A large crowd had already gathered in front of the SugarCity industrial venue in Halfweg, the Netherlands – near Amsterdam – before the Kingpins opened. The group featured a significant number of denim garments, making the material the unofficial dress code of the Dutch denim fair. It’s the second time the event has been held at the SugarCity event location and it seems like it has regained the atmosphere of its former home of Westergasterrein.
In the bustle in front of the entrance you could hear almost every language except Dutch. A large proportion of Italian, several times Turkish, of course English and a mixture of many other languages. It is clear that the international visitors were again in full force at this edition, which takes place from October 19th to 20th. When the trade fair opened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the trading floor was immediately buzzing with activity. The stalls filled up immediately and trade was already keen in places.
During the day there was a lot of activity, and various exhibitors said that they felt like they were “before the pandemic” again. The YKK booth was busy but also fun, FashionUnited found out. At the iconic denim factory Cone Denim’s stand was also well attended, but the team was happy to take the time to chat. “We already have 12 dates for the show, which is a lot more than usual,” said design director Pierette Scavuzzo. “In April we were particularly happy that we all met again. Now it really is business as usual again.” Scavuzzo pointed out that the companies that already have agreements with Cone Denim also have a very clear idea of what they want to buy.
Kingpins Amsterdam as busy as before the pandemic
Compared to April, the fair was not only more attended, but there were also more participants. Last April there were 80 exhibitors, now there are almost 100. In order to do justice to this, Kingpins has taken up additional space in the industrial hall, with the design of the exhibition space also being taken into account. Observant visitors will have noticed that there was more inspiration on the exhibition grounds and that more seating was set up. This additional space gave the fair a more spacious atmosphere, which also had a positive effect on the number of visitors.
But that’s not the only thing that has changed. Kingpins seems to have further optimized the concept of SugarCity. Any person who has visited the Messe am Westergasterrein will probably remember how easy the fair was to navigate. Most of the brands were located in the round main hall of the former gasworks building, so that all exhibitors could be seen quickly. In SugarCity, this proved more difficult due to the different levels of the building and the numerous shortcuts. While the April edition only had signs with the exhibitors’ names, this edition also included numbers and a color code, making it easier to get to the company you made an appointment with.
There was also a small improvement in the program of events. Last April, the lectures could only be followed through headphones placed on the chairs in the hall. Due to the small number of visitors this was not a big problem, but if someone was late for a lecture, the headphones were often already gone. For this edition it was decided to work with a regular sound system, which was eagerly used by the many prospects who turned up for Denim Dudes’ semi-annual trend talk. Due to the limited seating, people stood or sat on the floor filling the entire room and with each new slide countless cell phones went up to photograph the information.
Novelties at the Kingpins
The hustle and bustle on the retail floor almost makes one forget that both the fashion and jeans industries are currently struggling with inflation and high prices. Add to that the supply chain issues that companies have already felt during the pandemic. These are problems that all trade fair visitors are familiar with, but the topic rarely comes up in the conversations. Maybe a good sign, because people still want to do business.
In addition, Kingpins is of course also a place to show what’s new in the range. For example, YKK showed a detachable button and rivet, which came in various forms – a button that screws on and a mono-material button that can be removed from pants with a handy tool. The detachable buttons and rivets allow pants to be recycled more easily. This means that the top of a pair of trousers no longer needs to be cut off, but the entire garment can be reused once the buttons and rivets are removed. The demand for this kind of design details is already there in the market and now that the demand is increasing, YKK is ready to supply these products accordingly.
With Kilim Denim, the denim company also wanted to show what it is capable of. The company, which is best known for its different washes, can also supply denim jacquard fabrics, for example, as demonstrated at the booth. Kilim Denim had therefore already made several appointments with potential customers who visited the fair.
For the enthusiastic Kingpins visitors, it seemed as if the fair had taken its permanent place in the imposing surroundings of SugarCity. While the location put the April event in the shade, Kingpins has it firmly under control again.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.