On Thursday the time has come: the Kingpins denim trade fair in Amsterdam opens its doors again. It is the first edition since the denim sourcing fair merged with the Trade fair organizer Messe Frankfurt. What does this mean for the fair? FashionUnited asked Vivian Wang, Managing Director at Kingpins.
Kingpins and Messe Frankfurt recently announced their collaboration. What can we see from this collaboration during the upcoming Kingpins?
As part of our agreement with Messe Frankfurt, the Kingpins Show will continue to operate independently. It was important to us that our trade fair retained the same concept and atmosphere and that we remained a platform for the industry: to meet, network and exchange information and insights.
How will this collaboration strengthen the denim industry?
It is a sign of the importance of our industry that a trade fair giant like Messe Frankfurt includes a denim supply chain trade fair in its portfolio of 250 events annually. There are many things we do very well, like ours Sustainability initiatives and our educational programs, which could find new audiences in other industries.
What does the collaboration mean for the way Kingpins works?
We have not changed the way our trade fair and our business operate and we do not expect any changes in the future. But Messe Frankfurt looks back on 800 years of history and this many years of experience can be a good resource for us in the future.
Are there any new features of the upcoming Kingpins that you should look out for when visiting?
One of our newest additions is The Boxes. The exhibition highlights collaboration between factories and artisans. We believe this is the future of trends and inspiration.
We also have the presentation of our initiative The Most Sustainable Product (MSP) changed. Visitors can find out more about the fabrics and finishes selected for the MSP collection on touchscreens.
Visitors can also buy clothes from our One denim-See initiative. The initiative aims to tackle waste in the industry by highlighting that a wide range of looks can be created using just one fabric.
What is the most important impression you want a visit to the Kingpins to leave?
With initiatives like MSP and One denim is about our commitment to sustainability and providing information and resources to the industry.
Does such a collaboration as with the Kingpins’ Messe Frankfurt provide a certain level of security even in difficult macroeconomic times?
A year and a half ago, with the end of the pandemic, we returned to physical trade fairs. Every season we see new exhibitors at the trade fairs – or exhibitors from the past returning. The Kingpins has the same synergy and atmosphere as always, but there is still a lot of economic uncertainty for many in the denim industry and the environment remains difficult. But we see that people in the industry are working hard to become stronger and more resilient. They have adapted and found new ways of working with customers. We are also seeing greater collaboration between our exhibitors. The Kingpins community has always been collegial, which is why we like to refer to our exhibitors as “friendly competitors”. But we are seeing more and more exhibitors wanting to work together, and I find that encouraging.
This interview was conducted in writing.
This translated article previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.
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