CEO Message: Remembering Adriano Goldschmied
This is not a typical CEO letter.
Today, I want to share something deeply personal with our community.
We lost a legend in our industry. And I lost someone who was so much more to me. He was a mentor, a dear friend, and in many ways, like a father.
I started working with Adriano at AG Jeans (AG Adriano Goldschmied). Adriano taught me so much.
Working with him was one of the most inspiring and rewarding experiences of my life. He never stopped encouraging me to trust my instincts and keep going.
Kingpins would not be what it is today without him. His support, his guidance, and the way he stood behind me shaped not only the show, but who I’ve become.
He was the first person who made me truly understand why people love denim… not just the fabric, but the people, the stories, and the soul behind it.
Pictured: Vivian Wang and Adriano Goldschmied with the AG Adriano Goldschmied team in 2002
I still remember our early days at AG. We were the only two non-Koreans in the design room. I would watch him cutting outfits out of magazines, always removing the heads, focusing only on the clothes. I watched how he worked with models, how he saw things differently, how deeply he cared.
Every time I showed him my ideas, he made me feel seen. He believed in me, even when I didn’t. And I remember how he smiled at my work… and how we laughed.
Every new project I did for Kingpins, you would always tell me I did a good job.
Adriano, I will miss our meetings in LA. The way you would walk up to me and tell me how proud you were of me. Those moments meant more than you ever knew.
I told you I was going to visit you in Italy, and you said it would be a party. I was so looking forward to that day.
He worked until his very last breath. That was who he was: passionate, dedicated, always giving.
Now you’re gone… and it feels like a part of my heart is gone with you.
But I will carry your spirit with me as I continue my journey in this industry, following your example to support others, to build, to give, and to keep pushing denim forward, just like you always did.
You will never be forgotten, dear Adriano. My mentor, my dear friend, and the father of my life in denim.
Adriano’s spirit lives on in all of us who love this industry, and in the community we continue to build together.
Vivian
Pictured above:
Top row:Vivian Wang and Adriano Goldschmied
Second row: Adriano Goldschmied, Shirley Zheng, Gary You | Ebru Ozaydin, Adriano Goldschmied, Ahmed Khan | Miko Underwood, Adriano Goldschmied, Ian Sims
Third row: Tricia Carey, Adriano Goldschmied, Jordan Nodarse | Tricia Carey, Ebru Debbag, Adriana Galijasevic, Adriano Goldschmied | Tricia Carey, Adriano Goldschmied, Michelle Branch
Fourth row: Mariette Hoitink, Stefano Rosso, Adriano Goldschmied, Lucel van den Hoeven, Scott Morrison, Stefan Siegel, Andrew Olah, Sanjeev Bahl at Denim Days New York 2017
Fifth row: Susan Lee, Gary You, Vivian Wang, Adriano Goldschmied | Vivian Wang, Adriano Goldschmied, Arianna Bolzoni | Adriano Goldschmied, Vivian Wang, Johnny Lou
Sixth row: Amrin Sachathep, Adriano Goldschmied, Vivian Wang | Adriano Goldschmied, Mariette Hoitink | Adriano Goldschmied, Johnny Lou
Seventh row: Jeff Brehmer, Adriano Goldschmied, 2014 Global Denim Award winner Jonathan Christopher and Paolo Gnutti, model in Jonathan Christopher design, and Barbara Gnutti | Adriano Goldschmied and Andrew Olah with Green Mountain Coffee’s Chantil Ruan and her barista
