In the 1st part of ” What’s new from exhibitors at 2nd DenimsandjeansVirtual Show” – we had featured our 4 exhibitors of the 2nd edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual Show with their focus products – Nearchimica, Kaiser/Dystar, Deridesen, and Elin by Elasten.
In this article, we are going to introduce offerings from 4 more exhibitors of Denimandjeans Virtual show which they will be displaying at the show .
RIBBONTEX | ITALY
“Ribbontex – a leading accessories manufacturers from Italy is going to exhibit its latest AW 21/22 collection at the show which they named –LEADING THE FUTURE”
A sporty, technical, and futuristic collection which is the result of :
Use of innovative techniques
Use of new and Avant-garde materials with increasingly sophisticated performances.
Study and research in continuous evolution.”
Denim Clothing Company | Pakistan
“Founded in 2005, Denim Clothing Company (DCC) is a well known denim garment manufacturing facility. The company is committed to leading responsible initiatives in fully recycling and conserving water, reducing energy use to a minimum, and eliminating the use of hazardous chemicals entirely within its production facility.
For the S/S 21season, DCC has explored sustainable alternative fabrics for garment production. Re:Code range is created using innovative fibers such as Hemp, Green Mint and Corn, producing garments which not only look and feel like traditional denim wear but are completely biodegradable and resource-conserving.
DCC looks forward to introducing these and other exciting innovations to the buyers at the 2nd Denims and Jeans virtual show. “
Bukhara Cotton Textile | Uzbekistan
“BCT Denim Division is a part of Petromaruz Group which has been operating in Central Asia and Europe since early 2000’s and employs over 14.000 people worldwide. They are fully vertically integrated from farming stage with Response Cotton, Denim Fabric and Garment Manufacturing.
These are three focussed products which BCT Denim is going to showcase at the 2nd edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual Show. “
Interloop | Pakistan
“Interloop utilizes the most environmentally safe manufacturing processes is central to the way they do business, their commitment to sustainability in an era of environmental crisis has wider implications.
The company understands that to be truly responsible they must strive towards a circular economy and push forward conscious consumption at all levels.
Focused on sustainable fashion, their products are made with eco-friendly fabrics using pre/post-consumer waste, organic cotton, and plant-based fibers. Their product range showcases the latest trends in synergy with green washes and finishes conceptualized and designed in CLO to further minimize our waste. “
To meet reputed global suppliers Face2face with PRE ARRANGED meeting schedules, do not miss to register for the 2nd Edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual Show . Register at https://lnkd.in/ekpaVrG
Levi Strauss was born in the German town of Buttenheim and the museum there to celebrate their famous son turns 20 and they will host a special exhibition by Ian Berry with all his works out of denim – no dye, no bleach, no paint – just layers of jeans.Â
Ian Berry , in turn , celebrates 15 years of working with the material and garments made so popular by the man who emigrated the German town in 1847.
From Sunday (September 13th) until November 8th the exhibition examines the years of artist Ian Berry’s work crafted out of only blue jeans and will show amongst the memories of Levi Strauss who is immortalised in the dedicated museum in the house he was born in.
For any denim lover, it is worth a visit to the home of Levi Strauss to see his fascinating life and materials but to see it with the famed artists’ work is an extra treat.
Levi Strauss was born in 1829 in Buttenheim, the town in the district of Bamberg. In 1847 , he would emigrate to the USA – finally settling in San Francisco and hitting gold with his patented pants with the development alongwith Jacob Davis. Â
The museum opened in September 2000. With the biography of Levi Strauss, visitors can gain an insight into the lives of the rural Franconian Jewish Community, the world of the immigrants, the beginnings of the textile industry, and of course, all about our favorite material – jeans.
Levi Strauss house is one of only a few preserved objects from his life and one of the oldest houses in Buttenheim . The district council bought it in 1987 and today is classified as a historical monument. A wide scale renovation of the dilapidated half-timbered house was done to bring it to as true to the original as possible. Imagine Levi walking around!Â
When the Museum first opened back in 2000, hardly anyone anticipated its rapid success. Nevertheless, both Museum guests and professionals have seen the Levi Strauss Museum become a popular success. Every year, thousands of people visit Buttenheim from all over the world in order to experience the Museum and see where it all began.
This will kick off two years of museum shows for the Yorkshire born artist. Many works will be on display including from the Behind Closed Doors and Hotel California collections that will move on to Holland, to the Museum Rijswijk in November and the National Textile Museum of Sweden (Textil Museet)
During the Covid period his work took on a new life, having spent years portraying isolation. His Behind Closed Doors body of work became life for many of us . He had painstakingly crafted beautiful homes out of only denim but with a haunting scene of loneliness.Â
It will be Berry’s first showing of his work in Germany and he will be there to meet the guests at the opening that will , of course , be under social distancing rules. There will be a projection of his famed #iclapfor project.
‘When Dr Tanja Roppelt , the curator , got in touch with me a couple of years ago it made sense – the old romantic in me loved the idea of the work showing in the birthplace (of Levi Strauss) . I love the history of denim, especially that of Jacob Davis and Levi and the Rivet.’ – Ian Berry
All of Ian’s plans for the year were shattered with COVID. As he works from photography all the shoots were cancelled in the first week of lockdown so he has had to change his direction for the year. Many people sent him photos of their home isolation and this saw the birth of the Stay Behind Closed Doors project, I myself contributed and you can see in the latest Sportswear International.
Then, along with his son Elliott, 6, he made the two applauding hands. Clapping for the health heroes had been a big part of British life for the first ten weeks of the Covid period.
Ian Berry 2020
Ian’s son was particularly captivated and it enabled Ian to explain more what was going on while he was engaged. What started as a personal project between father and son, ended up being beamed all over the world via projections. It covers the whole of the UK and Ireland and was seen as far as Australia, Colombia, Mexico City and Brazil amongst many others. He was raising money for the NHS and Doctors Without Borders and got fine donations from Cone Denim , Tricia Carey at Lenzing. It became the #iclapfor campaign and a short documentary film will be shown at the museum.
Ian, originally from Huddersfield , lives and works in East London amongst thousands of pairs of jeans that he recycles to create almost photorealistic pieces and installations. He has been named a top 30 artist under 30 in the world and now he will show at a historical home of one of the materials of our time.Â
Advt: Denimsandjeans is happy to announce the 2nd edition of its virtual show to be held on Oct 14-15 bringing to together global denim supply chain companies at one platform again . To visit, please register at: https://virtual.denimsandjeans.com/vi…
After the successful launch of its 1st edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual Show which concluded on July 23, Denimsandjeans announced the dates for its 2nd edition under a theme name- Cloud Sourcing. The show is scheduled for October 14-15 and will cover US, South America, and European times zones this time.
The last virtual show had over 43 denim companies around the world including companies like Arvind, Artistic Milliners, Raymond, Kilim Denim, Garmon, Jeanologia, Tonello, Officina+39, LNJ , Artistic Garment, Wiser Globe/Wash, Deridesen , Artistic Fabric Mills, Blue Diamond, Prosperity and many other companies which showcased their latest developments and collections for AW 21 seasons.
The show threw light on the recent developments and innovations through its talks and discussion. Over 12 sessions were held at the show and the reputed denim experts including Adriano Goldschmied, Stefano Aldighieri, Maurizio Donandi, Beau Lawrence, Jean Hegedus, Lucia Rosin, and Dr. Naresh Tyagi graced the show with their presence. You can watch all the sessions at Denimsandjeans Official Youtube channel, the link is here- https://www.youtube.com/user/denimsandjeans/videos
The 1st edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual Show was one of its own kind of shows and it has received very encouraging feedback from the denim community. This time the show comes with new features and would be more user friendly. The time zone selected this time means the focus would be more on USA , South American and EU customers this time. However, it does not mean that Asia would be ignored. The show will be much longer this time and give at least 4-5 hours to Asian customers as well . The exact timings will be shared shortly.
Denim Cloud Sourcing, a new term coined by Denimsandjeans through its theme is an extension to digital sourcing. The Apparel Industry per se has been following the conventional sourcing techniques for fabric and other auxiliaries selection . However limitation caused by COVID 19 pushed the industry to think over on the alternatives.
We ,as Denimsandjeans, have always believed that digital marketing and sourcing will play a very important role in our industry and therefore had started to work on digital platforms since 2017. Last year only we launched our DE-Brands platform – which is online B2B marketplace which is gaining strong traction with over 48 global supply chain companies already a part of it with a number of buyers joining regularly.
Virtual trade shows are again an important innovation and the industry has also started to adapt itself accordingly considering its relevance in the given situation. Buyers as well as the Suppliers would also like to have a real-time face to face discussions during the product selection process so that technicality and other ingredients of fabric/product could be easily understood and explained. Our increased strength in digital arena enables us to combine more technologies this time to enable a better user experience both for exhibitors and visitor.
The 2nd edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual show – Cloud Sourcing offers all such benefits to the users in the simplest way. Being a boutique and niche kind of b2b virtual trade show, a limited number of suppliers from around the globe will be invited to showcase their products. Buyers primarily from the USA and Europe will join the show besides from some other locations whereas we see increased participation from South American regions as well .
Yoga is a mind and body practice with a 5,000-year history in ancient Indian philosophy. Various styles of yoga combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation. In more recent years, it has become popular as a form of physical exercise based upon poses that promote improved control of the mind and body and enhance well-being.
During the first edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual event held on July 22-23 , there was a great session on finding a connect between yoga and denim. Ebru Debagg and Ani Wells – both denim as well as yoga experts spoke to Sandeep Agarwal and all three tried to find a connect between Yoga and Denim.
Ebru started practicing yoga about 18 years ago after suggestion by former CEO of Orta and she mentioned that it has been a long journey for her and she also traveled a lot for yoga and also used to try to find hotels near yoga centers ! She also set up a yoga studio at Orta and did teacher trainings around the world.
Ani mentioned that she started yoga about 2 years ago and it changed her life. The other forms of exercises in gyms she was practicing before did not give her the mental escape that yoga immediately gave her.
Ebru compared yoga and denim philosphically :
“I would like to refer to the consciousness part of it because I think what we have been discussing in denim industry for so long – sustainability is an act of consciousness and yoga kind of help build that consciousness . One of the greatest teacher said that Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory . I refer to greenwashing in our industry and we have to walk the talk and put all practice in action. So I find a great similarilty between yoga and sustainability aspect of our industry . Also during yoga I keep my DRISHTI ie the focus at one point and so in our industry the DRISHTI (focus) needs to be set rightâ€
Ani Wells also mentioned that mindfulness and consciousness are so important for our supply chain and also in yoga . She also mentioned about visiting Saitex Vietnam about the mindfulness and holistic approach in production processes for both inputs and outputs. She further added :
“Yoga is also about flexibility and so is denim now with super high stretch denims and we do not know future holds and there are so many opportunities so I think the concept of improving adaptability and flexibility. Also yoga practitioners deeply care about the environment and so should our industry people do â€
Ebru agreed with her and further stressed about commonalities
“As we focus more on mindfulness and sustainability , we will find more common grounds between yoga and denim . Ebru said Ebru gave a great comparison between yoga and denim by saying that yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory and our industry should learn from it by not greenwashing but actually work towards 99% sustainability .â€
Ebru mentioned that she was wearing jeans which she bought from Gap from Japan and these are super stretch and she could easily do yoga in them without feeling uncomfortable. Both felt that yoga can give more inspiration to the industry to come out with super super stretch and there is a space for it but currently they were not really positive on lot of people using denim for yoga . But both agreed that both yoga and denim are for everyone and they transcend race, region, religion , age and geographies .
They performed some great yoga poses in their cool denims and it was a treat to see them doing some asanas which are specifically very useful during this stressful period . Do check out the complete video from this link .
What is your take on this connect ?
We’d like to thank Artistic Milliners From Pakistan, one of the leading denim manufactures, for being a supporting partner to the 1st Denimsandjeans Virtual Show.
Continuing our last article on the special products to be displayed at our Denimsandjeans Virtual show, we bring the offerings from some more of our exhibitors. Visitors who have received confirmations of their invitations will be able to check out the collections after discussion with these companies. All the offerings below are in their own words .
ARVIND LIMITED – INDIA
JEANOLOGIA
Jeanologia launches eDesigner, an innovative software that reinvents the way jeans are being created and manufactured, accompanying designers in their digital transformation.
The innovative technology marks a turning point in the jeans industry connecting designers with the wash developers and brands with manufacturers
Simplifying how you design and ensuring what you see on the screen is what you get on the garment, reducing samples and speeding up time-to-market
Mission Zero
Jeanologia encourages all textile industry stakeholders to get behind their Mission Zero: dehydrate and detoxify the jean industry by 2025. No more water or toxic chemicals used in a single pair of jeans around the world. We need to be rebels again and embrace the technology that allows us to meet our goals.
FASHION ACCESSORIES- INDIA
Kind to the Planet
“Our sustainable collection of metal trims & patches. Clubbing metals in their raw form with labels made from natural and organic materials, we weave a sustainable trim story for your garment.”
Printed Metal
“Continuous research & development has helped us perfect this innovative printing technology where we can replicate any design, print or colour on your metal trims. This is a winner for DTM collections as well as special premium lines, where the trims do all the talking.”
SOORTY – PAKISTAN
Cotton Free
“Styling: high waisted jeans with 80’s unique details give a truly vintage character.
Washing: A faded vintage wash achieved by tonello-up technology.
Fabric: this is a cotton free, very premium, as well as sustainable & environmentally responsible fabric.”
C2C Laser Black:
“Styling: from our Smart Care concept this is a men shirt where bold pocket details were used inspired by the 80s.
Washing: sustainable wash with Laser & Ozone.
Fabric: Laser Black is a unique color that is developed for easy working with Laser. It also never turns into the yellow or red cast on the wash downs. It also C2C Certified with 100% Organic Cotton.”
RIBBONTEX SRL – ITALY
Biodegradable eco leather labels.
These patches are able to decompose naturally. Once discarded, they will become organic substance within a year.
Printed elastic ribbons. The elastics are very comfortable and you can print whatever you want. Even small details and “fading” effects.
KILIM DENIM – TURKEY
D5329 MORIS MIDDARK CACTUS PCRD STR
“We used Cactus process with organic cotton, recycled denim and recycled polyester yarn together. About Cactus; most of the water is used during removal of unfixed dyestuff in indigo dyeing process, we started to use a new developed chemical, which improves the fixation of indigo on the warp yarn.”
D5815 GORBI GREY XL STR ORGANIC SOD GREY
“Core skills of the collection is derived from the idea that creating functional details for the products and enhance the quality of users by developing abilities of nano technology for denim. Two functionality antibacterial and water repellent units at one denim fabric. “
RAYMOND UCO
INTENTION
“This ecological denim is part of the “Pristine†range – carefully designed dyeing processes, that aims at reducing water and energy consumption and waste generation. Intention, is made with our signature technology CADOL: a combination of salt-free dyeing that reduces load on effluent and dyeing technique that reduces water consumption. “
SPARTA
“Sparta is an unique everyday wear with easy care, power stretch and extreme comfort. The fabric is made with special finishing process that delivers high stretch with lowest shrinkage for easy care. A green casted denim that offers wide range of wash-downs makes it truly “Seasonlessâ€.
As the Denimsandjeans Virtual comes closer and with only 5 days to go , we bring you information on the latest products which the different exhibitors will focus on during the show. We bring the details of these products in their own words.
Tonello – Italy
The Laundry (R)evolution
The sophisticated fruit of a radically new conception in garment finishing processes, based on 3 clear words: simple, digital and automatic, and on just 3 technologies: Laser Blaze, All-in-One System, and Metro.
Wake
The first totally natural dyeing system that uses only plants and vegetable waste, such as flowers, berries, and roots, dried and infused, with no chemical additives that are harmful.
House Of Gold – Blue Diamond
Smart Indigo-
Special dyeing method to make it ozone & laser friendly
Lenzing- Austria
TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Technology
The pioneering REFIBRA™ technology involves upcycling a substantial proportion of cotton scraps e.g. from garment production, in addition to wood pulp, where the raw material is transformed to produce new virgin TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers to make fabrics and garments.
TENCEL™ Denim fibers
TENCEL™ Denim cellulosic fibers of botanic origin are tailored to a sustainable lifestyle, liberating personal expression through movement by their natural comfort, smoothness and versatility. TENCEL™ Denim fibers have been a preferred choice for brands globally.
Archroma-Switzerland
Pure Indigo flow:
An aniline-free* indigo system that produces authentic denim without compromising our planet. Same shade and behave of the traditional pre reduced liquid indigo, but aniline free*.
Indigo Reflection:
A coloration system that behaves like indigo, but with a more sustainable and efficient process. How to obtain a blue denim with a flexible and hydrosulfite free process.
Nm 17.000 | 80% Pure Best HEMP in natural Raw col. |10% Lycra® |10% T400®
LINEN STRETCH
Ref. 3406G Patented
Nm 17.000 |80% Pure Best LINEN in natural Raw col. |10% Lycra® |10% T400®
Kaiser Textile – Turkey
F stone and Lava Zyme NBF
The Lycra Company- US
LYCRA® FREEF!t® Technology
Easy & Soft Stretch
Low Growth
Lasting Shape Retention
LYCRA® Fiber ECOMADE
Made with Pre-Consumer Recycled content
Same Unique performance as LYCRA® fiber
Fit with circular economy
LYCRA® HYBRID Technology
Patented Circular knit construction
Comfort of Knits , Aesthetics of a Denim
Fits with today’s active lifestyle
Creative Resources – Vietnam
Superstretch in black and indigo, more than 90 percent stretchability, sustainable  fabric and wash process. Supersoft handfeel.
Vintage distressed look with sustainable wash process.Vintage distressed look with beadworks.
Officina+39 – Italy
OZ-ONE POWDER it is an advanced product for garments treatment to give bleached, distressed and worn look, but in an eco-friendly way (chlorine or potassium permanganate free).
It can work in conventional machines, without water, releasing inside the tumbler the innovative OZ-ONE particles to produce results such as the corrosion of dischargeable dyes like indigo.
NEBUDYE D is a combination of an innovative process with a selected dyestuffs to obtain original vintage dyeing look, waterless, using the nebulization systems.
These dyestuffs are also dischargeable into white using our PP replacement REMOVER IND/J-N (ecological replacement of Potassium Permanganate also for indigo and black sulphur dyestuffs).
Visitors can join the show only with a unique link. Don’t forget to register and get your link if not done already !!
Denimsandjeans Virtual is a different kind of virtual show to be held for the denim industry on July 22-23 . So what makes this show different from any other virtual show ? It is different because it has certain unique features which may not been seen before – that’s what we feel. And these include :
Virtual booths for exhibitors
Face 2 face private video talks between buyers and exhibitors
Exhibitors can showcase their products privately
A trend zone showing some cool trends from the exhibitors
Networking possibilities with all present at the show
Getting bored – check out some cool ——- ( to be disclosed ! )
Since its a new kind of concept , there are many questions which come to mind. We answer some of these in the FAQs below :
Is it a local show or a global one ? Denimsandjeans Virtual (DV) is a global show covering multiple time zones. The show is currently planned for 10 hours each day . Central Europe : 7.30 am to 5.30pm India : 11 am to 9 pm Turkey : 8.30 am to 6.30pm Pakistan : 10.30 am to 8.30 pm Bangladesh : 11.30am to 9.30 pm Vietnam : 12.30 pm to 10.30 pm HK/ China : 1.30 pm to 11.30pm Japan : 2.30pm to 12 midnight
Though in some time zones like Japan, it will be late , but our buyers from these zones will be able to spend at least good 5-6 hours in the show. Same for East Coast in US, Brazil, Mexico etc from where buyers can spend at least 4 hours easily at the show.
Who can join the show Apart from the exhibitors, buyers from all over the world can join the show . However, since the entry is restricted to registered buyers only , it is important that the buyers get themselves registered on this page and get the unique link to join the show. 15th July will be the last date for buyers to register at the show.
As a buyer, how can I interact with exhibitors and other visitors ? The buyers will be able to see a layout with all exhibitors. They can see the profile of the exhibitors and they can decide to have a meeting with any of them. The meeting between buyers and exhibitors will be private .
Can the exhibitors showcase his collection to the buyers Yes , the exhibitors can showcase his latest collection to the buyers by various means . They can setup a nice display in their office which can be seen by the buyer and show them physically. Or they can share their screens and showcase their digital files. For the companies who are already on our De-Brands platform will find it very easy to share their categorised collection with their buyers by sharing their screens.
How does it work for technology and machinery companies We believe its a great opportunity for the machinery and technology companies to show real operations of their new machines or technologies live to the buyers through the video talk.
What apart from exhibitor – buyer talks ? Hmm. We do have a seminar area where we will bring some (not too many) talks by our speakers and guests. They will be intermittent and short but interesting. Speaking about latest trends, digitalization , retail etc.
Trend Zone – how does it work ? We will bring some cool products under various categories by our exhibitors which will be displayed in the trend zone . So relax while you watch through the trends flowing through with some music as you have your cup of coffee ! And you can always mark the products / technologies you find interesting and immediately connect with suppliers of those.
But in a trade show we also want to network , meet our friends, peers and just have a chat ! Well, we did not forget the basic human need to network 🙂 . You shall be able to connect with anyone who is at the show , search them by names or companies , send them messages and get replies , ask how they are adapting in the the new normal , and ask them to join you for a coffee . How ??
Well, let’s leave some curtains to be opened on the day of the show !
We are expecting over 45 companies to join us at the show from countries like Italy, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China , Japan etc . Some of the confirmed companies include JDS Garments– Japan , Deridesen – Turkey, AGI DENIM – Pakistan , LNJ – India ,Ribbontex – Italy , Artistic Fabric Mills – Pakistan , Indigo – Pakistan , Raymond – India , Elasten – Italy , Blu Connection – Singapore , Archroma , Kilim – Turkey , Officina+39 – Italy , Ramsons– India, Tonello – Italy , Yilmak Turkey , Nandan India , Atlas Textil Turkey, Garmon– USA and many more counting each day ..
So lets have a blast – network, enjoy , chat with industry friends from all over the world in real time ! And
‘When times change, people need to adapt’ This is what has been happening for over 3 months now. Unheard of times virtually descended upon us and we are all trying to adapt, to devise new ways to live and different paths to work. In all these 3 months we have industries adapt to ways which they never thought was possible. Digitalization is one the key buzzwords which is a guide point for the industry .
“Digitalisation of all business operations have been becoming one of the most crucial components in all segments across the globe. In coming few months, it is uncertain how the travel plans are going to be made and how the different countries are going to open their borders for the overseas travellers.
Most of us are working from home, Remote Learning is a new norm and all the sectors are investing to create a digital platform to prepare themselves accordingly†.
For those of us in the trade show and events industry , it has been even harder as physical meetings become virtually impossible. Many of us have invented new ways to get people together through webinars, live streams, talks through various social media channels and much more.
We had also been working on different solutions to give to the industry and we are happy to announce that are coming up with UNIQUE VIRTUAL PLATFORM which is as close as it possible to a physical trade show.
Denimsandjeans Vietnam Show – 2019
Visitors are looking at the developments demonstrated by Lucia Rosin during the 1st edition of Denimsandjeans India Show
DENIMSANDJEANS VIRTUAL – to be held on JULY 22-23 – is going to be one of its own kind of show and will offer a platform to the global denim community to showcase their latest collection to the buyers from all parts of globe with exciting features .
Virtual Rooms for exhibitors
Invited buyers from EU, East Coast of US , Parts of South America, Most of Asian countries etc join the show.
One to One interaction between buyers and suppliers
Networking options among buyers and suppliers
Simultaneously running talks from some of leading designers, trend forecasters , washing experts etc from around the world .
And you can always try to have a VIRTUAL LUNCH with a denim friend of yours from across the globe !
DENIMSANDJEANS VIRTUAL will be a global show with many companies already confirming participation from Europe , India, Pakistan, Bangladesh , Turkey etc . The show will cover the time zones of EU and major parts of Asia as it runs for over 10 hours on both days .
The platform is going to be interactive and engaging and will offer an opportunity of networking with industry peers. The show will also bring focus to a key trend in the industry –SEASONLESS
This Virtual Trade Show is a totally new platform and does not compete or replace any of our offline shows in India, Japan , Vietnam etc
The offline shows of Denimsandjeans have been affected due to COVID and have been postponed . However, they will definitely be held as the physical shows have their own attraction and importance which remains inspite of Virtual Shows being created. The DE-Brands platform launched by us shall also be a strong platform supporting DENIMSANDJEANS VIRTUAL. It Over 40 global companies who are already on the DE-Brands platform will be able to use its unique features to make more out of DENIMSANDJEANS VIRTUAL .
For more information on DENIMSANDJEANS VIRTUAL, you may contact us at info@denimsandjeans.com
Recently Denimsandjeans held a webinar ‘What Next For Denim’ with some of very well known and globally reputed denim professionals . The panelists included :
1. Albert Candiani (Owner – Candiani Mills) 2. Aamir Akhtar (CEO- Arvind Mills) 3. Alberto De Conti( Head Of Fashion Division- Rudolf) 4. Maurizio Donadi (Co-Founder – Atelier & Repairs) 5. Carlos Arias (CEO- Jeanologia) 6. Stefano Aldighieri( President – Another Design Studio)
The talk was moderated by Sandeep Agarwal and Stefano Aldighieri . We now bring the comments of the panelists of our key questions related to denim industry in a series of six articles with each article giving clear views of each panelist.
In the current article, we bring the thoughts of Stefano Aldighieri – ex creative head of Levi’s and 7FAM and currently running his own design studio . Besides co-moderating the panel, Stefano also shared his own views on various questions put forward at the panel. We share his original comments on some of the questions that were put to him during the discussion . (video of his talk is here )
What is the way forward for denim?
We need to look at reduction of quantities, we need to really look at the value priority for all of us and I think that’s going to change quite dramatically the way people buy, not only what they buy and why they buy. So the whole thing is pretty much going to be different.
One day we’ll wake up from the nightmare , we’re going to find a very different world and it’s actually up to us to make sure that it is a better world, because going back to the way things were before, it’s not something we should aspire to because normalcy, the old normality is what got us into this mess in the first place. So we should really take this opportunity to clean the slate, and start all over again in some shape or form. I know it’s utopian to think that we can reinvent the whole planet overnight, but I think there’s a lot of things that we can do, now that we know better. I think this is also, like some of us who were saying, this is basically accelerating the process that was already on its way. We are very sad to see a lot of big retailers going under now.
There’s going to be more and more bankruptcies. There’s a new one every day now but, to be absolutely fair and objective, we had way over capacity in retail, especially in the Western world. I’m not talking about emerging countries, where things are still in the early days, and hopefully they won’t make this mistake . We have way too many stores, and more importantly, we have too many stores selling exactly the same stuff with no differentiation.
The only differeantiation I’m trying to be 50 cents cheaper than you. That’s no differentiation, that’s just me trying to screw my suppliers more, so that I can try to keep my margins. That’s not a sustainable business. Sustainability is about the planet, but it’s also about the people, and it’s about the profits and if you don’t look at all the three elements you really have nothing. So I think at the end of day it is not as horrible as this is.
I think this is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to start fresh and start doing things better; I think that is there is a general misunderstanding in what design actually means, because to most people, and unfortunately even in our industry, the designer is just the guy or the girl that we ask â€let’s just make it prettyâ€, make it nice for the customer. That is a complete misunderstanding. The design process is what actually determines the whole lifecycle of the garment.
If we took more attention in the design process of our garments, the whole thing would be much easier . They look at ways on how they can minimize the footprint, but they’re trying to retrofit something in a process that is not designed for that. The right approach is actually to take a look at the whole life cycle of the garment from the get-go and say this is what my garment is, the lifecycle of a garment is this is, and what it’s going to happen to the garment at the end, when people stop using it, where is it going to go, how it’s going to be disposed of.
So you really have to look at every single step, let me look at the raw materials that I’m using, let me look at the yarns , where is the cotton coming from, where is the dye stuff coming from, which factory is going to make it, how they’re going to make it, what is the most efficient way to avoid waste for fabric, what kind of chemicals can I use, how to reduce my main packaging, how can I make sure that the packaging does not just end up on the shop floor, and how do I make sure that the garment at the end of the day when it’s exhausted, its usefulness as a garment, maybe can can be used again for something else. So being able to be recycled – to be upcycled, down cycled – and somehow avoid it going into a landfill.
What are the 3 key things the denim industry needs to do?
It’s three priorities. One is pretty much a given, we will have to look into rationalizing both fabric basis and garment basis because it’s quite frankly out of control. We think we’re also smart but we are really a bunch of idiots. How many fabrics have you made over the history of your company – maybe fifteen thousand, but how many of those are really truly different fabrics. Similarly, how many fabrics have you made just because we cannot say no to a customer – I say no we have this one, it’s exactly what you need, and eventually we end up looking at incredible amounts of stocks out there, and inventories piling up all over the place. That is all actually perfectly good, there’s nothing wrong with it, but we fell into this trap of this, it has to be new at all cost. We have to have a seasonal “newnessâ€.
What is the seasonal meaning in denim? Denim is the same fabric that you can wear all year round, a lot of these things are self-inflicted. So I think now we’re going to be forced to look at these things more rationally and the reduction of quantity will come as a consequence; I’m not advocating that we should raise our prices on everything. I understand very well there’s a lot of people who cannot afford to buy expensive clothes so it’s not like overnight we can say I reduced my quantities by 50% and increased my prices by 25% . It’s not that simple, but one thing that we should work on together as an industry is to try and educate people.
We’ve done a phenomenal job at mis-educating our customers, and let them believe that it was okay to buy all disposable stuff. I think people should realize that it’s not. An old saying says “I am too poor to afford cheap clothes†and it’s very true, if you buy cheap stuff , you end up spending a lot more at the end of the day because you’re going to have something that is not going to last, is not going to have any quality, any strength or anything. So that’s one major change that I want to see in the industry.
Second one, we’ve been talking , ad nauseam , about sustainability for the last three years, I hope people will not forget it right away. They say we’re in survival mode now we cannot afford to spend more to try to recycle or to try to make better use of our resources. I see recycling facilities are struggling right now . Used garments cannot be shipped because there’s a fear of contamination. So there’s a lot of issues that we need to need to focus on and the third one that I think is pretty essential is that we really need to start looking at the definition of partnership again because it’s something that people have been talking about for so long .
Partnership is out of the window, and so many customers have shifted into panic mode; it’s not a judgment call. I understand that when you’re really having your back to the wall , you have to look at trying to save your skin and it’s easier to look at the immediate problems that you have to face now. We have to be looking at the consequences down the line, but all these partnerships that we’ve been talking about are pretty much moot right now.
We need partnerships more than ever, brands, retailers, factories, textile operations. We all have to work together because that’s the only way to get out of this. We can’t just keep pushing the buck down the line and just allow the lowest part of the operation to suffer the most, that’s just not right.
Stefano also quickly answered some more questions which were raised by the participants at the webinar .
Q.How important is HEMP and HEMP-blends going to be in the next few years? A. I think the time is finally coming for Hemp to become a viable alternative to cotton. Q.How does the panel see traceability of denim (from seed to garment)? What role Blockchain will play in that traceability process? Is the industry ready to collaborate to form different consortia that drive full transparency and elevated efficiency? A. Traceability is indeed one of the biggest challenges that our industry faces; it has never been seriously tackled but it seems to be getting more traction now, there are a few interesting technologies already available, hopefully we will manage to find a common standard. Q.Could Denim Fabrics be 100% Recycled? A.Yes, it could; more importantly, can it be 100% recyclable? This is a more important question, and more difficult to answer. Q.Talking about Brands making mIstakes “Where do you think Iconic Brands like Diesel and EXPRESS stand? A. Diesel has been on an incredible trajectory for many years and eventually, I think, has become too big and lost its original “soulâ€. They should look back and stay true to what made them great in the beginning. I don’t think Express is an iconic brand, sorry!
Watch our all episodes of #CovidTimes talks and Webinar at our official YouTube channel
Recently Denimsandjeans held a webinar ‘What Next For Denim’ with some of very well known and globally reputed denim professionals . The panelists included :
1. Albert Candiani (Owner – Candiani Mills) 2. Aamir Akhtar (CEO- Arvind Mills) 3. Alberto De Conti( Head Of Fashion Division- Rudolf) 4. Maurizio Donadi (Co-Founder – Atelier & Repairs) 5. Carlos Arias (CEO- Jeanologia) 6. Stefano Aldighieri( President – Another Design Studio)
The talk was moderated by Sandeep Agarwal and Stefano Aldighieri . We now bring the comments of the panelists of our key questions related to denim industry in a series of six articles with each article giving clear views of each panelist.
In the current article, we bring the thoughts of Ablerto De conti – head of fashion division Rudolf from from LA. We share his original comments on some of the questions that were put to him during the discussion . (video of his talk is here )
WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD FOR DENIM?
This question made me really uncomfortable because forecasting is very difficult especially when it involves the future. Right before getting into this call, we had another call with my director of the company who is trying to figure out what to do for the rest of 2020 and how is this going to look like and that was not an easy exercise at all.
I think the only intelligent way to try and forecast the future is to observe the present . This season is more difficult. What I see is that the epidemic is being a reality check for a critical mass of people in many difficult ways.
I feel personal values will be shifted and in some cases people after a couple of months to lockdown have realized that one can really live with much less. We’re going back to basically what we were saying before.
Now I don’t really want to go down and negatively speak about it. In addition, we need 20-30 million newly employed people in the USA as they lost the jobs. I’m thinking rationally. I really don’t think that buying jeans with the latest trends and washes is necessarily going to be at the top of everybody’s mind.
If we know the history of our beloved blue friends ,that denim has always supported the needs of the society. Denim is considered as one of the symbols of rebellion in the past during the 60’s and 70’s and not as a fashion statement. Now, the way forward with the denim industry if you ask me is being able to re-look what citizens really need from them.
Sustainability remains one of major importance and there are Titans in industry represented here by Jeanologia, Candiani who have done monumental work on sustainability. Sustainability today is a ticket to play, it’s more of an expectation from consumers that has been a reason to buy.
I tell you one story. Our production in Germany of chemical auxiliaries is booked throughout July for this year for the production of auxiliaries for textile to provide functionality, not fashion. And to me that’s a big thing.
WHAT ARE THE 3 KEY THINGS DENIM INDUSTRY NEEDS TO DO?
From our perspectives as a chemical company we are really low in the food chain, the last guys of the book.From our perspective what we feel is that there is an overall lack of vision and I would say not necessarily throughout the value chain. Sometimes there is a rush to go to the market when the season is coming and you don’t necessarily think or look at the whole picture, really trying to go to market in a way that someone can approve it.
But if I have to think of the three things that right now the industry should focus on well what could be done with the massive inventory that is in the warehouses around the world which can not be used before the next season over years. There should be a clear priority and I really hope that you know efforts are being made there in order to understand what can be done. Then the second because fast fashion completely drew the consumer towards the commodity world, and because once again to a commodity world, you really are not adding any value.
There should be a focus on the new found law for quality longer lasting products and better product design which is what we were you know talking about and then that requires a fundamental revolution within brands and retailers.
And then the third that there should be focused on is , there are way too many suppliers and customers of ours that are suffering and lead to bankruptcy because of questionable commercial behaviors. I think the industry in the entire world needs to focus on ethics that are real which are sometimes missing.
There should be some ethics and there should be some enforcement program. I don’t know exactly how the transformer foundation led by Andrew Ola is really working out but I can tell you that there are ideas we put in place.
And for the industry, to resolve programs with mediation and I think something needs to be done in that area, otherwise the entire value chain is going to suffer and we are going to lose an incredible part. So, this would be my three areas to focus on.
Watch our all episodes of #CovidTimes talks and Webinar at our official YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/denimsandjeans/videos
Recently Denimsandjeans held a webinar ‘What Next For Denim’ with some of very well known and globally reputed denim professionals . The panelists included :
1. Albert Candiani (Owner – Candiani Mills) 2. Aamir Akhtar (CEO- Arvind Mills) 3. Alberto De Conti( Head Of Fashion Division- Rudolf) 4. Maurizio Donadi (Co-Founder – Atelier & Repairs) 5. Carlos Arias (CEO- Jeanologia) 6. Stefano Aldighieri( President – Another Design Studio)
The talk was moderated by Sandeep Agarwal and Stefano Aldighieri . We now bring the comments of the panelists of our key questions related to denim industry in a series of six articles with each article giving clear views of each panelist.
In the current article, we bring the thoughts of Maurizio Donadi – the owner at famous upcycling brand Atelier & Repairs from LA. We share his original comments on some of the questions that were put to him during the discussion . (video of his talk here )
What is the way forward for denim?
The virus has basically not only destroyed all logics to our industry but also gave us an opportunity to start afresh and I think that it is true that we have the knowledge, the technology, the experience, and the desire of fixing this industry and we have the capability of engineering in particularly in the world of denim what good denim is all about . In the name of global domination we have designed and made horrible problems and I think that needs to stop.
I think that the idea of reducing intelligently, designing differently, and selling with honesty instead of selling with a price point and I believe that we will all benefit and the people that will benefit the most will be the citizens of the world who should know about trends and stories and point of views and opinions because that’s what globalization is.
Globalization is a free sharing of ideas and now with the digital world instantaneously. At the same time we need to recover from this madness, from this situation locally.
I think there is an incredible opportunity for the return of the made in Italy, the return of made in the USA, the return of the made in anywhere, made in India and the competition should be in improving greatly the way we from design from concept all the way to execution is an opportunity to really re-engineer all of this and I am not in the business of producing but I am in the business of transforming what already exists.
I would say as I am the spectator of a lot of the mistakes that brands have made and I can tell you that that and I think it’s public knowledge that we have to stop thinking about people as consumers and customers and we have to start thinking about people as citizens and knowing that they will vote your company or not according to their honesty of your story.
And I think that the story is more important than the product.
Storytelling is a marketing tool that make you enamored with a company that do not deserve to be bought and I think that’s the science of marketing which is no longer support for beautiful product but it is intellectual terrorism in creating chaos and desire for things that we don’t need and after six to eight weeks of isolation.
I think that we know pretty good what we need in life and what we don’t need anymore and we will be able to vote about food, about homes, about people, about goods, and ultimately about denim because that’s what is needed . It’s the rethinking of our life and the new re-imagination and a new building of our lives starts from a very difficult time . And that’s when people are the most effective and when the innovation starts . Sorry the gift that we got from this bloody virus is that we had for the first time time to think about all the things that are wrong and all the things that are good and important to us and denim being the one of the most democratic house for your body that we have an opportunity to really make it useful, utilitarian, beautiful, sustainable, traceable, longer, long lasting best product we can ever made.
I think that the citizen will understand the effort.
The brands truly need to conceptualize their brands and their product line . They should design a lot less and design with a lot more expertise because you have been producing product for brand in general that did not have the knowledge and the experience of designing right .How many time I went to factory where the workers were laughing at the way things were constructed because the design was wrong to start with .Of course there are amazing designers and so forth, but what is designed for denim so I think that the design process today in big company is also considered a cost.
So being creative is a cost for large corporations that are dominated by supply chain in which their only interest is in the status quo right . They don’t want to change anything – it took them 30 years to build their books and we are telling now that they need to change the books ???? Well my answer would be absolutely so now or you’re gone in two or three years or be happy to be 1/10 of the revenues that you are you were generating pre virus.
So I think that that’s the wake-up call for brands which need to revolutionize the method from design to execution and the commerce of it and for the industry, for the manufacturing industry to evolve because the needs now are different.
What are three Key Things the Denim Industry needs to do?
I’m thinking about three things instinctively . One requires zero investment financial investment it’s called rethinking of our values , our principles and the way we work . I think that every company , every individual and every company should have this conversation with itself, himself/herself and ourselves what our company stands for and why are we in business , for what type of business we want and how we want to conduct ourselves .So that to me is number one . Number two is I believe that we have no other alternative than collaborating spirit of collaboration is it’s something that it’s fundamental nowadays. I mean we all suffer from the same illness we are all suffering from the same crisis from the same virus from the same financial challenges . I think that there is enough culture , knowledge and willingness to create alliances so we can all together solve some of the issues that we have so . And good point about involving citizens into this is because they have also something to say and we can learn from them instead of using them as consumer we use them as in inspirer of a new way of thinking and the third element is in dispute of this idea.
The third point to me is changing mentality in the way we design a made product . I think all of you know I will always vote for good product better core product and and and then the big question about denim is that then when I say the changing mentalities of course is about denim and my question for everybody is :
Is denim the name of five pocket pair of pants???
(Maurizio left us with this question and we leave our readers to answer this question to themselves or share comments below to this question)
Watch our all episodes of #CovidTimes talks and Webinar at our official YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/denimsandjeans/videos
Japan has always been a place to visit in the bucket list of denim lovers who travel there for inspiration and therefore the 1st edition of Denimsandjeans Japan, which is all set to welcome the global denim community on September 29-30 at Sunshine City, Tokyo, is a must-attend event for all the denim connoisseurs. However, this is not the only reason why Denimsandjeans Japan show should not be missed. In fact, there are 8 more reasons !!
#1. Japanese Denim Companies
It’s a little uncommon to see many Japanese Denim companies together in one place quite often at trade shows and with many of these companies joining the show, it is an opportunity to meet them together in one place. These include companies like Kuroki, Kurabo, HAP (technology+garments), Collect ( Japan Blue ), Whoval(Laundry), Nihon Menpu, SAAB (garments), Showa Tex, Shinohara Textiles, JDS Garments, and Amhot holdings. Besides the Japanese, there are some of the most reputed supply chain companies from all over the world at the show.
The complete list of the exhibitors for as of now can be checked at this page .
#2. Display Of 100 Years Old Vintage Denim By Elleti (M.O.D.E)
On June 19th this year, Elleti Group inaugurated – Museum of Denim By ElletiGroup(M.O.D.E)in Italy. The Museum has a truly impressive display of over 13,000 pairs of jeans items, a mix of development samples from the old Martelli Archives, from the current ElleTi archives and several market samples.
At the 1st edition of Japan show, a tiny Museum will be set up by elleti group, where the visitor gets to see a lot of vintage denim garments including prized vintage products from 1910s to 1950s including Levi’s Type 201 (the “value†alternative to the famous 501XX), the style 333, the original 701 (first women’s jean ever made), some World War II 501s, the original Lee 101 Cowboy with arcuate stitching, a dozen examples of Boss Of The Road, several early Stronghold, CQ WO, Powell, Underhill, L. Elkus, Montana, Hercules Overall, Japanese coat and Kimonos from unknown brands from around WW2 times. This display will be inspiring!
#3. The Father Of Denim – Adriano Goldschmied
Denimsandjeans is honored to have the presence of Mr. Adriano Goldschimed, who will be presenting his new and internationally acclaimed – WISER WASH TECHNIQUE at the show and the launch of WISER WASH in the Japanese Market. Besides, it is always one of the greatest pleasures to hear the guru speak on various aspects of denim.
#4. Alchemy – The Arvind Indigo Museum
Alchemy is the ARVIND Indigo museum launched by Arvind group of India. The Museum which showcases creative expressions by master craftsmen, contemporary artists, and designers to expand the vocabulary of indigo. It highlights their co-collaborative endeavors with this unique dye along with leading contemporary artists, who were invited to respond to indigo’s history and its characteristic hue. Indigo has been applied to a vast number of materials including ceramics, stone, glass, metals and many others to present the vast possibilities of using Indigo in various mediums.
Some of the artifacts from the museum shall be displayed at the show.
#5.Trend Area
Checking out the trend area at the show would be a visual treat for many visitors with its focus on Sustainability, Designed Innovation, and Japanese styles. Most of the exhibitors are coming out with unique products specifically for this market and they need to be top-notch in terms of materials, presentation, style, etc. Of particular interest would be the categories JAPANESE STYLE and SELVEDGE CORNERS.
#6. Workshops and Presentations
A number of workshops are expected to be organized at the show. One of them will be by Japanese laundry WHOVAL and the fabric manufacturer Collect (Japan Blue group). They will be organizing a workshop at the show on Denim Finishing which includes grind, print, and damage finish process the Japanese way. Apart from that, some exhibitors are also working with Japanese Manufacturers and Brands to create capsule collections collection which will be showcased at the show.
There will be 5-6 knowledge sharing sessions which include seminar presentations and panel discussion on recent denim developments and sustainability. Internationally acclaimed Denim Expert including Stefano Aldigheri, Adriano Goldschmied, Luigi Lovato, Takehiro Sugiyama, Stanley Hwang, and Katsu Manabe join the list and many more will be announced shortly.
#7.Meet Japanese Denim Community
At the Denimsandjeans Japan Show, you will be able to meet a large part of the Japanese denim community in one place. The show will bring together professionals from the Japanese denim industry including retailers, brands, manufacturers, designers, and others.
#8.Denim Shopping
The show location is also not very far from the hotspots of Japanese brands in Tokyo Daikan Yama, Shibuya, etc where many stores of Japanese brands are located. When you are done with the show, you may want to go to some of the possible places which denim heads visit. Here are some of the recommendations :
Momotaro Jeans Aoyama
Warehouse Ebisu
KapitalEbisu
FDMTL
TORO VINTAGE CLOTHING
Sunshine city itself is located in an area that is a hub of youthful activities in Tokyo with a lot of boutique shops – old and new, cross-culture influences, Anime and Manga events and much more.
You might be wondering, where are the details of these brands/showrooms so that you can plan your schedule accordingly, then you need to log on to the official website of Denimsandjeans Japan Show and check their tour section or you may directly reach there checking this link .
If you have any questions, you can directly drop an email to the organizers at info@denimsandjeans.com
Decision-makers of leading Japanese as well as international brands, retailers, buying houses and factories are also expected to visit the show and once again provide an opportunity for visitors to get the most out of JAPAN+DENIM!
Register here and feel free to contact us at info@denimsandjeans.com for any information.
