Lee, the iconic denim brand, has embarked on a groundbreaking journey in collaboration with renowned couturier Suneet Varma and Ace Turtle, the exclusive licensee of Lee in India. Together, they have unveiled a collection titled “Denim Beyond Definition,” which redefines the very essence of denim fashion.

This collaboration represents a departure from the conventional styles of Lee in India. Instead, it introduces a bold fusion of classic denim with elements of Indian couture. From corsets to bell-bottom jeans, and dresses to maxi skirts, each piece in the collection reflects Varma’s distinctive style, characterized by intricate embellishments, threadwork, and mirror detailing.

The collection’s aesthetic is further elevated with the inclusion of gold foil prints, plaid patterns, and metallic riveting, adding a touch of glamour and sophistication to casual denim wear. Varma himself describes the journey as an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries of denim fashion, transcending traditional norms and offering a unique blend of elegance and comfort.

Nitin Chhabra, CEO of Ace Turtle, emphasizes the strategic vision behind this collaboration. By introducing trendsetting collections like “Denim Beyond Definition,” Lee aims to cater to the evolving preferences of Indian consumers, offering premium and unique products that resonate with the modern audience.

The availability of the collection both online and in select Lee stores across India underscores a strategic approach to reach a wide audience and meet the growing demand for innovative fashion choices.

In essence, the collaboration between Lee and Suneet Varma signifies a transformative narrative in fashion. By reimagining denim as a canvas for creativity and self-expression, the “Denim Beyond Definition” collection offers a refreshing perspective on contemporary style, seamlessly blending casual comfort with timeless elegance. As Lee continues to push boundaries and embrace new possibilities, it sets the stage for a future where denim fashion knows no bounds.

WHAT ARE NFTs?

NFTs are cryptographic assets created with the use of blockchain technology. It allows for the transfer of value across a non-replicable medium. It can be a one-of-a-kind, non-recurring token that cannot be partitioned but can be used to depict real or virtual world items, including the token’s own attributes and ownership, all while staying inside a blockchain representation. This equips NFTs with the distinct characteristics that make them so appealing. Smart contracts, which are software programmes that regulate actions such as authenticating ownership and restricting their transferability, are used to generate NFTs.

When a person creates an NFT, they write the smart software code that governs the NFT’s properties and contributes those qualities to the NFT’s blockchain. NFTs are digital files made as jpg, png,.mov, or 3D fashion files prior to getting minted (connected) to a blockchain. They are more than simply a chase to cryptocurrency. NFTs are controlled and authenticated as digital assets via digital accounting records or blockchains, and they are kept in digital wallets in the same way as cryptocurrencies and other assets are, and they serve as valuable objects sold in the digital environment.

In simple language, NFTs cannot be copied or hacked and are not mutually interchangeable, which means, no two NFTs are the same. They are non-fungible, which signifies that instead of obtaining an actual object that you may wear (and which almost certainly has many replicas in the real world), you will instead receive a one-of-a-kind JPG file that cannot be replicated.

ROLE OF NFT IN FASHION INDUSTRY

The fashion and beauty industries have made a determined effort in recent years to enhance a true and precise knowledge of business developments in order to encourage new terms that are consistent with current corporate practices. Fashion’s the only chance of re-entering the fast-paced digital train was to build NFTs, as it had entirely missed the boat with E-commerce. When e-commerce first emerged, a huge number of businesses were completely disinterested in exploring the new channel. The fashion business has become significantly more cautious since then. Sustainable fashion and beauty is a big incentive for younger millennials and Gen Z market groups. Prestige companies may use NFTs to create unique experiences for their customers, increasing brand awareness, engagement, and revenue. Despite the apparent advantages, however, fashion has yet to find out the ideal way to utilize NFTs.

NFT fever had gripped the year 2021. With the growth in Google searches for NFTs, the NFT business saw $2.5 billion in revenue during the first half of 2021, up from $13.7 million the year before. With the fashion business seeking to unlock the technology’s capabilities, it’s no surprise that Karl Lagerfeld has already stated that another release is in the works after their premiere in the virtual world.

As popular as the Karl Lagerfeld NFTs have been, it’s critical for companies to grasp how NFTs vary from other sectors that are more acclimated to selling digital items. This is mostly due to the fact that conventional fashion firms, who are known for their reluctance to digitalization, are finding it difficult to let go of their physicality. As a result, individuals who follow this business are often left wondering what NFTs are, why everyone is eager to cash in, and what they imply for a market that has stayed steadfastly physical for so long.

PLUSES AND MINUSES OF NFTs IN FASHION INDUSTRY

As a designer, an NFT may produce virtual fashion goods that are separate from real-life products, addressing the problem of digital apparel reproduction. NFT broadens the selection of one-of-a-kind things. A fashion company may utilize it to offer its own show video or customized backstage photos. When it comes to digital copies, the NFT makes it simple for collectors to find the original copy they desire. NFT might have an influence on the resale market not only by keeping track of changes in ownership of a given item but also by paying corporations a premium whenever their goods are sold in the second-hand high-end market, for example.

Regardless of their individual advantages, however, NFTs are still a pretty modern investment strategy that may provide buyers with unexpected challenges. Some issues to be aware of and investigate more before purchasing NFTs, such as the fact that anybody can take a picture of the artwork, upload it to a blockchain, and sell it, therefore purchasers must ensure that they are purchasing NFTs from the artist or that the seller has the authorization to sell the NFT. By themselves, NFTs are unable to link the production or ownership of an NFT to a real person in the physical world or to verify that the NFT’s creator has the fundamental entitlements to connect that NFT with a certain creative work.

BIG FASHION BRANDS JOINING NFT MARKET

Below is a breakdown of the many brand tactics for handling the NFT area in the fashion industry, including specific adjustments, how bitcoin carbon emissions are being mitigated, and what’s next in the space.

• RTFKT’s Virtual Sneakers

The RTFKT brand was founded in 2019 and quickly established itself as a leader in the virtual sneaker market. Early in 2021, the company worked on a project with “Fewocious,” a well-known crypto artist who was only 18 at the time. He created three virtual sneakers that buyers could “try on” via Snapchat before entering an auction to buy them. The top bidder was also given the opportunity to receive a tangible pair of sneakers to try in person. The partnership lived up to the expectations, selling 600 pairs of sneakers in just 7 minutes for a total of 3.1 million dollars.

Since then, RTKFT has expanded its portfolio by collaborating with “The Fabricant” to produce a new collection of seven virtual products, which received $8 million in their most recent financing round.

• GUCCI Selling NFTs

Gucci was the first luxury house to venture into the world of non-traditional textiles. The NFT of the legendary Italian fashion business was inspired by a movie by their “Aria” collection in cooperation with Alessandro Michele, rather than being patterned after fashion products. Christie’s auctioned this four-minute clip for a whopping 25,000 million dollars.

• Louis Vuitton- NFTs collecting Game

On the occasion of its founder’s 200th birthday on August 4th, Louis Vuitton merged fashion and technology by releasing “Louis the Game,” an adventure-style game in which players must navigate around Vivienne’s dollhouse.

Aside from that, gamers flocked to various locations to acquire 200 candles to commemorate the 200th anniversary of their birth. The trip included 30 hidden NFTs and 10 NFTs created in partnership with prominent NFT artist “Beeple.” This game’s NFTs are free to gather and not for sale to the general public.

• Prada’s Partnership With Adidas

In the latest incarnation of luxury in the metaverse, Prada is presenting its first NFT in collaboration with Adidas: an audience digital work in a Beeple-style collage.

Anyone may register to upload an image using a specifically developed filter that will be modified, jumbled up, and 40% of the image erased to make the image anonymous starting on January 24. Three thousand of the individual images will be chosen at random and minted as one-of-a-kind NFTs by Adidas for free. The owner of the artwork will be the person who submitted it, and they will be able to sell their NFT on the secondary market. Zach Lieberman, a digital artist, and creative coder will subsequently merge the selected photographs into tiles into one massive patchwork NFT.

• Burberry With Blankos Block Party

Burberry collaborated with a video game company to create its own NFTs. After the triumph of its own game, B Bounce debuted in 2019, the brand went into the digital world by collaborating with Mythical Games’ Blankos Block Party on a charming shark Blanko that can be acquired, updated, and sold in-game. The Burberry NFT, unlike Ethereum, does not function on the energy-intensive Proof of Work crypto paradigm, but rather on a proprietary EOSIO blockchain protocol that uses a significantly less energy-intensive Proof of Authority methodology.

• Overpriced- Scannable Hoodies

Overpriced, the world’s first NFT-driven fashion business, has created a real-life sweatshirt with a scannable code that allows the hoodie’s owner to show it around. This sweatshirt is being auctioned for $26,000 USD on the NFT site “BlockParty.”

Because most fashion labels, such as Balenciaga and Fortnite, place their NFTs inside closed systems, the concept of a virtual wardrobe that moves across multiple gaming platforms and digital worlds is still a work in progress. Polygon, for example, is attempting to alter this. Dolce & Gabbana, a luxury fashion business, has launched NFTs on the platform, emphasizing the ease with which their clothing may be moved between many digital “worlds.” “There’s going to be a lot of money in the NFT fashion industry,” said Joseph Pallant, the creator of the Blockchain for Climate Foundation and an NFT specialist.

FUTURE WITH FASHION & METAVERSE- UNLOCKING LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES WITH NFT MARKET

The co-founder of stablecoin Tether, William Quigley said, “I’m betting that the revenue model for the metaverse is going to be NFTs.” The Bitcoin pioneer, Quigley, sees the Metaverse as “a massive economic force that will profoundly affect people’s lives in the years ahead.” The fashion industry must grasp that NFTs are all about digital item ownership, and the Metaverse is merely extending that notion into one or more virtual worlds in order to prepare for the metaverse’s future. Despite the fact that the Metaverse as a business model is still in its infancy, NFTs are turning this creative playground to life.

Neuno, created by Natalie Johnson, sees the promise of NFTs as well. Neuno is urging the fashion industry to reach a digital utopia where one may possess a unique piece of “fashion history” by bridging the gap between the actual world and NFTs.

You can’t discuss NFTs and the Metaverse without mentioning the recent emergence of NFT markets, which provide users with a location to purchase and trade NFTs. Investors such as billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, music tycoon Jay-Z, and Google Ventures, which give seed, venture, and growth-stage capital to digital firms, have taken notice of some of these sites. The vocabulary of the future will revolve around NFTs, cryptocurrency, blockchain, skins, and metaverse.

Circularity has been discussed by Dame Ellen MacArthur since 2010, although the concept has only lately gained popularity. After retiring from sailing 12 years ago- MacArthur being the first woman to solo around the globe- she founded the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to bring together the worlds of business, education, fashion, agriculture, and beyond to conceive a dramatic transformation to a “circular economy.” A circular economy, in contrast to our existing linear concept of creation, consumption, and disposal, entails reducing waste, keeping items in circulation, and renewing nature.

MacArthur launched the book on the 2nd of December, 2021, at Business of Fashion VOICES. Circular Design for Fashion was created in honor of fashion’s enormous potential to change to a circular economy, as well as its creatives – enthusiastic disruptors who are always looking for new ways to innovate. The book introduces a new design approach and inspires designers to think about how they might help shape a more resilient and successful fashion sector that addresses climate change and biodiversity loss. Investigate the challenges of creating with three concepts in mind: reducing waste and pollution, cycling products and resources, and renewing nature. The book presents an assorted mix of voices, well-known names like Stella McCartney, Gabriela Hearst, and Eileen Fisher, as well as upcoming designers like Bethany Williams and Duran Lantink, upcycling professionals like ADIFF’s Angela Luna and Loulwa Al Saad, regenerative agriculture assets like Fibershed and FarFarm, Gucci and its parent company Kering, and some of the industry’s most successful corporations like Inditex, Fast Retailing, and H&M.

SUBSISTENCE BY CIRCULAR DESIGN

Many firms and designers in the fashion field have begun to take initiatives to remove waste and pollution from their product lifecycles in recent years. Elodie Rousselot, the strategic design manager at Ellen MacArthur Foundation says, “I think we’re witnessing a beautiful moment in the industry, where many are actively looking at how they can change their businesses and the way they design products to be fit for the circular economy.” The goal of circular design is to create goods and services that don’t have a linear life cycle with a beginning, middle, and conclusion. The goal is to create goods that can “be produced to be made again,” as ex- CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown phrased it.

The move to a circular economy (CE) presents designers with a variety of new issues and necessitates particular knowledge, tactics, and methodologies. The CE idea broadens the scope of the design process and encourages the incorporation of new knowledge domains and abilities. Throughout all phases of the design process, substantial engagement with stakeholders and specialists is required for the CE to be implemented successfully in reality. Design firms have responded to the CE by forming dedicated CE research and design workgroups, facilitating information flow, constructing their own circular strategies and techniques, and pursuing long-term client relationships that encourage designers to become involved in the lifecycles of crafted artifacts rather than viewing design projects as one-time events. Many designers have taken the initiative too. Amongst such designers are the six contributors, highlighted by Rousselot in MacArthur’s book, who are at the forefront of the movement towards the circular fashion industry.

ORANGE CUTURE BY ADEBAYO OKE-LAWAL

Adebayo Oke-Lawal creates gender-neutral clothing with a 90 percent indigenous Nigerian supply chain that includes everything from material procurement to dyeing and printing. The designer tries to guarantee that money stays in the community through his Lagos-based label Orange Culture, while also training his suppliers and staff about sustainable manufacturing processes so that they may apply what they’ve learned to other initiatives.

“They’ve also begun encouraging shoppers to return undesired clothing so that it may be turned into new outfits and sold again. It’s more than just a repair service. It’s almost as though the clothing had a new narrative to tell.” Rousselot said, “Orange Culture uses the offcuts from its manufacturing process to form new products or elements such as lining.”

RAEBURN BY CHRISTOPHER RAEBURN

Whilst pursuing fashion design in London in the early 2000s, Christopher Raeburn began working with excess fabrics and clothes, purchasing unworn military coats from the 1950s for £1 apiece and reworking them into new outfits. Since then, he’s pushed to expand the use of reused materials in mass production with his own British Fashion Award-winning label Raeburn, along with switching ‘Timberland’ to regeneratively cultivated leather as creative director for the footwear company.

“He was one of the first to bring this practice to a commercial scale, in a way that is attractive and different from what you would expect from an ‘eco brand,” Rousselot said.

ICICLE BY YE SHOUZENG AND TAO XIAOMA

Icicle, a Chinese company founded in 1997 by husband-and-wife team Ye Shouzeng and Tao Xiaoma, uses five primary materials – cashmere, linen, wool, silk, and cotton – that is sustainably sourced and lightly treated to preserve the attention on the fibers’ inherent beauty. To maintain transparency and protect the welfare of garment workers, the company does all of its design and manufacture in-house at its own facilities.

Rousselot quotes about the innovative couple- “They are bringing this different perspective to a circular design, which is based on traditional Chinese philosophy and runs counter to the Western idea that we’re born, we die and then that’s it”

MARINE SERRE

Aside from her signature crescent moon motif, French designer Marine Serre is recognized for using repurposed materials such as household linens, carpets, and towels in 50% of her designs. Serre’s work, which was awarded the esteemed LVMH prize in 2017 and is distributed by big shops like Selfridges and Browns, demonstrates that waste materials, notwithstanding their nasty reputation, may have a place in the premium fashion industry.

“She’s extremely cutting edge in the way she designs with these textiles,” Rousselot said. “In fashion design, usually what students are taught to do is to define a color palette that will guide their collection and then find the fabrics to match.”

FIBERSHED

Fibershed is a non-profit organization that assists businesses in gaining access to hyper-local textile supply chains by employing regenerative agricultural techniques that retain carbon in the soil rather than releasing it. Designer Phoebe English recently produced a line of outfits for the COP26 climate conference in conjunction with its regional arm in South East England, for which all fabrics were farmed, dyed, spun, and processed within a 250-kilometer radius of her London studio.

Rousselot quotes- “This approach means you are not growing hectares of cotton, you’re growing different types of crops that naturally thrive in the area such as nettle or hemp.”

NKWO BY NKWO ONWUKA

Nkwo Onwuka, a British-Nigerian designer, created Dakala, a new African textile that looks like hand-loomed fabric but is manufactured by stripping and putting together discarded denim pieces. She currently instructs indigenous women in Abuja to use their traditional textile crafts abilities to manufacture new garments from the heaps of garment trash transported to Nigeria from western nations, with the goal of “weaving waste into prosperity.”

“She’s also started looking at sourcing cotton locally,” Rousselot explained. “Nigeria doesn’t grow a lot of cottons but unlike in Kyrgyzstan, where it’s a cause of desertification, in Nigeria, it can grow rain-fed so it doesn’t require extra irrigation.”

CIRCULAR FASHION: THE CURRENT SCENARIO

The circular fashion industry is being embraced by more than just independent or eco-friendly apparel manufacturers. 64 of the world’s largest fashion brands, including Adidas and Inditex, inked a pledge in January 2018 to speed the transition to a circular business model. Adidas, for example, decided to address the issue of materials by gradually implementing a 3-Step Loop Strategy, in which Step 1 is to use recycled materials, Step 2 is to make those recycled materials part of a loop that can be reused, and Step 3 is to bio-fabricate the materials of the future so that when they come out of the loop, they are biodegradable and can be returned to nature without endangering it.

Denim is a wardrobe must for millions of individuals all over the world. The manufacture of a single pair of jeans in traditional way consumes 3,781 liters of water, which is a fact that the majority are unaware of. However, of late, we have seen that Ellen MacArthur foundation and other initiatives in the industry have ensured that the industry moves firmly in the direction of circularity and we hope to see huge changes very soon.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation had created The Jeans Redesign, a set of recommendations aimed at encouraging the denim industry to embrace the circular economy more effectively. Hundreds of companies have already signed on and committed their support. Among them are Gap, H&M, Wrangler, and a many other well-known brands. In June 2021, the first redesigned jeans utilizing the criteria was finished, proving that circular jeans may be made now.

IMPORTANCE OF CIRCULAR FASHION ON PLANET

“Cradle to Cradle is like good gardening; it is not about “saving” the planet but about learning to thrive on it,” a quote by Michael Braungart says it all. The contemporary industrial infrastructure’s design goal is to provide an appealing product that is inexpensive, complies with rules, performs well enough, and lasts long enough to fulfil market expectations. With a projected worldwide population of nine billion people by 2030, nature will face unprecedented challenges in meeting human demands. The purpose of circular fashion is to guarantee that clothing is manufactured from safe and renewable materials, that innovative business models increase its usage, and that old clothing is reused. We want to see the garment industry progress to a future where every material is securely used and reused, ecosystems are protected, and people have meaningful jobs. This is the circular fashion philosophy, as well as why it is so vital.

Clothes are an outward manifestation of our personality, and while variety is important, we should be more careful of how much we really need.

1. BOYISH

LA brand Boyish is a member of The Jeans Redesign project from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which outlines circular economy guidelines including making durable products. It also uses an ozone wash instead of chlorine bleach, a natural enzyme instead of polluting potassium permanganate, and REFIBRA, a fabric made using upcycled clothing and fabric scraps with Tencel. The brand also uses organic cotton certified by the Organic Content Standard (OCS Certified) and recycled cotton, which is the most sustainable cotton fiber source according to the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index. Its denim is cruelty-free and PETA approved. By 2023, 100% of the brand’s products will be made from plant-based fibers. It also plans to expand brand’s core collection to be more size inclusive and exceed living wage by 2023.

2. OUTERKNOWN

A brand established from an understated approach to design and an overstated approach to quality, material and consciousness, Outerknown launched its New Denim Project with Madewell on a capsule collection that featured coats, skirts and tops. Brought in WellThread X Outerknown collection made with single fiber polyester and cotton is fully recyclable down to the labels and snaps. The brand also launched Women’s stretch jeans with Coreva Stretch Technology from Milan’s Candiani mill. Ninety percent of the fibers the brand sources are organic, recycled or regenerated, and 100% of its trunks are made with recycled or renewable fibers. It also opened FutureShop, a planet-friendly online marketplace. Its goals comprise of: Making 75% of fabrics and 50% of products circular by 2030. To serve as a key catalyst and leader for circular innovation industry initiatives by 2025 and advocate to protect worker rights, safety, and livelihoods.

3. UNSPUN

Unspun won Marie Claire UK Sustainability Award for Best Sustainable Jeans 2021. It used AI and 3D modelling to create custom and on-demand jeans that are unique to every customer. This first-of-its-kind custom-fit denim collection was a big leap in the fashion industry as each pair of jeans is made-to-measure, cutting out excess waste. The brand is reducing the industry’s emissions by 30%. It also launched PanHemp, a new denim fabric in collaboration with Pangaia.

It also launched its Genesis Jeans which comprises of the fabric made with 99 percent GOTS certified organic cotton denim and 1 percent Lycra, and is washed using 100 percent recycled water and Greenscreen-approved chemicals. Unspun also ensures transparency element to its Genesis Jeans collection by including fashion tech firm Eon Group’s scannable CircularIDs to the jeans. Unspun’s 2021 sustainability goals include phasing out all cotton that is not recycled, organic or BCI and to eliminate all virgin poly from its fabrics. Other goals are   reduce Co2 impact by 53% in near future and reduce global carbon emissions by 1%. The brand aims to 100 percent biodegradable and compostable packaging and use low-impact transportation to ship fabrics.

4. CLOSED

Closed’s sustainable gains include the launch of the world’s first 100 percent degradable stretch denim made with the biodegradable stretch yarn Coreva. The innovative jeans are part of Closed’s “A Better Blue” denim line, which is manufactured with sustainable materials, low-impact dyeing processes and environmentally friendly washing techniques in Italy to save resources. Closed also introduced Jacron back patches for its jeans as a sustainable vegan-alternative to leather.

Half of the men’s jeans, and 41 percent of the women’s denim in Closed’s Winter ’21 collection are a part of the A Better Blue line. The company followed the addition of organic cashmere in the F/W 21-22 range. It claims that it has saved 6,882,870 litres of water, 649,455 kWh of electricity, and 77,262 kg of solid waste of chemicals. Its future plans include: to provide PETA-approved vegan labeling, focus on making carbon-neutral supply chain and increasing the volume of A BETTER BLUE products to limit water, electricity and chemical consumption.

5. WARP+WEFT

The brand is on a mission to create the best sustainable denim in the world. Since the brand’s launch in 2017, they’ve sold more than 477,000 pairs of jeans and saved more than 572.4 million gallons of water. 98% of the water that goes into its denim is treated and recycled for additional use. To be completely transparent about its manufacturing process, Warp + Weft highlights elements like responsibly sourced cotton, eco-friendly dye from Dystar, water-saving techniques, and solar power. The brand also employs Ultra-absorbent Tencel fibers and waterless Dry Ozone technology, replacing bleach. It aims to launch a partnership with NGOs to provide clean drinking water in developing countries. For this it partnered with Charity: Water to provide a lifetime supply of water for 3,300 people for each pair of jeans sold.

6. PRIMARK

Leading retailer Primark has pledged to make clothes that can be “recyclable by design” by 2027. In addition, it plans to work with suppliers to halve carbon emissions throughout its supply chain while eliminating single-use plastics from its operations by 2027. Primark has also committed to pursuing a living wage for workers in its global supply chain by 2030 and has partnered with material innovators Unifi, Inc to bring their REPREVE Our Ocean fibre to its newest denim style.

The brand also partnered with Yellow Octopus, for a textile takeback service to divert garments from landfills in reusable pieces. It uses Sustainable Cotton Programme to trace the source of its sustainable cotton and is committed to training and educating 160,000 cotton farmers on more environmentally friendly farming practices by 2022. The brand launched its C2C Certified Gold Jeans which comes in a mom-fit and is made using a minimum of 50% renewable energy and 100% organic cotton. It has become a participant in the Circular Fashion Partnership, led by the Global Fashion Agenda that supports the development of the textile recycling industry in Bangladesh. The brand plans to provide living wage for its global supply chain workers by 2030.

7. KINGS OF INDIGO

Since 2012, Kings of Indigo has curated sustainable denim collections, making itself known as a leader in sustainable fashion. Fully PETA (vegan) approved since 2020, the brand uses 100% certified organic cotton; GOTS or OCS and EIM scored denim washes.  It launched 100% Recycled jeans 40 pieces collection that contain 100% recycled fibres and uses TENCEL Lyocel fibres for denim production. The brand uses fully recycled and sustainable trims – metals, pocketing, paper. It launched Re-Gen: a capsule denim collection made from NO new cotton (50% recycled fibers and 50% Refibra Lyocell). 6. Ensures elimination of PP spray on denims.

KOI also uses ‘Retraced’, a new technology that maps out a brand’s full supply-chain, ruling out any and all greenwashing. The brand incorporates 100% carbon neutral Transport. Its plans to only use recycled natural or man-made fibers by 2025. KOI aims to use sustainable washing techniques for their denims by 2025 and also become carbon positive. It also strives to have full transparency through total supply chain by 2022.

8. KUYICHI

All denim produced by Kuyichi is made with one hundred percent organic cotton which reduces carbon emissions by up to sixty percent and some pairs incorporate post-consumer recycled denim. The boldest commitment Kuyichi made is its limit on the jeans it makes. To curb overconsumption and focus on jeans a customer will always wear, Kuyichi only sells a few timeless styles. All of their pure goods are produced in a conscious and innovative way, with a focus on quality denim with a perfect fit.

Kuyichi stopped making seasonal collections and doing sales to make a statement against fast fashion. It is a member of The Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments & Textiles (AGT).  The brand is vegan and has a responsible business conduct (RBC) code. Some of its goals include: Make all denim with low impact washes and dye all denim fabrics with improved techniques by 2025; All denim will be sewn with ecoverde recycled Polyester sewing threads; Launching a new circular Business model pilot by 2021.

9. PATAGONIA

American clothing brand Patagonia has partnered with Finnish circular fashion and textile technology group Infinited Fiber Company for its regenerated textile fibre Infinna created out of textile waste. Additionally, Patagonia has collaborated with Natural Fiber Welding (NFW), a US-based material science company in a joint commitment to develop and scale circular solutions in textiles. Through its collaboration with NFW,  it reaffirms its commitment to its customers to never compromise – on performance, on aesthetic, on responsibility for the planet.

The brand works hard to keep their products out of landfills. They collect and refurbish their old gear as part of five waste combating principles: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle and Reimagine. A program called “Worn Wear” allows consumers to buy used, as well as trade-in and fix their gear. The brand aims to be 100% carbon-neutral across entire supply chain by 2025 and source 100% of their energy from renewable projects. By 2025,  the brand’s packaging will be 100% reusable, home compostable.

10. ÉTICA

ÉTICA is a sustainable lifestyle brand focused on premium denim and knits. It claims to have reduced water use by 90%, energy consumption by 63% and chemical use by 70% compared to industry standards. The company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, and some of its mills are also certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Cradle to Cradle and GOTS. It also uses recycled cotton, REFIBRA, and Tencel in its denim lines and seasonal collections are made with deadstock and upcycled fabrics too.

As of 2021, the company’s fabrics are all free of microplastics, and all products are vegan-friendly as they are 100% free of animal materials (including fur and hide, with no trims, softeners, dyes, or other additives used that are derived from animals). ÉTICA’s Hang tags are made with soy-based inks and 100% recycled paper. The company aims to be plastic free at its headquarters and factories by 2022,  become 100% potassium free and develop sustainable botanical dyes.. The brand owns Re/Make Seal of Approval for Environment, Transparency, Labor Rights certification.

11. GAP

Global retailer Gap has launched ” Generation Good” capsule made of 100% natural fibres and recycled fabrics. It has also launched five exclusive sustainable denim styles as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign Project. Currently, 91 percent of Gap denim is part of its water-saving Washwell programme, which it notes is better than its original 2021 goal of 75 percent. The brand also announced its first-ever brand of home essentials – Gap Home which features sustainable items that are made from organic cotton and recycled materials.

Gap collaborated with Kanye West for its Yeezy Jacket that is made up of recycled nylon and also acquired Drapr, an ecommerce startup and online application based on technology that enables customers to create 3D avatars and virtually try on clothing. The brand has committed to source 100 percent more sustainable cotton and is committed to converting 60 percent of its traditional polyester into recycled polyester by 2025.  It also aims to eliminate plastic shopping bags by 2023.

12. WRANGLER & LEE (KONTOOR BRANDS)

Kontoor-brand Wrangler has been working on making jeans from regeneratively grown cotton. It also launched the Retro Green Jean collection made from sustainably produced cotton, hemp, or recycled fabric. Wrangler opened its new platform WeCare Wrangler to inform consumers of its sustainability goals, current measures, and partnerships centered around three core themes: planet, product, and people. The brand collaborated with Infinited Fibre Company, to use regenerated, recyclable fibre Infinna in its Autumn2021 denim collection.

Kontoor Brands also expanded its Indigood program in which its denim uses a foam dyeing process with no water, 89 percent fewer chemicals and 65 percent less energy with no discharge water. Lee teamed up with AppHarvest to be the exclusive denim provider for the company’s employees at its greenhouse. Kontoor brands sustainability goals include: save 10 billion litres of water by 2025, use 100 percent sustainably sourced cotton by 2025, increase Indigood-dyed products every year through 2025.

1. LEVI’S

Levi Strauss & Co. is a global leader in jeanswear and one of the world’s top brand-name apparel companies. This year, the brand launched its “Buy Better, Wear Longer,” Spring 2021 campaign, which raises awareness about shared responsibility and the environmental implications of apparel production and consumption. The introduction of 55% hemp blended fabrics, new natural-dye techniques, the expanded use of organically grown cotton, and the recyclability of every Wellthread garment was inculcated by the brand. Levi’s Wellthread used a technique by which ultrasonic waves are used to apply the dye to the fibre. The brand also used Water< Less techniques which have saved more than 3.5 billion litres of water since they were introduced nearly a decade ago. A few of the company’s central goals for the future are to use 100 per cent of sustainably produced cotton by 2025, its supply chain will have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and by 2030, water usage in the industry in water-stressed areas will be reduced by half. 

2. NUDIE JEANS

This Swedish denim company delivers and preserves a tradition true to the fabric’s history and attributes by thinking in terms of wear, tear, and repair rather than fast fashion. Teaming up with London-based retailer Browns Fashion, Nudie Jeans has created a collection of 16 denim pieces, all reworked from pre-existing denim. The brand has already repaired 45900 jeans for free and has produced 98.6% Sustainable products. 2021 was the third full year in which it used only certified organic cotton for all the cotton products.

Moreover, according to its Sustainable Material Tool the brand defines a garment or accessory as sustainable when it contains at least 70% sustainable fibres. The brand aims to increase number GOTS-certified denim fabrics to reach 50% of all denim fabrics by 2022 and reach 100% renewable energy sources for electricity used in all Nudie Jeans operated facilities by changing energy subscription or investing in Renewable Energy Certificates by 2023. Nudie Jeans also plans to open 50 new permanent Repair spots, including Repair Shops, Partner stores and Repair partners in the coming years.

3. PANGAIA

 Pangaia is a direct-to-consumer materials science company bringing breakthrough textile innovations and patents into the world through everyday lifestyle products. This year, the brand introduced its sustainable denim PANettle, a mix of naturally regenerating wild Himalayan nettle, organic cotton, and PPRMINT for longer-lasting freshness. To diversify its material sources and lessen reliance on traditional cotton, the company employs wild Himalayan nettle. The denim produced is coloured with state-of-the-art water and dye-saving technologies, and the thread is made entirely of biobased cellulose. Non-galvanized, recyclable stainless-steel buttons are also used in denim. The brand created FRUT FIBER and PLNT FIBER to replace cotton in their product line. The two cellulose fibre blends were successfully produced and supplied by Pangaia from fruit and plant raw material sources.

4. RE/DONE

 Redone is known for reconstructing Levi’s vintage jeans into modern fits, giving a sense of uniqueness and rareness to each consumer. The brand debuted its first collection designed in line with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign project guidelines. All jeans are made of responsibly sourced 100 per cent organic cotton, recycled hardware, and bio-based patches, and include a hangtag with a QR code that provides consumers with a full traceability report documenting the lifecycle of each product. Items are shipped using recycled, oxo-biodegradable poly bags. The manufacturer also uses laser and e-flow technologies for energy- and water-saving washes and uses a three-stage purification system to reduce water waste. Since its launch, Re/Done reports that it has diverted more than 231,000 garments from landfills.

5. EVERLANE

A millennial-favourite DTC clothing brand, Everlane announced a very ambitious sustainability goal: to eliminate virgin plastic from its supply chain, packaging, offices and stores by 2021.  By now, it has successfully removed 90% of all virgin plastics from its supply chain. Following through on its commitment to exclusively using certified-organic cotton by 2023,  the denim brand debuted what it calls its cleanest denim to date.  All items in the Clean range feature 98.5 per cent GOTS-certified organic cotton and 1.5 per cent Roica. Each piece is produced with microplastic-free dyes and recycled trim. It also debuted its Fall/Winter 2021 ad campaign entitled “Get into Denim” to adorn the brand’s collection of organic denim. Everlane is now looking for early-stage entrepreneurs to join the Next Collective, a fellowship program that will provide participants with $20,000 and access to industry leaders in sustainability, fashion, design, business and innovation.

6. MADEWELL

Madewell, which is known for its denim, is an apparel retailer that promotes creativity, diversity, and self-expression. This year, the brand introduced a new part of its website called “Madewell Forever,” which helps customers find a new home for their well-loved jeans, whether they’re clearing out their wardrobe and seeking a new home for them or they’re in the market for a new pair of denim.

Madewell Forever had around 3,000 pairs of secondhand Madewell jeans in a wide range of fits and styles, most of which ranged from $35 to $50. Furthermore, its spring 2021 collection called Summerweight Denim was designed to replace linen as one’s go-to choice for summer bottoms. The fabric is made from a blend of hemp and cotton which is wrinkle-free, moisture-wicking, breathable, and lightweight. The brand aims to source 100% sustainable and virgin-plastic-free fibres for all materials by 2025. It also aims to make more than 90% of its denim fair trade certified. By 2025, the brand strives to do carbon neutral operations entirely.

7. REFORMATION

The cult favourite label, Reformation has been dabbling in denim, through vintage capsules and designer collaborations. Reformation launched their denim collection in collaboration with FibreTrace, which labels fabrics with a unique pigment that can be tracked and validated throughout the garment supply chain. This effort is in line with Reformation’s goal of complete supply chain transparency by 2025.  This year, the brand also signed the 2020 Circularity Fashion System Commitment Letter, with the goal of recirculating 500,000 garments in the next five years and have already been able to reuse or recycle 417,811 garments in 2021 itself.  Reformation also teamed up with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign program to achieve its commitment to transforming the way jeans are produced.

8. OUTLAND DENIM

This Australian denim company gained popularity after Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wore a pair on her royal tour in Australia in 2018. Measured through third-party Environmental Impact Measurement criteria, 97 per cent of Outland Denim’s washes are categorized as “low impact.” This year, Outland Denim expanded its rigid jeans options, collaborated with fellow Aussie brand Spell on a line of vintage-inspired denim staples, introduced ready-to-wear and celebrated a milestone in its traceability journey, marking 100 per cent traceability of its organic cotton denim. It also updated all-black denim to denim dyed using Saveblack, a process that uses 85 per cent less water compared to conventional dyeing. The company stated that it is targeting net-zero emissions by 2030 through practices, policies and by offsetting those emissions that cannot be reduced. It also commits to make 100% of the Outland Denim range leather-free and prioritise use of Bluesign certified chemicals.

9. MUD JEANS

A sustainable and fair trade certified denim brand based in the Netherlands, Mud Jeans has a business model to sell or rent jeans, at the end of their life and then make old jeans into new ones. It has a design process based on circular production, with the use of materials that are easy to repurpose and recycle. 36 of Mud Jeans’ 40 plus styles are made up of 40% post-consumer recycled cotton which is twice the industry average.

Out of 4000 certified B Corporations worldwide, MUD Jeans is among the 5% B Corps with the highest score in environmental performance. The Dutch fashion brand has also collaborated with Swedish home decor brand Ikea to give textiles a second lease of life, specifically, denim. Its sustainability goals include making 5% of its collection from 100% post-consumer recycled cotton by 2022, implementing traceability QR Code and launching new chemical policies for waste management.

10. FRAME

American fashion brand Frame launched Bio-Degradable jeans in partnership with Candiani made from 100 percent cotton that is 100 percent biodegradable. For its fall/winter 2021, Frame revamped its menswear line with trendy cuts for timeless pairs of washed black and indigo jeans. This year it also launched its circular denim collection under EMF Jeans Redesign Project that included denim pieces made of 100% cotton and post-consumer material.

For FRAME Winter 2021, 63% of the FRAME denim line is projected to be responsibly produced according to its Responsible Wash and Responsible Fabric Initiatives. 40% of the fibers in its Spring and Summer 2021 Collections are made with either recycled or water-saving cellulose fibers. Its future goals include: 75% of FRAME Denim is set to be sustainable by the end of 2022, 90% of FRAME denim is set to be sustainable by the end of 2025. The brand will launch ReFrame in the coming years.

Its second batch of 58 workers completed the eight-week intensive course recently, where they learned coding, Python programming language, statistics, and other skills. It had around 450 workers apply for limited slots in the first year of the course, and they taught more than 100 employees from more than 20 locations across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific.

Rather than educating new tech hires to speak fashion, brands like Levi’s are teaching the current workforce to speak tech. Levi’s launched the program in May as part of ongoing attempts to expedite digitalization and move to a direct-to-consumer approach. After cutting off 700 corporate staff as part of the 2020 store closures, Levi’s is now building a number of new tech-centric stores.

Ronald Pritipaul who has served as denim head for Levi’s now has a new role of associate data project manager for computer vision. Surprisingly, Ronald has no background in computer science. He does, however, have an engrained dedication to Levi’s and a comprehensive understanding of the day-to-day difficulties that must be solved. He is one of 40 recent graduates of Levi’s first machine learning “bootcamp”. It was during his time in bootcamp that Ron started to question how he’d actually implement these new skillsets.

 “The fashion industry has largely accepted the need for digitization, but recruitment of the necessary tech talent is a challenge. And once new hires adjust to working in fashion, they’re often poached by others. We used to call this the endless cycle of frustration,” says Katia Walsh, Levi’s SVP and chief strategy and AI officer, who is leading the project.

ADAPTING TO THE NEW CHANGE

Walsh comes from the worlds of telecoms (Vodafone) and finance (Prudential Financial). While machine learning intensives are new to the fashion industry, Walsh notes out that they are hardly new to Amazon and Google. She believes herself to be an “unusual fashion executive.” She feels that her entire career has been about using technology to get a competitive edge, yet this industry is still very analogue, highly manual, and fueled by creativity and intuition.  As a result, the company is aiming to transform the analogue into the digital, the manual into the automated, and the imprecise into the precision.

The program has already proven well. Several workers have created technology tools to automate specific parts of their work, and at least five companies have approached Levi’s to share insights, something that Levi’s is doing.

“We have a great brand as a physical manufacturer of physical goods. But at some point, I also see a future for us as a manufacturer of digital products,” said Walsh.

BUILDING THE RIGHT WORKFORCE

Levi’s has made the programme eligible to any internal applicant. The purpose is to broaden and diversify the pool of people with technical expertise, as well as to identify problems that tech teams may have overlooked.

Employees must apply in order to get recruited. In addition to a “no-code challenge” that assesses analytical skills, problem-solving, curiosity, tenacity, and resilience, they are required to describe how they would utilise data science in their professions. Entrants have arrived from 20 different locations, including Levi’s corporate offices, retail stores, distribution centres, and data centres. Some of them do not have a college degree.

The bootcamp has been designed as an eight-week virtual course in which employees are paid their regular salaries while engaging in 10-hour days of lectures, team exercises, individual work, homework, and office hours. The second cohort of 60 individuals is now in session, which means that by the end of the year, 100 people will have finished the programme. So far, 450 people have applied, vastly outnumbering the company’s expectations. Walsh discovered that shifting the culture toward digitization and automation did not simply foster new talents in current personnel. It also helps the business retain outside hires, breaking the old “cycle of frustration.”

HOW AI INFLUENCES DESIGN AT LEVI’S

Ronald claimed to use available technologies to improve an existing algorithm and use a neural network created particularly for garments. This algorithm might, for example, define the edges of a garment, detect button placements, and determine pockets, among other things, and then store that image in a single layer for designing.

Ronald decided to create a new Levi’s Trucker jacket to put his algorithm to the test. He drew inspiration from his love of art history. Among the many references were Van Gogh’s Starry Night, David Hockney’s Apple Tree, and Jasper Johns’ Corpse and Mirror II. The program was able to describe different aspects of the art pieces such as brush strokes, colour, and edges. By using the same algorithm, and with the click of a button, the software could recreate thousands of unique alternative designs instantly.

Whilst, Ronald has also built a new app that automatically matches threads to fabrics using a specified Pantone palette and solved a major problem point of his fellow designers. These innovations are all the more astounding given that Ronald only completed the bootcamp a few months ago.

 It’s a wonderful illustration of how technology can help and influence workloads beyond the routine data and AI space, forming new dynamics.

“Given the size and fast growth of the Indian market, the launch will for the first time involve three separate stores to be able to offer LifeWear to as many people as possible,” the company said.

The first store will be opened on October 2019, at Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj, South Delhi spread across 3 floors of the mall covering 35000 sq. feet of space. The second one will be opened at DLF Place Saket, also in South Delhi while the third store will be located at DLF CyberHub in Gurugram. To be sure, Uniqlo’s India entry has been a talking point for the past about three years. After H&M, Gap and Aeropostale launched almost within the same year between 2015 and 2016, the time gap for the next large international retail brand launch has been long. However, the company has been researching the market for some time now before making its entry. Uniqlo will be running its operations independently and not tie up with any local retailer.

“We are committed to the Indian market and are very excited to be launching our first three stores in Delhi, a region that embraces diversity and culture, from art and design to craftsmanship and fashion,” UNIQLO Founder and Chairman, President & CEO, Fast Retailing Tadashi Yanai said.

The store will showcase Asia’s size specific collection including, men, women, kids and babies and has a target to beat Spain’s Zara and Swedish retailer H&M to sell more apparel globally.  Uniqlo is expected to compete with these brands in the Indian market, although being a fast fashion brand Forever21 will also be a competition. Being a hot country, Uniqlo’s assortment of cotton clothes might be well received.

“We look forward to offering our high-quality, affordable LifeWear apparel to the people of India,” he added.

The brand’s entry was made after the allowance of FDI in single-brand retail in India to which Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, announced further relaxation on sourcing norms for single-brand retailers. Although 30 percent of the products by a foreign company must be sourced from local suppliers, preferably medium and small enterprises.

The collection was previewed at its website for the Indian customers with a price range of garments starting from Rs. 490 ($7)  for men t-shirts, Rs. 1,490 ($21) for women pants and formal men’s shirts will be in the range of Rs. 1,990 to Rs. 2,490. Jeans are mainly in the price range of Rs 2490-Rs 2990 ($35-40).  The brand’s iconic Ultra-light down vests jackets had the range between Rs. 3,490 to Rs. 4,990 ($50-$64) .The prices are not much different from their US or EU prices and it needs to be seen how their quality is being received by the customers.

Uniqlo’s debut increases the competition in the Indian apparel market. It would be interesting to explore the foreign collection. Stay tuned for more information or visit UNIQLO.COM!

“The rapid changes in the fashion industry are continuing and the H&M group is in an exciting transitional period. Our transformation work has contributed to a gradual improvement in sales development with increased market share in most markets during the third quarter, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Eastern Europe, Russia and China, said -Karl-Johan Persson, CEO

Top 10 Countries Based On Sales For The Q3’18

Germany is the biggest revenue generator country for H&M during Q3 and had contributed USD 1084 million to the total sales of H&M and also managed to register a growth of 13% from the previous year’s quarter. USA dissapointed with its adverse growth rate , though it is the 2nd largest contributor however the performance is not that good. China and Russia seemed to be the fastest growing spot for the H&M as in the top 10 list , China marked a growth rate of 21% during Q3 along with Russia . UK, being the 3rd largest contributor with USD 476 million during the Q3 , had a growth rate of 16% during the 3rd quarter of 2018 .

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The Quarter Ended On August 31,2018

This table presents the ranking of top 10 countries which have grown the most in terms of Sales during the Q3 of 2018 . Iceland surprises the list with Rank 1 with a growth rate of 362% (however it has only 2 stores) followed by New Zealand with 106%. The number of stores as on Aug 31,2018 for both the countries were 2 and 4 respectively and the sale/store were USD 3.30 million and 1.93 Million respectively. The highest sale/store was found in Chile which had USD 5.28 Million sale per store with 8 stores only . Chile is growing at 22% . There are two countries from South East Asia in the list – India and China . For Q3 , India grew at a rate of 49% with 34 stores in hand and the total sales for Q3 was USD 47.08 million ( USD 1.38 million / Store) however China , which has 522 stores as on August 31 , managed to draw sales of USD 0.68 million per store.

If we compare the sales figures of nine months , India marked the growth rate of 29% and the per store sales were then USD 3.64 million . The per store/month sales comes to about $0.4 million for India against China’s $0.23 million . Its growth rate is the highest if we consider a reasonable number of stores (ie about 25) . But we need to consider that China is growing at a bigger base of over 500 stores and hence its growth rate of 21% is also appreciable.

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The First Nine Months Ended On August 31,2018

If we look from the following data, we will find that Mexico is the country with a reasonable number of stores and a very good per store sale of about $ 6 million million . This puts Mexico in the hot seat when we consider the last 9 months. Next comes India with 29% growth and reasonable number of stores. Growth in Poland of 21% with 182 stores also can be considered very good.

Five Year Sales Summary on Nine Month Basis | December – August | 2014-2018

Looking out the results of Nine Months of previous five years , we can immediately draw this conclusion that , though the sales have been growing, however the pace of growth is inconsistent . In 2015 , the growth rate was 21% which came down to the level of 5% in 2016 , in 2017 it shown an upward trend with growth rate of 7% however in the latest Nine Months ended results , the results are down by 4% and hence the growth rate remained only 3% .

The path is not going to be so easy for the H&M, the Swedish group that is the world’s second-largest clothes retailer by sales. The retailer is facing competition not just from cheaper fashion brands such as Primark but above all internet sellers such as Zalando, Asos and Amazon. Its closest competitor Zara has been doing very well in online sales and so H&M . The retailers need to do a lot to make supply chain little quicker. Not to forget , Zara delivers the products within a day time via its online sales in many countries.

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