California Apparel News

The Kingpins Show and Messe Frankfurt have entered into a partnership that will allow the two brands to drive sustainability in the denim industry. Messe Frankfurt has become a shareholder in Kingpins, which will continue to operate as an independent entity within the German event giant’s Texpertise textile network.

The deal expands Messe Frankfurt’s event portfolio, which currently includes denim events Beyond Denim at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics and Denimworld as part of Texworld Evolution Paris, and Kingpins will benefit from Messe Frankfurt’s extensive resources. Messe Frankfurt and Kingpins are committed to working together to “prioritize environmental stewardship and social responsibility, ensuring a more sustainable future for the denim industry,” according to a press release.

“Our partnership with the Kingpins Show is rooted in our admiration for their distinct vision and innovative approach to the denim industry,” said Constantin von Vieregge, president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt Inc. “We recognize the opportunity to learn from Kingpins, and together with our expertise we believe we can continue to be the stage for business encounters in the denim industry.”

In addition to the flagship show in New York, where it launched in 2004, Kingpins’ roster of offerings includes an Amsterdam event. It launched Kingpins Transformers in 2015 with a calendar of summits that allowed denim-industry professionals to meet and discuss approaches to make the business more sustainable, equitable and responsible. In 2020, this offshoot event transitioned into an independent nonprofit organization named the Transformers Foundation.

As Kingpins prepares to enter its 20th year in business, Andrew Olah, founder and CEO, noted that during the brand’s early days his vision included one day entering into a partnership similar to this new venture.

“Since the day we started Kingpins in 2004, we aspired to one day sell our show or partner with Messe Frankfurt. We were never ‘show people,’ we were ‘industry people’ whereas Messe Frankfurt is an 800-year-old exhibition company with all the knowledge, technique and data needed,” said Olah. “Now, almost 20 years later, a kind of dream has occurred—now we are both ‘show people’ and ‘industry people.’ We know this collaboration will really grow each other’s opportunities and quality.”