Letter from Managing Director Vivian Wang: Milestone Year; Forging Into the Future

What a year! We celebrated two anniversaries — first in New York in July, in honor of our 20th year since launching Kingpins, and then in Amsterdam in October, when we celebrated our 10th anniversary since arriving in The Netherlands. We also returned to China after four years away to hold a three-day event called Kingpins China, in Hangzhou, in May, and we held our second annual Pop-Up show in Hong Kong in November. 

I want to thank everyone who exhibited and attended our shows this year. We’ve had such a great time celebrating with all of you. 

Marking two anniversaries in the same year gave all of us at Kingpins a chance to reflect on our successes and helped us look forward and prepare for the changes coming in the years ahead. I am so excited for the future of Kingpins and for all of us in the denim industry and I am so proud of what we have accomplished together. I know I talk a lot about community, but the bonds, friendships and even friendly rivalries are what sets the denim business apart. I think I speak for many of us when I say that this close community is what drew us to this business in the first place and it’s what keeps us working together to make it better year after year. 

It’s hard to imagine that two decades have passed since the first Kingpins Show in New York. I was working for Lucky Brand and for Adriano Goldschmied when I first met Andrew Olah. I started working as a freelance graphic designer for Olah Inc. and designed the first Kingpins logo, the website graphics and the show invitation for New York. At that time, I’d only spoken to Andrew on the phone, so when he showed up at the AG offices in Los Angeles, I recognized that familiar voice immediately. Shortly after that, Andrew asked me to manage a new Kingpins Show in Los Angeles. When I explained that I hadn’t run a trade show before, he told me to imagine I was planning a 100th birthday party for my grandmother and create something like that. Something intimate, authentic, special and unique, which is what I did. 

After that, we were off to the races, organizing shows in China and India. When we arrived in Amsterdam 10 years later, it seemed like a dream come true. We had seen an article about the formation of a new fashion school focused entirely on denim in Amsterdam. When we saw denim heavy hitters like Candiani, Advance, Bossa, G-Star and Levi’s on board, not to mention the support from the city of Amsterdam, we knew we had found a special place to put down roots. 

All told, Andrew and I have organized more than 90 trade shows and events together. We couldn’t have done it without the support of all of you in the denim community. But there are also a few people I’d like to single out for helping us build this Kingpins from a great idea into the global platform for business networking and community building that it is today. 

First and foremost, I want to thank Adriano Goldschmied, who believed in the idea from the very beginning and generously helped spread the word throughout his massive network. It is not an exaggeration to say that we could not have done it without Adriano. His endorsement opened so many doors for us. There’s a reason Adriano is known as the godfather of denim and he certainly has been the godfather of the Kingpins Show since before the first show. 

I also want to thank Erin Barajas, who joined us in 2011 as my assistant but immediately proved herself to be much more than that. Erin likes to refer to herself as a Swiss Army Knife, always ready to jump into and meet any challenge. I’m not sure that a Swiss Army Knife can hoist a Jeanologia laser machine to the top floor of the Cooper Building in the middle of the busy L.A. Fashion District. But Erin did. With her help, Kingpins spread out around the world as she told the story of Kingpins and its exhibitors to a global audience. 

I owe a debt of thanks to Michelle Branch for her creativity and her generous spirit. Michelle introduced me to Adriana Galijasevic, whose passionate dedication to creating a sustainable denim industry mirrored our own vision for the business. Adriana introduced us to Mariette Hoitink and James Veenhoff, the founders of Jeans School, as well as the team at Wink, the marketing agency that creates the environments that make Kingpins so special. 

I didn’t start my career planning to run a trade show. I had my sights set on a creative career. What I’ve learned over the years is that a trade show can and should be viewed as a creative business. When organizing a show, I think about what I like and what people I know like and then look for a way to bring in the “Wow!” factor. We find some of the most amazing venues and create compelling environments. I look around at what I see in the industry and think about what’s missing and what people need. You can’t work if you’re thinking about where to get coffee or a good lunch. So we bring in delicious, healthy food and drinks for you. It’s hard to work if there are too many distractions, so we made sure we bring in the best suppliers and make the show invitation-only, so everyone is working with the best-of-the-best. We understand that it’s not just about meeting with suppliers and writing orders (although that’s obviously very important), we also want to educate everyone in the industry and encourage them to share information with each other. So we put together a top-notch seminar program. And we throw really great parties.  

I always imagined that Kingpins would become a community and it has been for the last 20 years and it will be going forward. 

My vision for the future is to grow this community, to bring in young people and foster collaboration between denim’s next generation and the experienced experts who have much to share. 

In 2023, we announced that we had struck a strategic partnership with Messe Frankfurt. At the time, we assured you that despite our new ties with one of the largest and oldest trade show companies in the world, Kingpins would remain independent and retain the same DNA that makes the show special — the intimate size, the focus on quality and the friendly, convivial atmosphere and spirit of camaraderie. We hope over the last year and a half we have shown you that we are true to our word. 

We know that Kingpins is a special place, not just a trade show, but a platform for sharing ideas and a true hub for the denim community. We are committed to keeping all that going. One of the best things about Kingpins has been its ability to evolve and adapt to the needs of the industry, even while maintaining that distinctive Kingpins feeling. I am committed to following that same path going forward. 

At the Amsterdam show in October, I had the chance to introduce my team, many of whom you have known for years, as well as a few new faces. I want to take this time to introduce them again: 

Joanne Schouten, Show Director
Rubia Heyer, Assistant Show Director / Production Coordinator
William Shuler, Operations Manager
Alison Nieder, Marketing & Communication Manager
Lizzy Stigter, Social Media
Ryan Chuang, General Assistant

These are the people who will help me guide Kingpins into the future and help make it a productive, successful and fun show for all of us. 

You may have seen on our social channels the “Kingpins Is…” videos we filmed in New York. (We did the same in Amsterdam and will be sharing it soon.) We asked various people in the denim industry to describe Kingpins in one word. No surprise, the word “community” came up a lot. But we also got some interesting answers from a few of you who talked about the rewards of hard work and collaboration, the emotion of seeing friends and colleagues, and the tactile nature of textiles and joining hands with old friends and new ones. 

Similarly, I tasked everyone on my team to tell me how they describe Kingpins (although I let them use more than one word). The results were illuminating. 

Not surprisingly, they also used words like “community,” “connection” and “family.” One described it as “the greatest high school reunion that happens six times a year,” while another described it as “a spark that reignites passion for denim.”  Both ideas speak to the value of an ongoing alliance that shares social and professional connections — an esprit de corp, if you will. One called it “the heart of the denim community.” Words like “passion,” “creativity,” “knowledge,” and “innovation,” came up, as did “fun” and “a big blue adventurous world.” 

I agree that Kingpins is all of these things. I love the description of Kingpins as a big blue adventure, because that is what it has been for me. Going forward, I want to make sure we continue that feeling of fun and adventure. I also like the idea of family and reunion, which acknowledges the time we share together, learning together and growing through good times and bad (and more than a few meals). Ultimately to me, Kingpins is the realization of my creativity and imagination brought to life through the shared thoughts and experiences of a global community. It has given me the strength to continue pushing boundaries and redefining how people see denim. For 20 years, I’ve poured my heart and soul into this vision, driven by the desire to inspire change and foster connection. Kingpins is more than just a platform; it’s a way of living — a commitment to innovation, a reflection of passion, and a source of pride for all who walk this journey with us.

I am so grateful for everyone who has traveled with me on this big blue adventure for the last 20 years and I look forward to continuing the journey with you. 

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday season and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.