This is why I do this. Jeansland is a podcast about the ecosystem in which jeans live. There are an estimated 26 million cotton farmers around the world, and about 25% of their production goes into jeans, which could mean 6.2 million farmers depend on denim. I read estimates that at least 1 million people work in retail selling jeans, and another 1.5 to 2 million sew them. And then there are all the label producers, pattern makers, laundries, chemical companies, machinery producers, and those that work in denim mills. I mean, the jeans industry, which is bigger than the global movie and music business combined, employs a lot of human beings. And many of them, like me, love jeans. The French philosopher and existentialist Simone de Beauvoir, when visiting New York, said, "Everyone in the New York subway is a novel." I never met her, but I guess she made the observation because of the incredible diversity of people who ride the subway system. I'm convinced the people in our jeans industry are like those in the subway. They are unique, with rich and complex stories to tell, and I want to hear them. And deep inside me, I think you might feel the same way.
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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.
