California Apparel News

After announcing the cancellations of its May Hong Kong event and April Amsterdam edition, followed by the rest of its early and mid-2020 on-site event calendar, denim-industry event producer Kingpins hoped to return to on-site shows by October.

While Kingpins has hosted two editions of its Kingpins24 virtual event, the importance of hosting a physical show on-site for the denim industry was always emphasized, but the brand’s founder, Andrew Olah, announced that the denim world would have to wait. Noting that the Kingpins team voted on the decision regarding whether to host the Amsterdam edition, Olah said it was a difficult decision was made after weighing the concerns of health risks surrounding travel and COVID-19.

“We all wonder whether we will catch the virus or will carry it to our families, friends and colleagues,” Olah said in his message. “That is why our answer to the Amsterdam show in October is, sadly, no. It’s not that we don’t want to return to Amsterdam. We love the city, and the show is one of our most successful events. And we would love to see all industry friends again in person. But all ‘desire’ is trumped by a lack of confidence in health control, and we would never risk the health of our friends and colleagues in the denim community—we are, after all, one big, connected, denim-loving family.”

While the announcement of the show’s cancellation was a little somber, Olah also shared a hopeful message regarding the ways in which the Kingpins brand is moving forward to support the denim industry. In addition to its Kingpins24 events, the brand is working with the digitization platform Material Exchange, inviting the denim community to share ideas and band together during this difficult time.

“I know the temptation is to recede, to shrink and to hide,” he said. “But this is the time when we need to collaborate, to share ideas more than ever before. Our community is our advantage. As always, I’m keen to hear everyone’s opinions and insight.”