California Apparel News

The Kingpins denim-event brand returned with Kingpins24 Flash Feb. 23–24 with a roster of experts representing every facet of the category. Within a trade-event calendar that is rapidly advancing, the concept was representative of Kingpins producing a shorter show between seasons. Discussions focused on the greenest practices throughout the denim supply chain such as traceability, carbon-footprint reduction, wastewater treatment, circularity and more-responsible dyeing.

“It’s all part of the same kind of inclination that we have. Someone has to really talk about what is not being done and what can be done,” said Kingpins founder Andrew Olah. “The stuff we are asking to be done is available, and people select every day not to do it—serial decisions of not doing the right thing.”

From the Lenzing showroom on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, the company’s director of global business development, Tricia Carey, presented the fiber supplier’s Tencel Modal with Indigo technology, which shifts the method of indigo treatments in denim making.

“Ironically, what we do in the denim industry is remove that same indigo that took so many steps to apply and so much chemistry. Today, we look at innovation, technology and lowering our environmental footprint,” Carey said. “This is the future of indigo. We take trees, which we then make into pulp, and then we add the indigo pigment into the spinning mass and then we extrude the fiber in order to have the indigo pigment inside the fiber.”

Aligning with the theme of innovation and progress, Mike Simko, Hyosung’s global marketing director, felt that the conversation surrounding responsible sourcing would continue to evolve. During the event, Simko discussed Hyosung’s 100 percent–recycled Creora Regen Spandex, telling California Apparel News in an interview that the focus for the company will be on recycled product, energy-use reduction and bio-based materials.

“Sustainability as a topic is only going to mature. The conversations are going to get deeper and more specific,” Simko said. “Brands and retailers have matured themselves, and they have corporate initiatives, very specific goals that are out there, and now they need to not just ask for a sustainable product but also need to ask for a product that is going to help them meet their goals.”

Following Kingpins24 Flash, Olah is continuing to support responsible practices within the denim industry through his nonprofit, the Transformers Foundation, and the next edition of Kingpins24, which will be hosted April 20–22 under the theme of “Inspiration, Innovation & Technology, Earth Day.” With a focus on Fall/Winter 2022/2023, the virtual event includes Earth Day on April 22.