Kingpins New York left me with a question: how many denim mills does the world actually need?
Some longtime mills may be fighting for their future, while new mills keep entering an already crowded, increasingly price-driven market. Walking the show, I kept wondering what a new denim mill can offer that somebody, somewhere, isn’t already doing.
My bigger takeaway goes beyond denim. With Kingpins leaving New York for its next show, I think it may be time for the textile trade shows to stop operating on separate islands and start thinking bigger.
My idea: one New York Fabric Week. Denim, performance fashion fabrics, sourcing, machinery, fibers. Different shows, different identities, but one week that gives the industry a real reason to be in New York at the same time.
Impossible? Maybe. But we spend enough time explaining why things can’t be done.
Someone should just start.
