Innovation and New Faces at Kingpins
Specialty denim trade show moves to a new downtown location.
Denim designers arrived at the latest West Coast edition of the Kingpins boutique denim sourcing show in downtown Los Angeles in search of price-right fabrics and inspiration for their Fall 2011 collections.
Kingpins, which relocated from its previous home on Los Angeles’ Westside to a space near the Fashion District, ran Aug. 3–4 and featured 19 exhibitors ranging from trim suppliers and stretch-fiber makers to denim mills, manufacturers and laundries from Thailand, Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco, Mexico, China, Japan and Guatemala.
New to Kingpins were Invista, makers of the Lycra, CoolMax and Cordura fibers; Absolute Denim, a Thai denim mill; Dynamo, a Turkish laundry specializing in piece-dyed goods; Prosperity Textile, a Chinese denim mill; and Kassim Denim, a Pakistan-based denim mill. Returning to Kingpins were Kurabo China, Kurabo Japan Denim, Kurabo Piece Dyes, NexGen Packaging, Supima, Tavex Corp., Denimatrix and Copen United.
The show, which draws premium denim and sportswear brands, reported attendees from Serfontaine, Citizens of Humanity, True Religion, Civilianaire, 7 For All Mankind, Adriano Goldschmied, AG, Guess? Inc., Target, Marc Allison Jeans, J Brand, Gap, Forever 21, Element, Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, Agave, Pacific Sunwear, White House Black Market and Sole Tech.
Price continued to be a concern at Kingpins, as attendees and exhibitors continue to cope with rising cotton prices. The price of cotton has gone up nearly 30 percent in the past year. On Aug. 3, cotton reached its highest price in more than six weeks, thanks to flooding in China, the world’s largest cotton grower.
Andrew Olah, chief executive of New York–based Olah Inc., which produces Kingpins, said rising cotton prices are a difficulty in the denim market but noted that it isn’t proving to be an impediment to business. “Everyone’s prices went up. That doesn’t affect unit sales. However, it does affect margins for brands and, sometimes, margins for retailers,” he said. “I compare it to when gas prices went up. Did everyone stop driving? No.”
The situation is difficult, said Barry Emanuel, president of Copen, but not permanent. “We’re on an upward cycle, but it won’t go on forever. It’s an interesting time,” he said. Copen, which produces specialty pocket lining, is passing on the added cost of fabric to its clients—which, in turn, pushes up the cost of producing a pair of jeans by a cent or two. Those additional costs, coupled with the cost of pricier denim, can nibble away at margins, Emanuel said. Some clients have shied away from the higher pricing, he said, but added that many have not. “Right now is not the time to pull back on [specialty touches such as customized pocketing] that add perceived value,” he said.
Another difficulty facing the denim market, Olah said, is the rising cost of labor in China. “It is an absolute reality,” he said, and it will continue to be an issue going forward.
Still, there was plenty of innovation on the Kingpins floor to pique the interest of denim designers.
Pakistan-based denim mill Kassim Denim showed specialty-blend denim for the premium market, including cotton/silk and cotton/Tencel blends. Manon Clavel, Kassim’s domestic representative, said Kassim hoped its unique denim fabrics would appeal to Los Angeles’ premium-denim market.
Denimatrix, the vertically integrated jeans maker out of Guatemala, highlighted its eco-friendly Evergreen technology, which uses chemical-free technology to oxidize indigo and age fabrics to achieve vintage-style finishes. A laser is used to create three-dimensional whiskering and precisely abrade the denim. Washes, when used as part of Evergreen, use only limited amounts of water and no chemicals. Wilson Avalos, the company’s commercial director, said Denimatrix’s Evergreen program is capable of producing 25,000 pairs of jeans per week.
Invista, which made its West Coast debut as the show’s key sponsor, brought denim and sportswear fabrics from mills in Italy, China and Turkey. Central Fabrics, another Kingpins exhibitor, and Invista also debuted a new Super Stretch Xfit fabric that features more than 30 percent stretch. The average Xfit fabric features 15 percent stretch, said Jean Hegedus, Invista’s global marketing director for bottoms. Also new to the market is denim featuring Invista’s Cordura abrasion-resistant technology. Cordura, which is traditionally used in military and outdoor garments, is being used in stretch denim targeting the skate market and workwear denim, Hegedus said.
