News

Dec 20, 2023

Everything You Missed at Denim PV

Biodegradable fabrics, circular solutions and unique fiber blends were common

Biodegradable fabrics, circular solutions and unique fiber blends were common themes in the Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collections presented at Denim PV.

Held at Arena Berlin May 31-June 1, exhibiting mills and manufacturers from 14 countries showed collections that balanced responsible production methods with the washes and constructions that are evolving the denim category. Here's a look at some of the show highlights.

From the mills

New for F/W 24-25, Isko expanded its Ctrl+Z concept—a product range that reimagines its best-selling concepts like second-skin Jeggings and reshapes Isko Reform HP with recycled and regenerated content—to include specialty plant and animal fibers that give each fabric unique characteristics.

Ctrl+Z Blends includes plant-based Soya, lyocell, modal, and Naia acetate to create varying degrees of softness and sheen. Cashmere elevates fabrics with a soft, luxurious feel. Hemp and linen enhance fabric durability and add a robust look. The mill claims Ctrl+Z outperforms the market's traditional and recycled denim products.

Isko also introduced Revotec, a fabric made with FSC-certified viscose blended with certified post-consumer recycled polyester. The mill describes it as "a revolutionary approach that strengthens the regenerative cellulosic fabric without the need to blend in cotton." A Revotec highlight is Perfect Black, a "blacker than black" fabric that darkens in the wash. It achieves its dark appearance through Isko's dust-repelling technology.

In general, black denim is a major area of focus for the mill. The new Xenon fabric is made with a proprietary dye technique that enables lasers to achieve effects similar to indigo-dyed fabrics.

Stretch constructions remain important to the Jegging innovator. Isko showed high-stretch selvedge fabrics for women's jeans and new X-Men's fabrications, a line of authentic and hearty denim with "invisible stretch" targeted to the men's market. Isko Blue Skin, a line of fabrics with 360-degree elasticity, is offered in indigo, black and white and a variety of weights.

Offering a variety of colors is an Isko specialty. The mill can produce up to 24 colors at the same time compared to the average two, a rep said.

Italian mill Berto promoted the beauty of indigo with a line of reactive indigo fabrics that don't fade. The fabrics provide a "sartorial point of view" and can also be used for furniture and accessories.

Berto also showcased fabrics with 6 percent cashmere, as well as blends with Tencel and elastane. Its organic cotton range offers 13-14 oz. weights that have thick warps with special torsion based on an ancient technique that doesn't make fabrics too slubby. Other black and indigo fabrics have recycled cotton wefts; others have linen wefts. Another line of fabrics, available in black, indigo and white, incorporates Berto's textile production waste in the weft.

Rajby Textiles showed an expanded range of Beluga 2.0, the world's first C2C Platinum certified fabric. The fabrics are made with 100 percent organic cotton and are 100 percent carbon neutral, biodegradable and recyclable. The Pakistani mill also highlighted Ripple Denim, a line of fabrics featuring uneven cracks that achieve a distorted effect with a lot of highs and lows, and Newstalgia, a line of fabrics inspired by the ’70s.

B210, Calik's biodegradable solution that breaks down any denim fabric in 210 days, continues to be a focal point for the Turkish mill. Calik also exhibited new gray/blue washes and authentic-looking denim fabrics in untraditional colors including pale peach, lavender and dark tan.

Circularity is a priority for Prosperity Textile which showcased Leave No Trace, a collection of fabrics that uses biodegradable Roica V550 elastane, Cyclo polyester made from recycled textile waste and OnceMore by Södra, a rayon made with wood pulp and post-consumer textiles. It also showcased Reinvent, a recyclable line made with cotton and recycled elastane, and a new line of fabrics made with regenerative cotton grown in Brazil.

Prosperity is also developing ways to achieve fabrics offering in-demand qualities. The new Eco Spin collection uses a proprietary spinning technique to create fabrics that have a "nice slub" and soft hand. The Hybrid Stretch collection offers stretch without the use of synthetic fibers. The Matte Luxe Denim collection uses a special spinning technique that crisscrosses regular Tencel fibers to minimize reflection. The fabric offers versatility to clients who want to create multiple garments using one fabric, a rep said.

Foison leaned into non-indigo fashion trends with Soft & Silky, a collection of lightweight PFD fabrics. The fabrics span blends like cotton/linen, cotton/Tencel and cotton/Tencel/linen to 100 percent Tencel and 100 percent cotton options. The Chinese mill showed the fabrics as joggers and elastic-waisted trousers in a palette of neutrals, mint and coral.

Linen and cotton blends were also part of Foison's Natural Color collection of beige and ecru denim.

Roica V550, linen, Tencel and Naia were some of the key ingredients in Kilim Denim's collection. The Turkish mill touted fabrics made using sustainable processes.

Kilim's Cactus dyeing technology consumes 91 percent less water compared to traditional dyeing practices and reduces the number of chemicals by 87 percent. In the finishing stage, Kilim's Ecoflat process uses 70.1 percent less water and zero chemicals. The mill said Cactus and Ecoflat together can save enough water to fill approximately 216 Olympic-size swimming pools in one year.

Japanese mill Kurabo introduced lightweight fabrics with a flat, fluid look. The 100 percent cotton constructions come in 8.5 oz. and 9 oz. options that are suitable for the slouchy and pleated bottoms trending in men and women. Kurabo also showed a no-dye recycled concept that obtains its color from pre-consumer denim waste and established favorites—like OGKB8—updated with organic cotton.

Fabrics that blend post-industrial cotton waste and post-consumer cotton waste made up a large portion of Siddiqsons’ collection. The recycled constructions are part of Neuthentic, the Pakistani mill's F/W 24-25 line of authentic and vintage-looking fabrics.

Unique ideas

Circular solutions come in many forms, including flocking. Casati Flock & Fibers presented EcoFlock, a flocking technology that grinds textile scraps (denim, silk, wool and pre-consumer cotton, nylon and polyester) into dust that can be applied to surfaces like textiles, cardboard and plastic resulting in a luxe velvety touch. The dust can also be used as a filler inside paper, plastic and cardboard to create a speckled look.

Incorporating scrap fabrics reduces the consumption of raw materials traditionally used for flocking, such as nylon, viscose and polyester.

It also enables brands to offer circular storytelling. For example, Casati can collect the waste from a brand's denim production and turn it into flock that can be applied to eyewear, luxury beauty and perfume packaging.

On a smaller scale, A New Kind of Blue is cutting discarded jeans into small fibers and bonding them to form fleece. The resulting garments have a unique look that mimics the appearance and performance of insulation.

Industrial embroidery is applied to the fleece to reinforce the fabric and to generate the cut patterns needed to make the final garment. The embroidered areas of the non-woven cloth remain intact when exposed to water, whereas the non-embroidered parts disintegrate. The loose denim fibers can be reused as raw material, while the embroidered parts remain stable and can be sewn together without further cutting, establishing a circular and zero-waste production method.

Founded by Tim van der Loo and Sandra Nicoline Nielsen, the Berlin-based design studio was awarded the 2020 German Federal Ecodesign Award in the category of young talent. While A New Kind of Blue produces a line of garments and has expanded to include upcycled silk and wool into its fleeced fabrics, van der Loo said the studio is looking to work with an established brand to scale its fleece process.

Fiber watch

Fabrics with Lycra Adaptiv were highlighted in Kassim's collection. The fiber is made from a polymer that allows it to adjust to a wearer's functional needs. When the wearer is at rest, the polymer adapts its compressive holding force to deliver the right fit, shape and control. When the wearer is in motion, the polymer adapts its elasticity to deliver improved comfort in motion and a second-skin effect. Kassim offers Lycra Adaptiv in three fabrications—two for women and one for men—with a minimum of 70 percent stretch.

Zero-cotton fabrics made with viscose, polyester and elastane were part of LNJ Denim's collection. Other fabrics from the Indian manufacturer included hemp for a textured touch and graphene for strength.

Regenerative agriculture, which reduces chemical usage, improves soil health, and promotes biodiversity, was Bossa's hero concept at Denim PV. The mill presented its first fabrics made with regenerative cotton grown by farmers near its Turkish mill. Bossa's featured fabrics blend 50 percent regenerative cotton with 50 percent cotton, but the mill can apply the regenerative fiber to any fabric a client requests.

Regenerative cotton costs more than the conventional fiber but less than organic, a rep said.

Odak Tekstil's investment in regenerative cotton comes to fruition in its F/W 24-25 fabric collection. The mill grows its cotton in southern Turkey. Odak is also establishing a deforestation project and will plant one tree for every meter produced.

Sicilian cotton was also in the spotlight. Manilo Carta, managing director of Cotone Organico Sicilia, shared how he is rebuilding the island's cotton production and giving Italian brands a local resource. Established in 2018 by the former textile developer, Carta said the company aims to have 5,000 hectares across Sicily dedicated to the cultivation of organic cotton by 2028. "Italy to Italy" is the goal, he said, adding that it is cheaper for Italian brands to source Sicilian-grown cotton than import the fiber.

Italian retailer OVS, which recently linked up with Adriano Goldschmied to elevate its Fall 2023 denim assortment, is already using the cotton for its "Made in Italy" project. Carta said "seeding to shop" takes one year.

In April, the retailer bowed a collection of T-shirts made with cotton grown in partnership with Cotone Organico Sicilia. The fiber origin was authenticated by a unique DNA marker created specifically for OVS by Swiss traceability company Haelixa to make the raw material traceable from origin to finished garment.

Receive Our Daily Newsletter & Special Offers