Held from 22-23 January at Basketball City/Pier 36, Kingpins New York 2025 featured 75 exhibitors, including fabric mills, fibre producers, machinery vendors, and other stakeholders in the denim ecosystem..
Approximately 640 attendees from close to 290 companies participated in the event.
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Notable brands represented included Urban Outfitters, Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren, Alexander Wang, Michael Kors, Supreme, Marc Jacobs, Scotch and Soda, imogene + willie, Veronica Beard, Coach and Todd Snyder.
An installation curated by Kingpins called The Boxes highlighted creative collaborations alongside initiatives addressing critical issues within the denim industry.
The show also featured the Most Sustainable Product (MSP) programme, which highlighted significant sustainable products and processes from exhibitors.
Another initiative, One Denim, presented an array of designs achievable through a single fabrication. Plus, Key Pieces from Inspiring Wardrobes From Around the World offered insights into items from personal collections of denim creatives.
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By GlobalDataThe Future Fit Forum (FFF), curated by Michelle Branch from Markt & Twigs and supported by Creora by Hyosung, returned to examine potential future denim fits as envisioned by global designers.
A number of initiatives debuted during Kingpins New York 2025 event, including:
Tonello Denim Renaissance: The Art of Italian Luxury, which invited attendees to explore original designs merging Italy’s luxury heritage with Tonello’s advanced technology.
The Denim Institute & Museum “Denim Archives”, set to open in 2026 in Los Angeles, aims to preserve denim history while serving as a learning centre focused on innovation and eco-friendly technologies.
An installation featuring emerging designers from the Hong Kong Design Institute was also showcased and presented during the opening night happy hour.
New Denim Perspective, presented by trend agency BeDisobedient and led by forecaster Nahuel Lombardi, examined macro and micro trends influencing the denim landscape.
Key Pieces and Future Fit Forum included panel discussions as part of the Denim Talks seminar series.
Michelle Branch shared the stage with Natashia Lunt of Natashia and Adam Taubenfligel from Triarchy, who will participate in the upcoming FFF at Kingpins Amsterdam.
“When you think about a better future in denim, you think about finish and fibre and energy. But you should also think about fit. All of the creatives we use for the Future Fit Forum have a passion for making things better. This is an expression of what the future could be,” Branch said.
Seminars that took place during the show covered topics such as “Innovative Materials – From Lab to Loom,” led by Tricia Carey. This session featured Rebecca Geppert from Refiberd discussing AI-based hyperspectral imaging for textile waste management; Jennifer Thompson from Colourised focusing on water-efficient yarn colouring; and Mark Ix from Advance Denim presenting their Blue Loop system for indigo reuse during dyeing.
At the event, participants also had the opportunity to engage in hands-on workshops, including natural dyeing sessions led by Panther Denim and hand mending techniques facilitated by Hay Tay Embroidery.
The next Kingpins Show is scheduled for 16-17 April at SugarFactory in Amsterdam. This will be followed by Kingpins China-Hangzhou, which is set to take place on 22-23 May at ADM More.
