AMSTERDAM GEARING UP FORGLOBAL DENIM AWARDS, made possible by e3

Amsterdam, 15October 2014

On 29 Octoberthe brand-new annual Global Denim Awards event premieres in Amsterdam.Global Denim Awards 2014, a truly innovativeinitiative, pairs six of the world’s premier denim mills with six emerging designers. Its aim is to connect talent and industry to create a directional platform for the future of denim design, innovation, sustainability and craftsmanship.

Sponsored and made possible by e3, this first-of-its-kind runway show and competition will take place at Denim City, Amsterdam’s brand new denim innovation campus.

Global Denim Awards coincides, and is co-developed, with the Amsterdam edition of the Kingpins Show, which takes place from 29 to 30 October.

Co-creation between designer and denim mills

Six emerging designers from all over the world were selected and paired with one of sixpremier and progressive denim mills each. They were given the opportunity to visit their designatedmill to develop an in-depth understanding of fibre, fabric, wash and denim development. Armed with these new skills as well as their mill’s best fabrications, each designer then developed a capsule collection of five total looks, including treatments and washes, which will be presented on the runway on 29 October.

The collections will be judged by a panel of international denim experts based on the merits of the design and the innovative nature of the denim fabrications. The winning designer will be awarded €10,000 and have his/her winning designs displayed at the Kingpins shows in Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and at the Amsterdam Denim Days 2015.

The concept for Global Denim Awards was developed by HTNK, the Amsterdam-based fashion recruitment and consultancy firm, in collaboration with the Kingpins Show. Global Denim Awards by e3 will feature the latest and greatest fabrics by Candiani Denim, Royo Textile, ITV Denim, Bossa, OrtaAnadolu and Prosperity Textile.

“It is unheard of for mills to be in spotlight at fashion shows, but in the denim industry especially it makes sense for the mills to be recognized as the engines of design and innovation,” said Kingpins founder Andrew Olah. “Our concept quite literally connects talent with industry and creates a space for mills to showcase their capabilities and, in working closely with designers, illustrate how their fabrics can be used to move fashion design forward. We are also creating a space that allows designers to get a better understanding of denim development, and in doing so, create opportunities for innovation.”

“Matchmaking is the core of our business. We believe in sustainable business. And we believe in innovation by cross-disciplinary collaborations. I truly believe that the way in which Global Denim Awards is laid out makes it a truly inspirationalas well as directional fashion event. It contains a roadmap to design, production and development of denim and creative product in general. At the same time, it acknowledges the skills and expertise of all those involved in this process,” added Mariette Hoitink, founder of HTNK.

Global Denim Awards will be preceded by Kingpins’ After Drinks event and the Denim City pre-opening.

Doors open at 18:30 for open bar & tasty treats; the Global Denim Awards show is to begin at 21:30, followed by our after-party.

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About Kingpins

The Kingpins Show is an invitation-only, boutique denim sourcing show featuring a highly-edited selection of vendors that include denim and sportswear fabric mills from the US, Japan, China, India, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Thailand, Spain and Mexico; wash houses; full package manufacturers; trim providers and makers of technology, wash chemicals and business solutions. Kingpins, which launched in 2004, produces biannual shows in New York, Hong Kong and Amsterdam and an annual show in Los Angeles.

kingpinsshow.com

About e3

e3 is a transparent, environmentally responsible, economically viable and socially equitable program that provides stringent guidelines for farmers in the United States who grow Certified FiberMax® or authentic Stoneville® cotton. e3 takes to the next level the Certified FiberMax and authentic Stoneville programmes, which allow buyers to identify where their cotton was grown utilizing a certification database maintained exclusively by Bayer CropScience.

e3cotton.us

About House of Denim

The Amsterdam-based House of Denim Foundation is a platform for craftsmanship, sustainability and innovation in the denim industry. Through the development of education, innovation, enterprise and networking projects, it strives to make the world of jeans dryer, cleaner and smarter.

houseofdenim.org

About HTNK

Known for its in-depth denim expertise, Amsterdam-based HTNK is a progressive recruitment & consultancy firm. HTNK’s core values centre on creating business by collaboration and quality match making. HTNK was founded by Mariette Hoitink in 1997.

htnk.nl

About Denim City

Denim City is Amsterdam's denim innovation campusof the future. It's currently being realized in a redeveloped old tram depot and is set to debut in late 2014. Denim City is the home of House of Denim.

houseofdenim.org

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MORE INFORMATION
kingpinsshow.com
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houseofdenim.org
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