, stimulating the molecules in the body , which in turn improves circulation and gives you a better sense of well being ..”

These kind of fabrics have previously been used in the skiwear and medical apparel and it is the first time that everyday wear fabrics will have this kind of capability. Coated fabrics and super soft stretches are other denim products which according to them are hot trends today. Contact Tavex

Copen Pocketing , USA

Turning the somewhat dull profession of manufacturing pocketing fabrics into an interesting one , Copen provides some unique pocketing fabrics for the high fashion denim garments . Supplying to top denim brands including Sevens and Citizens of Humanity , Copen felt that the trend was towards dirty and trashy looks on the pockets to match the vintage look of the denims. With a very small cost per garment of 5 cents to 15 cents, these printed, trashy or simply beautiful pocketing fabrics that wash down once with the garment and stay that way for the rest of the life , add great value to the garment . Contact Copen

Melbourne Washing Plant , Sri Lanka

This largest washing plant in Sri Lanka , with a capacity of over 1,50,000 garments per day and washing for brands like Levi’s , Gap, Next etc , they brought out some interesting washes on the denims. These included :

Stripy looks in washing :Melbourne created some cool stripy looks on denim shirts within the washing process. These wash stripes are random and make a simple denim shirt stand out .The size of these stripes can be controlled.

Wave Dye : Dyeing process on the garment where only the front side of the garment is dyed and the reverse side is left undyed . This process gives a unique look to the garment and can be done on both knits and woven garments .

Euro Battage : The unique process of washing garments where patterns can be created on the garments while washing . These patterns look like the garment has been printed where as actually it has not been .

On a question on denim washing trends , Asoka and Felix from Melbourne said “ …the latest trends in denim washing related were 3D application , Resin application , Rips and patches . It , however , depended more on the client and the age group of their ultimate customers”. Contact Melbourne

Cotton Inc , USA

Cotton Inc is a unique organisation – funded by the US government – whose main objective is to promote the usage of cotton around the world . They constantly work on new technologies to promote the cotton . Denim is one of the main cotton product category and hence they are always one up on denim developments . Some of the interesting new technologies showcased by them at Kingpins were :
Storm Denim : This is a super water repellent finish for denim (and other cotton fabrics) that protects from rain and snow and at the same time maintains the natural comfort of cotton. The storm denim finish prevents water from penetrating the fabric and allows moisture vapor released from the body to escape – leaving one naturally comfortable.

Trans dry : Another very unique process applied at the yarn stage, it helps the fabric to transfer the moisture from inside of the fabric to the outside much faster – giving that added feeling of comfort . Thus the sweat gets transfered to the outer layers of the fabric and dries up the fabric/garment 35% faster . This process has the potential of large application in all kinds of cotton garments specially denim . Cotton Inc shares the technologies with various companies around the world after being satisfied of their capabilities to apply them . Contact Cotton Inc

Denimatrix / ACG

A very unique vertically integrated setup which proudly boasts of ‘ COTTON TO GARMENTS’ capabilities . The company grows cotton in US, spins the yarn , weaves the fabric in US , makes the garments in Guatemala and sells these garments back to customers in US . For every jeans manufactured , they can (at any time) find the name of the farm and the farmer who grew the relevant cotton which was used to make that jeans ! They can also even find out the kind of irrigation system used in that farm .

As per Wilson from Denimatrix “… this kind of vertical integration is not there anywhere in the global denim industry …”. Contact Denimatrix

The company also sends a very strong eco-friendly message with washing garments with less or no water – using ozone plasma and saving about 55 litres in washing a single garment. The company invests heavily in technology to be eco friendly .
The company focuses on stretches and after the integration of ACG and Koramsa facilities about 1 1/2 years back, they have turned the production of ACG to focus more on stretches. The combined group now boasts of about 30 million mtrs of denim fabric production capacity and about 10 million garments p.a
Trends : Vintage looks of Levis’s , Hair Spray culture – heavy metal looks

Grubig Leather Garments , Korea

How do you feel when you find a nice looking denim jeans and when you touch it you find that its leather !! The all pervasive love for denim and its constant growth sometimes inspires other products to take the denim route. This innovative leather company from Korea had products which were hard to believe from a distance as not being denim . The unique finishes on these garments created some beautiful denim looks which could easily be put to good use in strong winters also . And since a single picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few of them :

Contact Grubig

Kingpins New York Show July 13th -14th

About Kingpins
Kingpins is a unique and the only denim show where both exhibitors and visitors can come by invitation only . The idea behind the show is to have the most capable suppliers and the most serious buyers to come together in an informal setting where they can relax and chat like they may do in their drawing rooms. The free food and drinks make it easier to concentrate on the business and the after party on the first day is enjoyable. It is held twice in New York , Los Angeles and Hong Kong each year with a Shanghai edition starting shortly

Here is a list of some of the important companies that visited the Kingpins show at New York . This list is not exhaustive.

Polo Ralph Lauren	DKNY	Evisu
Marc by Marc Jacobs	Abercombie Fitch	Jones Jeanswear Group
Ann Taylor	Club Monaco	American Eagle
Anthropologie / Urban	Lands End	Banana Republic
Helmunt Lang	Perry Ellis	Western Glove Works
Kohls	Jordache	Gap
J.C Penny	Tommy Hilfiger	I.C Isaacs & Co.