Set for June 23/24, KINGPINS24 will target the US-based denim industry and expand on the features introduced for the first online event.

It will not take the place of the cancelled Kingpins New York event originally scheduled for June 2/3, but the next edition of KINGPINS24 will target the US denim market specifically.

“It will never replace a Kingpins Show, but KINGPINS24 has proven to be an idea that the denim industry responded to and found valuable,” said Andrew Olah, founder of Kingpins Show and Transformers Foundation. “We’re incredibly humbled by the success of KINGPINS24 and have identified ways in which we can improve on our concept. Our goal remains to be the platform – whether IRL, as the kids say, or online – where the denim industry gathers to share information, ideas, innovation and inspiration. We’re excited for what comes next.”

One key change that will be made to the June KINGPINS24 event will be that members of the denim supply chain that are not Kingpins New York exhibitors will be allowed to apply to join the online event as exhibitors.

The updated KINGPINS24 concept will also include a more streamlined livestream, with a focus on webinars, interviews, panels and conversations. The livestream will go live at 9AM EDT on both days of Kingins24. The livestream will once again be hosted by Olah and Vivian Wang, Kingpins’ managing director and head of global sales, but will include a larger cast of co-hosts and interviewers.

The MIXAGE group, in Campobasso, Italy, since 1975, has always been the exclusive agent of the most luxurious international clothing, footwear and accessories brands (CANADA GOOSE, GCDS, GOLDEN GOOSE, HERON PRESTON, MARCELO BURLON, ALEXANDER MCQUEEN, MARGIELA, MSGM, n21, KENZO, Y3 YAMAMOTO), convinced that customers desire experiences and not just products.

The success of MIXAGE, is built with the entrepreneurial spirit of a family, inspired by the sensitivity for stylistic research, trying to feel the changes and to anticipate their effects.

MIXAGE, will be the protagonist, once again, with the opening of the third concept store, dedicated to men, which is directed at a luxury sportswear world, items of clothing with a sports DNA, interpreted with an “urban social” spirit. FIORINA REALE, the owner, decides to entrust the design project to the architect PAOLO BANDIELLO, already designer of the other two stores. Two spaces exclusively dedicated to women…

Changing the world of fashion together – through collaboration, communication and entrepreneurship. That is not an empty promise, but the vision of Neonyt. And in these current times, it is more important than ever. In view of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the management of Messe Frankfurt made the decision not to hold Neonyt as a physical event this year. And developing their own digital platform to showcase Neonyt and its exhibitors in virtual showrooms is not something that the team behind the event see as being constructive. Instead, Neonyt is focusing on a collaboration with two existing B2B online marketplaces.

“There are already countless approaches to hosting virtual events and showrooms right now. Following an in-depth review of the situation, we therefore decided that it makes more sense not to develop yet another solution for that ourselves, but to trust the expertise of well-known industry partners instead,” says Thimo Schwenzfeier, Show Director of Neonyt. “With The Brand Show Circular and Joor as our preferred partners for summer 2020, we are making it possible for Neonyt exhibitors to use all digital services of these B2B order platforms.”

However, as face-to-face interaction forms the basis of every human relationship, virtual platforms can never replace physical events, so the aim is to schedule the upcoming winter edition of Neonyt at the beginning of next year as usual. And in the meantime – thanks to partnerships with the two B2B marketplaces – Neonyt is offering its exhibitors the opportunity to position themselves in an international order context and look ahead to the time after the coronavirus.

The Brand Show Circular is a B2B marketing and order platform on which, in addition to digital showrooms and ordering opportunities for brands, it is also possible to publish video content. Sustainable fashion is at the focus here and many Neonyt exhibitors are already represented with digital showrooms.

And the cooperation with Joor, the world’s leading B2B platform for brands and retailers, and the Premium Group, the organiser of Premium, Seek and the Fashiontech conference, offers Neonyt exhibitors a number of digital services, which will be presented to interested exhibitors soon.

For the Fashionsustain conference, a digital solution using existing channels has been found: in the week from 13-17 July 2020, speakers from the sustainable and digital fashion industry will be discussing topics related to innovation, sustainability and technology in live talks and various audio and video formats on the Neonyt and Fashionsustain social media channels. The full line-up of all talks, participants and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Unveiling The Unexpected: Frankfurt Fashion Week will be making its debut in summer 2021. Joining forces to get the event off the ground are the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds – Messe Frankfurt – and the organiser of Europe’s biggest fashion fair – the Premium Group – as the initiators, as well as the City of Frankfurt am Main and the German state of Hesse as hosts. Together they aim to create a brand-new ecosystem for tradeshows, conferences, runway shows and events for professionals and consumers in Frankfurt am Main. 

“This will transform the financial centre of Frankfurt into a new hotspot for the international fashion and lifestyle scene and create a new, international fashion metropolis. Organising a Fashion Week in Frankfurt presents a unique economic opportunity for the City of Frankfurt am Main. We are expecting positive knock-on effects with the generation of more than 200 million euros per year for our hometown and the region,” emphasised the Senior Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main at today’s press conference. “It will bring a huge boost to the local hotel, hospitality and transportation sectors. Frankfurt is renowned for its style-defining impact on art, architecture and design and its unique club, bar and restaurant scene. Frankfurt Fashion Week will now also increase our appeal as an international fashion hotspot. We will be conveying the fashion and design theme to the rest of the city and complementing it with our own exciting events. It makes me proud that we have been able to attract these three prominent tradeshows with no less than 2,000 exhibitors from Berlin to Frankfurt,” concludes Feldmann.

“Securing this unique event for Frankfurt am Main is a huge opportunity to strengthen our image both nationally and internationally. In the next few years, the city is prepared to provide the necessary funds to show people from near and far that creative Frankfurt has what it takes to host a Fashion Week. Together with the State of Hesse and Messe Frankfurt, we, the City of Frankfurt, really want Frankfurt Fashion Week to get off to a flying start and make the city the fashion hotspot of Germany. And we will play our part in that,” adds Mayor and City Treasurer Uwe Becker, who together with the Councillor for Economic Affairs Markus Frank highlighted the development opportunities of Fashion Week in Frankfurt am Main. “From a fashion show on the Zeil – our profitable shopping street –, or a catwalk on the Eiserner Steg footbridge to streetwear in the Hafenpark so popular with skaters – the innovative, dynamic and cosmopolitan Main metropolis is welcoming Fashion Week with open arms,” adds Markus Frank.

A core component of Frankfurt Fashion Week are Europe’s biggest fashion fairs: PREMIUM, Europe’s most relevant business platform for advanced women’s and menswear, SEEK, one of the most progressive tradeshows for contemporary fashion, and NEONYT, the leading hub for sustainable fashion. Together with the Fashionsustain and Fashiontech conferences, they are all moving from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. 

Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the Premium:

“We have worked since many years with Messe Frankfurt’s Neonyt and the conferences Fashiontech- and fashion sustain. We were looking for a place which holds all synergies. Why Frankfurt? Fashion has not as of yet been in Frankfurt. The trade show area is in the middle of the town and combining the shows has been demanded by the industry. We will all be now in one area which will facilitate it for our visitors.

One of our challenges is Covid-19. It is now important to collaborate. The challenges for the market are the same: ditigalisation, sustainability, collections.
We will show men’s and women’s collection at the same show as the aspect of sustainability welcomes this and we will have an advantage over Milan and Paris in point of data. We will not have two separate appointments but men’s, women’s accessories will be shown at the same time, which will benefit the environment and it will be the pulse of time.

We will also re-think the system of Fashion Week. So it will be a digitally oriented fashion- and lifestyle community. Design innovation, fashion and lifestyle will be combined and the people of Frnakfurt will be included in the event.
We plan that you arrive at the airport and the train station and you will be in Fashion Frankfurt. Frankfurt fashion week won’t compare to other German cities. And we are competing with the other big fashion weeks ‘in it to win it.”

The Fashion Week will be a big and important party: topics like sustainability and digitalisation will be the topics that we are looking forward to. Markus Frank, Responsible of city Frankfurt am Main for Economic affairs, sports, security: “Premium Group decided for Frankfurt am Main and this will encourage people to have a look at this wonderful city. In autumn we will continue to communicate what the content and concept will contain. ‘Expect the unexpected’.”

Following a lengthy discussion during a video conference with the Board of Directors of Pitti Immagine, based on the information provided by the CEO, Raffaello Napoleone, and by the General Manager, Agostino Poletto, the Board acknowledged the insufficient number of confirmations of attendance as well as the ongoing state of difficulty of the companies, and decided to postpone the physical fairs until January 2021. Encouraged by the work and investment carried out in order to launch the Pitti Connect platform, as well as the approval and interest that this initiative is registering among members of the trade, the organisers will concentrate all their energy this summer onto the entirely digital version of the above fairs which will be open to all exhibitors.

“This was a very painful yet inevitable decision” says Claudio Marenzi, President of Pitti Immagine “dictated by the conditions of operational and economic difficulty in which the majority of the manufacturing companies and retailers – shops, department stores- find themselves and by the uncertainties that continue to persist regarding the modalities of traveling from one country to another, including quarantine restrictions, which have obviously heavily conditioned the plans of international buyers. I should add that the prolonged absence of any certainties regarding non-repayable government and European economic support for taking part in the fairs, greatly affected the exhibitors’ decisions. The very recent approval of the Italian decree referred to the 394/81 fund is a good sign at last, even though the effects will mostly be felt from next fall. From our side, we deeply believed in and are fully convinced about maintaining the role of the Pitti fairs as an essential instrument of commercial promotion at the service of Italian fashion and, in particular, of the fabric of preeminent small and medium sized businesses, together with the artisan companies that we have always represented. Therefore the regret that this situation signifies for the industrial fashion system is combined with the disappointment of not being able to contribute, through the attraction capacity of the fairs, already this summer, to the relaunch of Florence which, in the meantime, despite all the many difficulties, is responding with strength and solidarity in order to build the foundations for a safe new start”.

“We will now be putting all our resources into the Pitti Connect digital fairs” adds Raffaello Napoleone, Ceo of Pitti Immagine “ for which we will be receiving decisive help from the Italian Trade Agency (Agenzia ICE). We are very confident in our ability to offer companies the real Pitti service which is capable of meeting their business, promotion and communication requirements, especially in this part of the season. Their opinion on the new functions of the platform in these last few weeks and months has been decidedly positive.  With regard to the physical fairs, these have been three months of enthusiastic and tireless work by everyone at Pitti Immagine, with the full awareness of not having neglected anything: from the investment into sanitizing and making safe the exhibition spaces to the planning of high-quality but also very economical new layout formulas, to the facilitation agreements with the city’s hotel structures.  In any case, we do not exclude the possibility of being able to make a contribution, between July and September, to getting the city started again with autonomous projects or events that are coherent with our policy.  In parallel we will immediately start to program the next winter edition in order to consolidate and support the much hoped for recovery of production and commercial trade in the fall and at the beginning of 2021”.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank those exhibitors” concludes Agostino Poletto, Pitti Immagine General Manager “that, in the midst of this unpredictable crisis, had decided in any case to take part and renewed their faith in the fairs. For them, as for everyone else, the rendezvous, for the meantime, is on Pitti Connect, and then in January. The new digital platform will be active and can be visited from the end of June, first week of July, in order to help companies comply with the traditional timings of the sales campaign, and it will be extended to the whole of September. Pitti Connect is an advanced networking and marketplace tool that will allow exhibitors to increase their visibility with tens of thousands of qualified buyers, activating selected and certified commercial contacts, supporting them in the management of orders and holding events and live presentations.

WeAr will keep you updated on any news you need to know about the digital event and the revised edition of January 2021.

Recent times highlight the importance to incorporate news events into the fashion industry in order to respond to customer demand. Today’s consumers are more informed, connected and savvy. They want to identify with brands. In order to do so, brands need to depict values. Inclusivity is a vital value. Whether that is about gender, color or religion, fashion should, and already widely is, include these topics to reflect the current time and stay relevant.

Calvin Klein’s new campaign #PROUDINMYCALVINS highlights the LGBTQIA+ community and focusses on topics like identity, self love and self expression. Tommy Hilfiger has just released an adaptive line, which helps people with disability to dress easier. Amongst many other the following brands and designers are promoting equality and diversity throughout: Gender Free World, Prabal Gurung, Anniesa Hasibuan, Christian Siriano, Yeezy, Kintsugi Clothing, just to name a few.

Inclusiveness is not just a PR topic, but must be incorporated into a brand’s DNA. Only then a brand is truly authentic and can generate a loyal and long-term following.

APUJAN is a London-based womenswear label founded by designer Apu Jan, debuting in Autumn/Winter 2013 London Fashion Week. The designs are renowned for integrating patterns and knitwear techniques to illustrate themes inspired by fantasy and literature. The juxtaposition of traditional and oriental elements with a contemporary twist, and the interweaving of bold and casual elements are at the heart of APUJAN’s unique style, and have become the hallmarks of the label.

The new collaboration that launched on 6th May 2020 includes package designs for burgers, drinks and McFlurry’s with highly stylised wrapping that makes extensive use of the colour black with some of the burgers, made of cuttlefish juice also with a black appearance.

McDonalds and APUJAN collaborated for the first time in 2019. For the new collaboration the brand has also incorporated stars and spaceships to convey a child-like wonder.

Outside of runway collection, APUJAN has also collaborated with various industries by utilises the storytelling method to connect with different audiences: such as In-flight loungewear for EVA airline, branding for Kuo Yuan Ye, a traditional oriental pastry company, the costumes for the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan and the series of package design for McDonald’s.

The organizers of the trade fair Modefabriek have announced the launch of a new online platform featuring a B2B marketplace. Scheduled for early July, it is intended to connect the fashion industry and boost business.

“For almost 25 years, Modefabriek has been organizing the fashion trade event of the Benelux as a physical B2B marketplace. Now, we utilize our experience to also, virtually, bring all together ‘under one roof’ and connect professionals. On this new platform, supply and demand meet their match in the B2B marketplace. You will find the newest collections and best solutions, make mutual contact, can share your latest news, and follow each other.

More exposure, greater connection; before, during and after the event and sales season. For everyone who is already active in the Dutch and Belgian fashion industry, or is looking to make their first move, and is after closer contact with their fashion peers. For labels, agents, retailers, buyers, stylists, designers, store staff, visual merchandisers, trainers, educators, starters, jobseekers, employers, developers, advisors, media, policy makers and all other fashion professionals who want to be stronger together.

In addition to the B2B marketplace, Modefabriek.nl will also offer business opportunities, news, vacancies, workshops, education, trends of the last hour, and everything about the online and offline Modefabriek event. In other words, Modefabriek.nl will be the online epicentre of and for the fashion community.”

Diesel has launched Moon, an omni-channel operating model designed to significantly upgrade the company’s digital operations and make e-commerce more seamless. As e-commerce becomes more vital to companies’ businesses in a post-lockdown world where customers are still hesitant to return to shopping at physical stores, Diesel saw this as an opportune time to strengthen their e-commerce and omnichannel approach to business.

For consumers, Moon offers a smooth, easy and all-in-one shopping experience. Shopping options are unlimited, in that all of Diesel’s current global stock will be integrated and buyable through this model. Shopping itself becomes frictionless: increased service levels, easy returns in-store, same day pickup in all stores, same day delivery in key cities, pre-ordering and more are all available. In the near future, the act of shopping will also become highly personalized in the digital space; data-driven approaches will elevate and edit user-specific interfaces as more purchases are made.

In a series of posts on Instagram, Gucci’s Creative Director Alessandro Michele has announced the fashion house’s overhaul of its catwalk and seasonal programme as it embarks on a “new path, away from deadlines that the industry consolidated.” and “abandon the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence”, away from “an excessive performativity that today really has no raison d’être”.

“For me, in my own small way, I feel the urgent need to change a lot of things in the way I work. I have always been professionally inclined to change, after all, bringing with me a natural and joyful creative restlessness. But this crisis has somehow amplified such transformative urgency, which can’t be deferred anymore”.

Zalora, Asia’s online fashion brand part of the Global Fashion Group, has announced a partnership with Vestiaire Collective to offer a sustainable fashion ecosystem in Asia.

The partnership will allow Zalora’s Hong Kong customers to access over 5,000 of Vestiaire Collective’s authenticated pre-loved items across its women’s and men’s categories directly on Zalora’s website and apps.

The trial will be for Hong Kong initially, with plans to extend to its other markets, which includes Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Taiwan, as it looks to promote the adoption of circular fashion to encourage its consumers to be “more conscious about their consumption habits”.

Facebook has announced the launch of its new shopping feature allowing businesses of all sizes to set up a free online store on Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook Shops allows businesses to set up customized online stores which can be found by people through the business’ Facebook Page or Instagram profile and targeted ads. Shoppers can then browse items and purchase them either through the company’s website or directly through the app.

After 10 successful editions and while fully prepared for the 11th edition of Ventura Projects during Milan Design Week 2020, Ventura Projects is no longer feasible. Both Ventura Centrale and Ventura Future had to be cancelled due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. Unfortunately, these cancellations have had a massive and irreversible impact on the company. Margriet Vollenberg, founder and art director of Ventura Projects, sadly had to make the impossible and heartbreaking decision to stop all Ventura Projects activities, leaving a massive gap in the entire design world. This means that after many successful editions the Ventura Projects events, organised by Organisation in Design, will no longer be on show during Milan Design Week and other international design events in the future.

“It is with great sorrow that I’ve had to witness how the corona crisis has hit the entire world and event and design industry, and thus my company. I spent many sleepless nights worrying about whether and how I could save or transform my company to adjust to a new normal to still be able to serve the design world and enable the talent as we have always done. It is therefore with great pain in my heart that I came to the conclusion that it is no longer feasible to build my dream, and therefore the dreams of many designers and design studios. The current circumstances leave me no other choice but to endVentura Projects,” says Margriet Vollenberg.

For twenty-one years Vollenberg took a role as an organiser, coordinator, and matchmaker during Milan Design Week and over the past eleven years, as art director of Ventura Projects, she focused on giving a forum for international creatives launching their projects. With the support of two dedicated teams in the Netherlands and Italy, Ventura Projects exhibitors were offered guidance and promotion to give them the attention and exposure they deserved.”

Vollenberg continues: “Over the last few days my team and I have personally called individual designers, relations and exhibitors of Ventura Projects. It was one of the most difficult tasks we have ever had to accomplish as a team. It was deeply sorrowing as well as heartwarming to talk to all our trusted friends and design lovers. For now, I look back with tremendous pride and gratitude on what my team and I have been able to accomplish in the international design world. With more than 7000 exhibitors, we have presented countless ground-breaking and incredible solutions to the world. We sincerely hope that the energised atmosphere of global design events will return soon. More than ever, to cope with this crisis and the aftermath the world is in need of the creativity, playfulness and ingenuity that design can offer.”

Scotch & Soda presents two new fragrances just in time for the Launch of the new Spring/Summer 2020 collections. Inspired by tropical scents, “Island Waters“ comes in 2 variations and is available from this month onwards.

In line with Scotch & Sodas DNA, the perfumes embody the brands values of free spirited creativity growing out of a passion for the unknown. Precious finds from all corners of the world, combined with classic, contemporary elements, define the eclectic collections of apparel, accessories and perfumes.

Island Waters along with the entire Spring/Summer 2020 apparel collection is inspired by the free spirited Musa-Shiya, also called „The Shirtmaker“ and creator of the original „Hawaiian Shirt. Driven by his insatiable creativity and teamed with a strong sense of business, the entrepreneur moved from his birthplace Japan to the island of Hawaii in the 30ties where he created the foundation of his business together with a team of loyal supporters of local craftspeople and surfers, who came to love the now iconic fashion item.

“Musa-Shiyas story of team spirit, fortunate timing and new interpretations of a classic style had us inspired and taught us, that anything is possible, if we wander through our world with open hearts & eyes.” – Marlou van Engelen, Creative Director Scotch & Soda

MICAM Milano has started to prepare for the coming edition to be held at the Rho trade-fair centre from 20 to 23 September, with the aim of providing an opportunity for the industry to get restarted after a difficult period for the world’s economy.

While the fair organisers work to prepare an event that will hopefully provide both Italian and foreign footwear companies with a springboard to recovery, following the difficult period the whole sector has gone through during the health emergency, the creative concept behind MICAM’s brand image for 2020 continues to be developed.

In this way, the second chapter in the #micamtales series, dedicated this year to MICAM in Wonderland, also becomes a sign that the event does not stop, and that it intends to go on providing those in the footwear market with important business and trade opportunities. The protagonist of the fairy-tale we were introduced to in February reappears once again in the September edition, at the centre of a series of curious events that take place in an enchanted garden: a tea drunk in the company of a white rabbit, a party that goes awry despite the fervid preparations, or a bizarre attempt to paint white roses red.

Over the coming weeks the fair will confirm a number of other new initiatives for the September edition aimed at sustaining the sector, while in these difficult months Assocalzaturifici has never stopped listening and supporting the Italian footwear companies

Effective immediately, Patrick Valeo has been named as Diesel North America’s new CEO. Reporting to global CEO Massimo Piombini, he will lead the brand forward focusing on growth throughout.

Most recently Valeo was president of the Americas and global head of commercial sales at MCM. Prior to that, he was president and COO of SMCP, vice president retail at Dolce & Gabbana and vice president retail at Gucci Americas.

Missoni has appointed Livio Proli as their new CEO. Proli had a lengthy tenure at Giorgio Armani where he held the positions general manager and managing director. He departed from all of his Giorgio Armani affiliated roles last year.

Proli will be the first ever CEO of Missoni. In addition to being a family owned company, Italian fund FSI also has a 41.2 percent stake in Missoni.

In light of the health and economic crisis the world has been experiencing over the past several weeks, Première Vision has taken a firm position to making a strong strategic commitment to a severely impacted fashion industry. In an expression of solidarity with its exhibitors and brands, the group has launched a series of measures to actively support and assist the sector in preparation for the resumption of business operations.

-Confirmation of the Première Vision Paris show next September.
-Modification of some show calendars to ensure their smooth operation given relevant health constraints, with some being re-thought and adapted to the situation: Made in France Première Vision, Denim Première Vision, Blossom Première Vision, Première Vision New York, Première Vision Sport.
-Easing of registration conditions for exhibitors.
-Free access for visitors.
-Simplification and lifting of charges for digital services on the Première Vision Marketplace.
-Accelerated digitisation of show services and content: products, seasonal fashion information, webinars, etc.

Gilles Lasbordes, General Manager of Première Vision said: “We, along with fashion manufacturers and brands, fully share a desire to work together in emerging from this crisis, which is having such a severe impact on the industry. We have explored every possible option to provide tangible support to the market. First, we believe that companies will have a vital need to come together again to help re-launch businesses that, in some cases, have been dramatically weakened. And this, of course, must be done in compliance with the health precautions that will be in effect. At the same time, we very quickly took the decision to provide an online digital version of the fashion information prepared for our exhibitors, to ensure our on-going creative support. Looking ahead to September, we will be taking even further steps. Already, as of mid-March, we have made it free for our exhibitors to showcase an unlimited number of their products on the Marketplace, to help them remain in contact with their clients, provide samples and fulfil orders. Lastly, for Première Vision Paris, we have pushed back the registration process as late as possible, and relaxed their conditions as well. We have decided to assume 100% of the risks of cancellation of the show, should holding it be banned by the authorities. Our teams are currently fully committed and mobilised with the industry to face the new challenges that lie ahead.”

Berwich has created a capsule collection of trousers called Bibliotheca, as archive and research, together with Lacerba, well-known boutique in Rimini, composed of three fits for the contemporary and cosmopolitan man: trousers without or with one pleat and the cargo. These trousers, made of rustic coarse-grained fabrics such as herringbone, blends of linen, canvas and twisted cotton, are available in natural colors such as beige, tobacco and khaki.

The Dupont Sorona brand team is launching a new brand architecture and hangtag program designed to bring simplicity of choice and fabric confidence to designers and apparel brands. New fabric collections offered by mills are tested and certified through the DuPont Sorona Fabric Common Thread Certification Program to assure the fabrics have the unique molecular footprint of partially plant-based Sorona polymer as well as meet key fabric performance attributes. Starting now, apparel brands and designers will be able to request that mills provide their DuPont Sorona Fabric Common Thread Certificate to show their Sorona fabrics truly have the unique fabric performance and feeling that Sorona fibers provide.

“Fiber producers are able to create many unique constructions from Sorona®polymer enabling a wide variety of textiles exhibiting diverse performance properties from wrinkle-resistant outerwear fabrics to lightweight breathable insulation products, permanent stretch and recovery, and newly launched Sorona faux fur,” explains DuPont Biomaterials Global Marketing Director Renee Henze. “We are committed to ensuring that mills, designers and brands have clarity on our offering and that they can trust the source of the materials when they’re choosing fabrics using Sorona.”

New fabrics which are certified through the Common Thread Fabric Certification Program will provide the Sorona fabric performance characteristics that designers and apparel brands are searching for.

The Kingpins24 digital event which just closed its (digital) doors, saw exhibitors, industry partners and thought leaders, who are all isolated and stuck at home and dealing with their own crises, rallied to make content to share with our audience in a matter of days. Then, THOUSANDS of their peers, colleagues, clients and friends joined in – some waking up in the dead of night to watch our livestream, others using the magic of AppleTV to push hours of our livestream and on-demand content to their TVs.

The denim industry, like all international business, has been heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the denim community still needs to connect to share ideas, information and inspiration for the Fall/Winter 2021 season.

Throughout the event presented were:

Exhibitors on-demand: FW2021 presentations from the textile and trim exhibitors showcasing new offerings, sustainability missions & more…

Show Initiatives on-demand: Causes the trade show supports, ideas they want to share, voices you should know.

Interviews/Panels on-demand: Interviews, panels and conversations covering various subjects relating to the denim industry.

“We, as a whole, are resilient, resourceful and optimistic,” said Andrew Olah, founder of Kingpins Show. “When one door closes another opens. We believe Kingpins24 can give our global industry a chance to connect and share information. We have no other desire but to be a conduit for the denim world during these difficult times, where most of us, including me, are at home far away from our normal world.”

Kingpins24 has not taken the place of a Kingpins trade show. Instead, Kingpins organizers have distilled the content, energy and point of view that make Kingpins Shows unique and brought that same mind frame and approach to an online event. The goal is for attendees to have an understanding of the denim supply chain’s offerings for the F/W 2021 season and much, much more.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, businesses everywhere have been affected. For some brands, online sales have quickly become a way to both continue to sell products and to help relief organizations provide support to those affected by the virus. Below, are 3 designers that are supporting the COVID-19 Relief Efforts.

Sep Jordan

Sep Jordan is known for their embroidered table linens, which are made by refugee artisans. Now, their products are helping yet another good cause: For every purchase made, the business will donate $20 to COVI19 medical aid for Jordanian refugee camps. ‘In the face of the current COVID-19 situation, no one has escaped these life changing events, and the impact was overwhelming for refugees and those in the developing world.  At SEP it has been our priority to support and protect residents of the Jerash camp throughout this pandemic. Our pledge for every online order received during the COVID-19 crisis, is that $20 will be spent on hand sanitisers, medicines and food in Jerash camp.’  Sep. Also in solidarity with our workers of the frontline, the nursing staff in Switzerland, as a very small thanks from SEP, each week, for the next few weeks, they will offer one of our “secchiello” bags embroidered by hand to someone nominated by the public who is working in the public health system.

Pangaia
Pangaia have delivered 10,000 N95 surgical masks to Mount Sinai Hospital in Queens one of the hardest hit boroughs in New York. Although they are young start up, their collective efforts and partnerships with JUST Bethenny Frankel and B Strong amongst others has made this possible.  They thank and salute all the heroes putting their lives at risk. 

Drajée Jewellery Hamsa Hand.
‘To help during the global pandemic Drajée London will be donating 10% of all their online sales split across both the Trussell Trust & the NHS COVID 19 Appeal.  They have also created a little Hamsa Hand bracelet with 20% going to the NHS a little symbol of hope and solidarity.  Both charities have been working tirelessly to ensure NHS staff and food banks are fully supported throughout the UK.  The Trussell Trust are a nationwide network of food banks who provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.  In the UK, more than 14 million people are living in poverty – including 4.5 million children. They support more than 1,200 food bank centres in the UK to provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis, as well as support to help people resolve the crises they face. Between April 2018 and March 2019, food banks in our network provided a record 1.6 million food supplies to people in crisis, a 19% increase on the previous year. 

Capgemini has this week launched a new report, which looks at the impact of coronavirus on consumer shopping behaviour. The findings are based on a survey of over 11,000 global consumers at the beginning of April 2020.

Some key findings of the research are: 

Globally consumers are optimistic about recovery: 48% are optimistic about recovery from the current crisis in the next six months. When asked about the next 12 months, positive sentiment increases, with 70% optimistic about recovery.

However, UK shoppers are more pessimistic: only 37% are optimistic that the UK will recover in six months

Attitudes to in-store shopping: 59% of consumers worldwide said they had high levels of interaction with physical stores before COVID-19, but today less than a quarter (24%) see themselves in that high-interaction category. In next 6-9 months, only 39% of consumers expect a high level of interaction with physical stores – clearly below the pre-COVID levels.

Automation is becoming a must-have: 57% of consumers would be more comfortable with complete in-store automation that does not require touch-based practices in a post-pandemic era (for example, product information search, in-store navigation, and order to payment is done on the consumer’s phone).

Safety is now a key differentiator: 77% of consumers will be more cautious about cleanliness, health, and safety in the post-pandemic era. Nearly 62% will also switch to brands that show higher levels of product safety and 54% will prefer local items over imports due to safety concerns over the use of foreign products. This increased consumer awareness translates into increasing demand for safety measures during in-store shopping and delivery.

For Earth Day 50, Tommy Hilfiger highlights some of their sustainable product initiatives for this season…

“At Tommy Hilfiger, we’re committed to making fashion that wastes nothing and welcomes all. As part of this commitment, we are shipping a circular fashion brand- one which limits its carbon and water footprints, and where all the materials we use are part of a sustainable loop.” – Tommy Hilfiger

100% recycled denim
The Tommy 100% recycled denim styles feature stitching thread made from recycled plastic PET bottles. Using an innovative technique that blends cotton scraps from the factory floors of the apparel industry and bed linens of the hotel industry, the brand has reduced the amount of water and energy used to make a pair of jeans.

100% organic cotton
The brand’s organic cotton products contain independent certified organic cotton, meaning it was grown without chemical pesticides, chemical fertilisers and genetically modified seeds.

Recycled Polyester
The brand’s recycled polyester products contain independently certified recycled polyester from used textiles, manufacturing waste or plastic bottles, reducing its environmental impact.

The LYCRA Company will share its latest sustainable stretch and performance innovations at the Kingpins 24 livestream event on April 22-23. Kingpins is transitioning its spring denim tradeshow in Amsterdam to an online format amid COVID-19 concerns.

Under its EcoMade family of fibers, The LYCRA Company has developed a variety of offerings with pre and post-consumer content.  The latest of these is the LYCRA EcoMade fiber, made partly with pre-consumer material, it’s certified to GRS standards, offering the same high-quality performance as the other LYCRA fiber offerings. Another stretch vehicle, LYCRA T400 EcoMade fiber, contains 50% post-consumer content and can be used in conjunction with LYCRA fiber for higher stretch with lasting shape retention.

The performance polyester fibers give new life to plastics – COOLMAX EcoMade technology helps keep the wearer cool and dry and is made with 100% post-consumer recycled materials. And for lightweight warmth, our THERMOLITE EcoMade fiber is engineered to help optimize comfort & performance.

To dispel some myths about sustainabilty the company will deliver a presentation titled “Sustainable Stretch – Get the Facts” April 22^ndand 23^rd. In addition, videos on The LYCRA Company’s Planet Agenda sustainability platform and LYCRA EcoMade fiber will run during the Kingpins 24 livestream.

“We want to thank Kingpins for giving us the opportunity to come together as a denim community and engage our customers on these important topics in a new and exciting way,” said Jean Hegedus, The LYCRA Company Sustainability Director.  “At The LYCRA Company, we’re focused on developing solutions for a circular economy.  Under our Planet Agenda platform, we are also working on technologies for recycling stretch garments, extending garment wear life, and helping our customers use fewer, and more sustainable resources.

Kingpins 24 will feature livestreamed panel discussions, interviews and exhibitor presentations focused on sustainability and corporate social responsibility, plus a variety of on-demand content about the denim supply chain’s offerings for the upcoming seasons. Registration is now open which grants free access to the livestream and on-demand content.

Premium Exhibitions has confirmed that due to government regulations it won’t be holding the event as planned from 30th June till 2nd of July 2020.

Pinko was one of the first brands to sign on to Shanghai Fashion Week after organizers announced plans to move the entire event online. In under two weeks, Pinko staged a “See Now, Buy Now” runway show, featuring 25 looks from its current collection against a virtual backdrop.

The garments were designed with confident and determined modern women in mind – those who were “ready to take life always by the horns, even in difficult times like these,” said Pietro Negra, CEO and founder of Pinko.

The digital fashion-show experience was very positive, said Negra. “I am especially surprised by the ability to react and implement, in such a short time, an event with a worldwide resonance.”

Participating in the new digital format was a natural decision for the brand, which values innovation and experimentation, he said. The use of digital technologies also allowed Pinko to maintain sales in China and keep customer relationships alive amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Negra said the brand will invest further in livestreaming to build greater interactions with consumers on Tmall. He said particularly in China, where young consumers are highly informed and digitized, brands need to step up efforts to win their attention and loyalty.

“For Pinko, Tmall is not only a sales channel but a vehicle for promotion and awareness,” Negra said

As the Government’s new ‘home isolation rules’ came into force throughout March, the fashion industry was sent into a whirlwind of unprecedented uncertainty. In a month where Spring buying would typically set in, online clothing sales were down -23.1% Year-on-Year (YoY), according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of over 200 retailers. Digging deeper into fashion sales, menswear was down a staggering -42.9% and footwear was down -32.8%.

Indicative of a very mixed set of results on a category level, the warmer weather and increased amount of time spent in the garden during the lockdown sent online garden sales soaring to +94.4% YoY. Beauty also continued to build on strong February sales, spiking to +36.0%, while electricals recorded March’s third standout performance – surging by +40.2%. In fact, during week 2 of the month when the Government raised the outbreak risk from moderate to high, electrical retailers saw sales jump by +47.7% YoY as consumers turned to home entertainment and raced to set up their offices.  

With the category results doing their best to balance each other out, the overall growth for March limped in at -5.1% YoY – well below the 12-, 6- and 3-month rolling averages (+4.5%, +6.7% and -2.1% respectively) but still above last month’s performance by +2.6% (MoM). Perhaps marking the start of stockpiling, March started off with poor online sales for the first fortnight, but seemed to recover in weeks 3 and 4 following the Government’s announcement of official home isolation rules on March 17.

Meanwhile as they are forced to shift more operations into the digital sphere, multichannel retailers outperformed their online only counterparts for the first time since April 2019, recording growth of -4.0% versus -5.5%.

Lucy Gibbs, managing consultant – Retail Insight, Capgemini: “Online sales performance this month is a mixed story, as retailers are faced with a multitude of challenges. ‘Non-essential’ stores closed their doors on the high street which led to the majority of multichannel retailers gaining a boost in online performance in the latter half of the month as consumers channelled their demand into digital.  However, the changing demand and customer needs has also polarised impacts on different product categories where the appetite for fashion dropped off significantly compared to garden, home and electrical which are seeing unusually high demand as we spend more time at home.<>

Next month we are likely to see a continued rise in online demand however it has never been more important to listen to consumer needs to respond to new spending patterns, communicate in a way that resonates with the concerns and needs of customers and using datapoints to inform next steps as we navigate through the changes”<>

Andy Mulcahy, strategy and insight director, IMRG: “There is a bit of a myth going around at the moment that online sales are booming. It’s more accurate to say some online retailers are experiencing huge demand, outstripping even that seen over Black Friday, because so many people are in the exact same situation – ie stuck at home. That has created very lopsided demand among product categories.

“People simply don’t have much need for new clothes or shoes at the moment, which is why at the overall level sales growth is down. How and when a stronger balance in demand might be established is a pressing question for retailers currently on the wrong side of that divide.”

Canadian outerwear brand Nobis, has announced its global initiative with which 100% of proceeds from online sales in April will be donated to healthcare facilities at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19.

The program will be complemented with a $ 100,000 donation to hospitals in the state of Ontario. “Nobis,” we, “in Latin has always had a clear importance on the community, we are very proud and grateful to our health workers whose courage and selflessness are a beacon of hope in these uncertain times. Never before has this been necessary support our community. For this reason Nobis is doing everything that is possible for recognize and support the incredible sacrifice of people at the forefront of this battle.” says Robin Yates, Co-founder and Vice President of the brand

Customers who make a purchase from the Nobis.com site during this time will have the option at when checking out, send the donation to an organization of their choice from those mentioned.

The German sustainable label Lovjoi is offering a makeshift mouthguard which is” Made in Germany” from 100% TENCEL fabric by Lenzing. This lyocell fiber has many positive properties and is therefore well suited as a material for makeshift mouth protection:

Lyocell is temperature regulating, anti-allergenic, resistant to mites and bacteria, moisture-absorbing, tear-resistant and durable. The makeshift mouthguard can be washed with laundry up to 95°C or disinfectant. The fiber is also used in textiles in the medical field and in industrial products. Mixtures of polyester and lyocell are already used as work clothing for nursing staff and doctors.

The makeshift mouthguards from Lovjoi are manufactured by hand in their own company in southern Germany and are available in numerous colors and patterns.

The Board of Directors of Pitti Immagine made decisions regarding the calendar of the Pitti Uomo fairs scheduled for the 2020 summer season with a new calendar as below:

Pitti Immagine Uomo no. 98 is confirmed and will move to 2 to 4 September (3 days), once again at the Fortezza da Basso, Florence

Pitti Immagine Bimbo no. 91 is confirmed and will move to 9-10 September (2 days), at the Fortezza da Basso, Florence

Pitti Immagine Filati no. 87 is confirmed and its exact position on the calendar will be discussed at the next Technical Committee, scheduled for April, 8^th

Fragranze no. 18 is confirmed with the original dates, 11-13 September, at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence

Super n. 16 is confirmed with the original dates, 24-27 September, at the Padiglione Visconti in Milan

Taste no. 15, which was rescheduled for the beginning of June, is canceled and postponed until the next ordinary dates for 2021 (13-15 March)

The Kingpins New York trade show originally scheduled to take place on June 2nd and 3rd, 2020, has been cancelled due to health concerns and travel restrictions related to COVID-19.

In a statement Kingpins mentioned “Kingpins cancelled its June show in New York as the coronaviris crisis continues to keep people around the world at home in hopes of flattening the curve and reducing the impact of COVID-19 on all of our daily lives. By now, we all know someone affected by this crisis. And, sadly, we are likely to be further impacted as medical professionals work to contain the disease while they treat patients and look for a cure. The scale of the economic impact on us all is impossible to measure. But there is comfort in community and Kingpins has always been about fostering community, working together and looking for ways to innovate our industry.”

On April 22 and 23 Kingpins24 will take place, the online event created to bring the industry together in these uncertain times.

Jeanologia, world leaders in sustainable and eco-efficient technology development, has repurposed its ozone based G2 technology, which it uses for the sustainable treatment of jeans into an innovative method for sanitization and disinfecting face protection masks.

Making its technology the last link in the production chain for certain sanitary equipment, before being delivered to the hospitals. Considered an “essential” business by the Spanish government during the COVID-19 crisis, the company is making a great effort, working together with other technology centers and universities in coordination with the government, and acting altruistically.

Enrique Silla, Jeanologia’s founder, has highlighted that “facing the global uncertainty, we have transformed ourselves in record time, showing our capacity for leadership”.

He has also indicated that “after Covid19 eco-sustainable production will become obligatory for everyone.  Only the companies that have put people and planet before profits and have a purpose will be able to survive.”

Silla also highlights that at Jeanologia they are experts in producing ozone, “for more than 15 years we have been applying it in the textile industry to make the industry more sustainable”. That’s why with the current situation, where sanitization is primary in combatting the virus, “we have challenged ourselves to transform our G2 technology within the timeframe of only one week.”

For the sanitization process, we take the face protection masks to be disinfected and put them into a hermetically sealed chamber – Sanitizingbox – subjecting them to a determined quantity of ozone. Through advanced oxidation, bacteria is eliminated and the material is disinfected.

Ozone is the strongest antimicrobial disinfectant and strongest oxidant in nature. Once it has been used, it is treated and returned clean to the atmosphere having been converted into oxygen.

The G2 technology transformed into the Sanitizingbox, becomes the key link for sanitization and is capable of disinfecting 15,000 masks a day. The disinfection protocol is certified by the Valencian government’s health authorities and complies with international health and safety specifications.

The founder at Jeanologia has forwarded that “we are going to continue working in this direction with our R+D team because the sanitization of apparel and workwear is demanded by brands and consumers. Only through sanitizing will be able to speed up regaining consumers’ trust, guaranteeing the fast recovery of our industry.”

Debenhams is preparing to call in administrators after the struggling department store was forced to close all its outlets under the coronavirus lockdown.

Debenhams was taken over last year by a group of its financial backers, including the US hedge funds Silver Point and GoldenTree, after falling into administration.

With 142 stores closed and the majority of the 22,000 staff on furlough, the current owners want to push the business into administration then buy it back debt-free.

Debenhams said: “This move will protect Debenhams from the threat of legal action that could have the effect of pushing the business into liquidation while its 142 UK stores remain closed in line with the Government’s current advice regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.”