Denim Still a Key Player in Industry Due to Its Flexibility and Ability to Adapt its Image

Coming to the event itself. We had mentioned the Denim Fashion District w.r.t. Denim PV Berlin. But that was before the event had happened. Could you tell us what transpired at the Denim Fashion District? How is Milan going to be different in that sense?
Denim Première Vision’s Fashion District is a new-born project that is creating its own legacy.

In Berlin, the mix of brands and producers was interesting because it was possible to explore a different vision of the trends and the exhibitors’ materials interpretation. At the show, we have a vision in long-run trends through the Denim PV forums, and an actualisation of the trends through these brands and their collaboration with the exhibitors. It was and it is also an important tool to emphasise the role of Denim PV as a hub where to conduct research, and discover new partners and innovative materials. In fact, the collaboration between the actors to create the collections is active and continuous.

In Milano, we will have a dedicated space for the brands in order to emphasise even more the role of Denim PV as a key player for the whole denim industry, and to create a dynamic space with a strong fashion attitude. Each element of the space is designed based on the brand identity with a dedicated service and attention as never before. Denim PV’s Fashion District is the natural link between the different elements of the value chain with the fair at the centre of it.

This Denim PV is being held in Italy, a country that was severely hit by the pandemic, and has also been affected by the current energy crisis. How is the Italian textiles-fashion industry holding up, especially the denim sector? In fact, this is one of your conference sessions.
Thanks to its infrastructure of small/medium-sized actors that have the highest level of know-how in the fashion industry, Italy reacted quite well to the pandemic situation, although, of course, few companies did end their activities. The Italian fashion sector is facing a big transformation and two main points are becoming clear:

1. collaboration and size are important;
2. luxury is the end zone for the Italian fashion production.

The impact of the pandemic heavily affected the industry, but the flexibility of the local industry and the government support allowed the system to survive. Obviously, companies that were not financially strong suffered much more. The current energy crisis is a bit different because it is difficult to predict when and how it will evolve, and there aren’t solutions in the short run.

There will be two exhibitor pitches at Denim PV: Sharabati Denim and Bossa. What can we expect from these two sessions? More importantly, how and why were these two focus areas chosen (recycling and sustainability)?
Actually, we will have Sharabati, Bossa, Calik X Jeanologia, and ISKO.

All of them are able to present continuous innovations and content to drive the market. They have indeed much information to share with the market and it is not possible to share everything in just a session. We expect them to generate curiosity among the audience and push the boundaries. Recycling and sustainability are keywords now because they are one of the two most important challenges for humanity. We need to explore new opportunities and a new evolution of the system that is complex. We will talk also about products and education that are other main points for our industry and the future of fashion.

You also have a session on 'Turning to denim during times of uncertainty'. Irrespective of what transpires at the session, how does Premiere Vision itself look at the subject? Denim has historically been rugged wear. You can use just one pair of jeans instead of maybe 10 pairs of normal trousers. With the global economic situation only expected to turn worse, do you see denims being the fabric of choice?
In more than 100 years, denim has evolved in a way to reach a prominent position in society and in the fashion system. In certain times, it was driven by the economic situation (WWII, 2020), in others, the product was the main point (80s, 90s), and in still other periods it was a matter of identity.

Today, denim is still a key player in the industry thanks to its flexibility and ability to adapt its image, and thanks to the power to drive the sustainability revolution.