Kingpins24 Returns with a New Format and a Focus on Canada
In collaboration with Simply Suzette’s Ani Wells, the 2-hour long online event on September 22 will explore ideas surrounding circularity, brick-and-mortar retail, trend and design.
NEW YORK | September 1, 2020 | Kingpins Show organizers are turning their attention to the Great White North for the upcoming edition of Kingpins24 – the digital denim event for the Kingpins Show community. Set for September 22, Kingpins24 Canada will feature a two-hour livestream of live and pre-recorded content and will be co-presented with Canada-based Ani Wells of Simply Suzette.
The abbreviated format is a departure from the multi-day, 8-hour livestreams of previous Kingpins24 events and is a response to the Kingpins community voicing interest in shorter, bite-sized events alongside the more full-scale Kingpins24 seasonal events.
“Kingpins continues to explore digital ideas and opportunities and we are excited to collaborate with Ani on Kingpins24 Canada. As a Canadian it is refreshing for me to be able to shine a spotlight on my homeland – which rarely features in conversations about denim but is home to a lot of interesting and engaged denim players,” said Andrew Olah, founder of Kingpins Show and Kingpins24. “This week we announced the exciting news about Kingpins Exchange, our new online denim marketplace and digital denim showroom platform, which will allow us to serve our community’s supply chain sourcing needs. Kingpins24 will be the place where we gather to share ideas, innovation, inspiration and education and it will be fluid in its format.”
Topics for Kingpins24 Canada will range from new models of business, to future-proofing brick-and-mortar retail, and circularity in denim design. Brands and designers joining will include the godfather of denim Adriano Goldschmied; designer and consultant Malin Ekengren; Denim Dudes’ Amy Leverton; Brandon Svarc of Naked & Famous; Kelly Drennan, founder of Fashion Takes Action; Philippe Cantin, senior director of Sustainable Innovations and Circular Economy at the Retail Council of Canada; and Sabine Weber of Sustainable Strategies & Solutions. Wells, Olah and Vivian Wang, Kingpins Show’s managing director, will act as hosts of Kingpins24 Canada.
“Ever since stepping foot at my first Kingpins Show, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of,” Wells said. “Getting to work with Kingpins on this show has been nothing but exciting and the team has always made me feel like part of the family. I love that about Kingpins and our denim community. This feeling of family and community I hope to bring to my Canadian denim folks. I hope attendees come away with actionable steps to future proof their businesses and inspire the ‘Made in Canada’ movement through fun and engaging content.”
Kingpins24 launched in April 2020 in the wake of the cancellation of Kingpins Amsterdam and held a second event in June 2020 after the cancellation of the Kingpins New York show. In total, more than 4,000 denim industry professionals have tuned in for Kingpins24 livestreams and the events have seen more than 38,000 views of on-demand content.
Kingpins24 Canada will go live at 12PM Eastern / 9AM Pacific on September 22. Videos and content from Kingpins24 Canada will be posted to the Kingpins Show YouTube channel after the event has concluded.
Register HERE for Kingpins24 Canada – all members of the denim industry are welcome to join.
Register HERE to stay in the loop for all Kingpins-related news, including Kingpins24, Kingpins Exchange, denim trend, retail news and industry coverage.
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About Kingpins:
The Kingpins Show is an invitation-only, boutique denim sourcing show featuring a highly-edited selection of vendors that include denim and sportswear fabric mills from the U.S., Japan, China, India, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Thailand, Spain and Mexico; wash houses; full package manufacturers; trim providers; and makers of technology, wash chemicals and business solutions. Kingpins, which launched in 2004, produces biannual shows in New York and Amsterdam, as well as annual shows in Hong Kong and China. In 2020, Kingpins launched KINGPINS24, the first online-only denim supply chain event, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Ani Wells + Simply Suzette:
Ani Wells is the founder of Simply Suzette, an online platform aiming to bridge the gap between the industry and consumers. Wells curates eco-denim brands and shares best practices within the denim industry on the #DiligentDenim blog. Wells makes it her business to visit the world’s leading denim trade shows, factories, and events, educating herself so that she can transfer that knowledge to consumers.