ICYMI: Antiviral clothes and Willy Wonka jeans
Hi Friends,
What a week. How is everyone holding up? (Have you texted any exes?)
Kingpins is based in the US, and while our denim family is global, we want to acknowledge what a dark week this has been for our country. We reached a horrifying milestone this week – more than 100,000 Americans died from the coronavirus.
In total, more than 5.8 million people around the globe are reported to have been infected with COVID-19 and the global death toll has surpassed 360,190, according a tally by Reuters.
KINGPINS24:
The next round of invites has gone out (did you get it?) for KINGPINS24 – June 23/24. The all-digital event will feature all new livestream and on-demand content – so we’re producing all sorts of content with denim industry friends and colleagues. Register here. More info here. There is really good stuff in the works.
PLUS: Don’t forget to visit Kingpinsshow.com for new weekly content:
9th Street Vintage Retail Profile. Update your WFH fit with some vintage jeans, take a selfie, tag it #indigoisolation.
Stay safe out there.
-The Kingpins Team
Links to keep you informed and inspired:
Antiviral fabrics to the rescue?
Albini Group, a Kingpins exhibitor, has developed an antiviral fabric that it says may protect against COVID-19. Working with HeiQ, a Swiss textile innovation firm, Albini has introduced a range of ViroFormula fabrics that use chemicals applied during production to kill coronaviruses within minutes of contact. Testing with COVID-19 is currently restricted, so tests have been relying on the fabric’s effects on similar viruses.
Of course antibacterial fabrics are not at all new – they have been produced for years for a variety of purposes, including reducing odor-causing bacteria in jeans. The pandemic has spurred innovation and interest in companies adding protective qualities to their products. Other companies, with “Grado in India and Sonovia in Israel among the firms now also marketing similar treatments for clothing,” reports Vogue Business.
It isn’t super clear how helpful anti-viral fabrics would be to the average person. The data suggests that coronavirus is more likely to infect a person via airborne droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze. “Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that clothing is still a transmission route for viruses, with multiple studies showing that infectious material can linger on fabrics.”
Read More: Could antiviral fabrics take off with luxury shoppers?
Who got Levi’s golden ticket?!
It’s been over a week since Levi’s released 501 pairs of its historically accurate reproduction of the original 1971 501 jeans to celebrate its anniversary. The jeans, which would already be a hot ticket, had the added bonus of having the red tabs wrapped in golden tickets, Willy Wonka-style. AND of the 501 pairs produced, only five of them would have red tabs with the big “E.”
Anyway… hands up if you scored a pair. If you didn’t (they went fast!), a quick Ebay search resulted in a cool 5 pairs up for grabs for people with $1500+.
Read More:1971 Golden Ticket 501® Jeans
The Ukraine banned jeans but now its fashion designers are making waves
You love to see it.
Creativity and innovation can come from anywhere. Right now, Ukranian designers are having a moment. Australia’s Financial Review traces the Ukranian fashion industry from a time when jeans were banned (gasp!) to its current star turn.
Read More: How a country that once banned denim became a rising fashion star
Denim as pandemic-wear. It was written in the stars?
WWD has put together a gallery of some of the denim looks from the Fall 2020 runway shows and makes the case that denim is the perfect thing to wear during the pandemic. We can’t argue.
“For whatever creative or cosmic reason, many chose to include denim, which was all over the runways. With benefit of hindsight, that decision seems very right for the moment, given denim’s versatility, value and psychological comfort factor. Here, a roundup of some of the season’s best denim looks, including the patchwork skirt that Tom Ford turned into a marvel of casual glam.”
Read More: Fall 2020 Trend: Forever in Blue Jeans
