Kingpins Denim Show Continues to Grow With New Lines
With 118 companies attending and 10 more exhibitors than last year, the Kingpins denim show moved into the 11th-floor penthouse of the Cooper Design Space in Los Angeles, expanding from last year’s L.A. Production Studios on the outskirts of the L.A. Fashion District.
“It’s been great. This is our first time in this location. It’s bigger, there’s better lighting to see the denim, and it’s closer to [everything] downtown,” said Brad Mowry, West Coast managing director for Olah Inc., the founder of Kingpins.
With 10 events a year in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Bombay and Shanghai, the two-day boutique show, known for its laid-back vibe and lively after party, continues to showcase the latest fits, washes and trends in denim.
Held Jan. 10–11, the L.A. show attracted a different crowd this time with the added attraction of the latest innovations for the laser design and finishing machine by Spanish company Jeanologia, Mowry said. “It was interesting; there were more laundry owners and factory owners that came out to see the laser demonstration,” he said.
The GFK laser machine uses laser technology and environmental-impact-measuring software to create print designs and denim washes. The machine uses less water than traditional methods and is capable of producing 100 pairs of sandblasted jeans in one hour versus 30 pairs done by one person in the same amount of time, said Carmen Silla, community manager for Jeanologia.
All about denim
Wilson Avalos of American Denimatrix said he liked Kingpins because it’s a denim-centric show, as opposed to larger trade shows with customers looking for many different products. “It’s always a good show for us because it’s very focused on what we do,” he said.
The Texas-based company touts “traceable” denim. Customers can trace the denim from American Denimatrix’s farmer cooperative-owned crops in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas to the company’s denim mill in Lubbock, Texas, and garment facilities in Guatemala.
“We’re the only one in the Western Hemisphere with a totally vertical supply chain, from cotton to jeans,” Avalos said. Roughly 70 percent of the company’s cotton fields are not artificially irrigated, and American Denimatrix creates washes with minimal water use and no chemicals, he explained. Some of American Denimatrix’s accounts include Abercrombie & Fitch, Replay, American Eagle and Guess jeans.
Nuria Martinez of Textil Santanderina in Cantabria, Spain, was showing at Kingpins for the first time. She said the show had been a little slow for the brand but that it was still a good opportunity to meet with existing customers. Ten to 12 accounts had stopped by, but the brand hadn’t landed any new accounts.
The company specializes in eco-friendly dyes and denim and non-denim Tencel jeans, shirts, jackets and skirts made by companies such as Guess, Cold Water Creek, Seven and J. Jill.
Chris Price of Hong Kong–based Blue Farm Textile said this was the brand’s third year doing the Kingpins shows in both New York and Los Angeles and that he was always impressed with the caliber of attendees and exhibitors. “All the right vendors are here, and it brings the right customers,” he said.
Denim shirts were “huge” at this show for Blue Farm Textile, known for its novelty shades and constructions, Price said.
New yarn technologies and fiber stories were also big hits at the show.
Nakamo Mitsuo of Japanese denim company Kurabo said the company’s products made with their new high-performance lightweight Cremel yarn had been popular, as well as Kurabo’s Kantanmen 2nd finish, which keeps its indigo color even after several washings.
The newly launched, 3-month-old, Hong Kong–based manufacturer Color Denim International (CDI) received a positive response at the show, Chairman Andy Chu said.
The company uses a new technology, called “true color,” to dye colored denim. The dye process differs from Clariant or common dyeing, providing bright colors that “pop” as well as hi-lo contrasting, Chu explained. “Everybody is excited about something new,” he said. “Nobody has this on the market so far.”—Deidre Crawford
