Highlights From Amsterdam: Initiatives, Inspiration, Denim Talks and More
We recently wrapped our Oct. 15-16 run of Kingpins Amsterdam at SugarFactory — read all about the new and expanded areas of the show, as well as an overview about some of the retailers and brands who turned out HERE.
In addition to networking and review of our exhibitors latest developments, the show offered plenty of opportunity for inspiration, hands-on craftsmanship and engaging conversation and connection.
Highlights included:
The Boxes, Kingpins initiative for creative collaboration focused on two projects this season.
The Future Fit Forum, an exploration of the evolution of silhouette and fit curated by Markt & Twigs and supported by Hyosung. This season’s designers worked with reclaimed Lev’s 501s and a few yards of denim by Artistic Milliners made with Creora® bio-based stretch fiber.
Also in The Boxes was “ROOTS | Women Weave the Future: From Heritage to Horizon by House of Denim Amsterdam x US Denim Mills Pakistan.” This project, the third in US Denim’s ROOTS project, featured a trio of women designers: Maryam Amin, Creative Head R&D at US Denim Mills, traveled from Lahore to Amsterdam to work with Eva Immerzeel and Nikki Kolk from the House of Denim Incubator, to create the capsule collection, which features Pakistani and Dutch motifs laser and embroidery. Selvedge denim fabrics woven on vintage shuttle looms were made from regenerative cotton fibers blended with Tencel™, linen and hemp, then naturally indigo-dyed with the Eco Zero process.
INITITIATIVES
Visitors to the show got their first look at “Prelude by Kavin Mehta,” a series of seven indigo-dyed stone and ceramic sculptures from the Indigo Art Museum by Arvind. The sculpture installation was located next to the Indigo Art Museum shop, returning to the show for a second time.
Other initiatives included Soorty’s “Heroes of the Past & Future.” Designer Miles Johnson paid homage to the craftsmanship and resilience of the garments that built the image of denim, including Cowboys, Lumberjacks, Miners and Fishermen.
One Denim by Kingpins Show, an ongoing project that addressed the excess waste of money, time, energy and water in the production process by showcasing the breadth of looks that can be created from a single base fabric. This season, Kipas supplied the fabrics and manufacturing to the capsule, titled. “All Sports,” which was designed by Piero Turk and Serena Conti.
Jean School x Advance Denim teamed up for “Denim Community Portraits,” an interactive exhibition in which Jean School students created portraits of Kingpins attendees made entirely of denim. The project and the exhibition will travel the globe with Kingpins Show and Advance Denim to New York and Hangzhou.
Tonello x Endrime® joined forces for “Sake – The Art of Purpose,” in collaboration with Cone Denim®, Indigo Textile, Sharabati, Stella Blu, Tusa Denim and YKK. Using multidisciplinary techniques, the art explored references to Western culture in the early days of denim.
The Vintage Showroom presented “A Shimmering Sun Fade,” a visual tribute to the work and wardrobe of Jackson Pollock on one-of-a-kind, sun-faded indigo.
“B-logic: The Logical Future Of Denim” was a collaboration with LYCRA® x CIRCULOSE® x Neela, which focused on the rugged, purposeful style of blue-collar trailblazers using Neela fabric made from LYCRA® fibers made from renewable resources and CIRCULOSE®, made out of 100% textile waste
“Lildenimshow Presents GATTO” focused on the work of Olivia Lottersberger & Floyd Rorije, founders of GATTO, a Vienna / Amsterdam-based collection that mixes the bold and loud subcultures of 1970s punk and the 2012s swag era.
“Ancestral Future” by Vicunha explored Latin America as an emerging living lab of ideas, including heritage and the avant-garde.
“Weave! Crafting the Future of Digital Weaving by Kelly Konings” was a capsule collection that used local fibres and yarns to create playful and unexpected tactile expressions. Konigs used natural, local or deadstock materials, such as indigo cotton, seaweed-based yarns, local wool that is collected at farms in Sweden and spun on the island of Gotland, or deadstock linen from a local damask weaving mill.
“Nostalgia Reimagined By Motel Bodega” was an installation by Megan Burmeister, a fashion designer turned textile artist who transforms industry offcuts into bold, collectible pieces.Inspired by vintage postcards and travel souvenirs, each artwork and limited garment is handmade in Amsterdam from post-production waste fabrics.
Other initiative exhibitors included ZDHC Roadmap to Zero, a global initiative to phase out hazardous chemicals from the textile, apparel, leather and footwear supply chains; and Denim Deal, a global public–private initiative to unite brands, mills, recyclers, and industry partners to scale the use of post-consumer recycled (POCR) cotton in denim, with a goal of creating 1 billion jeans with at least 20% POCR by 2030.
WORKSHOPS
As always, there were plenty of opportunities for Kingpins attendees to flex their creative muscles in a series of workshops, including Denim Painting Workshop by Lefaxx Art x Verda Samanli; Panther Denim x HMS – Leave Your Trace: Indigo, Persimmon & Stone and Mediterranean Sea by Tintes Egara.
DENIM TALKS
The Denim Talks seminar series also included plenty of informational, inspirational and educational opportunities. Seminars included:
“An Indigo Story: Shaped by Time in Japan, Shared Across Borders,” moderated by Wang and featuring panelists Emiko Katayama, Vice Chairman/Owner, Showa Co.; Akihiko Maehara, Director – Market Planning Division, Kaihara Corp.; Hisaya Shiga, Deputy Manager Casualwear Fabrics Dept., Kurabo Industries; Bobby Tohma, Owner/Founder, Amhot Holdings / Ideablue Limited and Yuji Honzawa, Dr. Denim.”
“Denim Forecast: From URL to IRL,” led by Soledad Offenhenden and Ana Paula Alves from Be Disobedient
“Dyeing for the Future,” led by The Magic of Denim’s David Tring, featuring Olga Alexopoulou, from Quantum Light; Li Li, from Chloris Biochem Laboratory; Dustin White, from Lab Denim; and Pieree-Yves Bolle, from Pili.
“Threads of Change: Fibre Innovation in Denim from Soil to Science,” moderated by Denim Research’s Rowan Hunt, featuring Tuncay Kilickan, from Lenzing; Denis Druon, from Marmara Hemp; and Andreas Puchert, from CREORA® by Hyosung TNC.
“Future Fit Forum,” moderated by Markt & Twigs’ Michelle Branch and featuring Cecilia Bakker from Bakker Brown; Rowan Hunt, from LaundRE and Robbert Redert, from Arcé Studios.
“Meet the Creator,”led by Denim Forum’s Sue Barrett, featuring “Denimaniac” and “React-ivist” Peter Lantz.
“Denim 101 by Kingpins Show” featuring Freedom Denim’s Michael Morrell and Cotton Inc.’s Katie Crumpton.
