Sustainability the key message at Denim Premiere Vision in London in December

It’s no longer regarded as a novel idea or a trend, but a must-take path for textile and material companies to embrace sustainability and there is no exception for denim, traditionally seen as one of the most un-eco-friendly materials.  

Thus it was not a coincident that sustainability was the main message from many exhibitors at the 2nd London edition of Denim Première Vision, held December 3 – 4 2019, where the fair focused on creativity and eco-responsible denim collections as the headline project for the Spring-Summer 2021 season.

Showcased at the fair, held in Printworks in Canada Water, south London, was a selection of sustainable developments in terms of sourcing, production processes and finishings.  These were highlighted in a focus area named Habitat 21, created in collaboration with Italian designer Kristian Guerra with installation designed by Filippo Maria Bianchi.

Displayed fabrics were from a selection of exhibitors selected by PV’s own Smart Creation team.  Exhibitors in this area included Advance Denim, Berto, Bossa, Calik Denim, Kilim Denim, Naveena Denim Mill, Orta Anadolu, Panama Trimmings, Properity Textile, Rajby Industries, Raymond Uco Denim, Soorty, and Tavex-Evlox.


According to the organisers’ fashion team, the SS 2021 denim fashion trends presented by Manon Mangin, focus on the key words of the season: Earth, Water, Work, Mobility and Fantasy.

Earth and Water refers to environmental links with nature with renewable materials such as linen and hemp, with pared down surfaces and clean refined elegant dimension, and denim inspired by ecological aspects with soft handles mixing organic with soy fibre.
Work denotes the raw appearance of visually more compact denims for apparel with structured silhouettes, surfaces with light reflection and dyed with shine.
While Mobility is  lifestyle-led focusing on fabrics with abstract movement, with smooth suppleness, fine substances with density while Fantasy is a colour story with dyed fabrics, soft contrasting patterning, tone on tone brights for offbeat silhouettes.

Emulating qualities from nature was a popular direction from many exhibitors.  New developments from a number of exhibitors combine refined elegant textures with irregular surfaces and non-uniformity as the norm, in blends of linen and hemp, organic, biopolymers and alternative along with organic and recycled cotton and soy protein fibre, along with traceable supply chains with conscious applications to manage waste and energy efficiently under social and ethical initiatives.

The eco-ethics transcend to accessories as well, including Lyocell zips, responsible galvanised rivets and buttons, and organic cotton trimmings and labels.

Spanish denim maker Evlox drove its message of total sustainable denim fabrics with natural inky hues and textures and patterns inspired by waves and sky.  The company prides itself on authentic sustainable fabrics linking cutting-edge technology with reliable suppliers.  In addition to utilising recycled materials, they use a dyeing technolgy that reduces water consumption, and sustainable finishing and better performance through laser finishes. Their bionim high-tech denim is boosted to stay cool, dry and comfortable to wear with a polyester layer fibre with water repellency and high tenacity.

PG Denim of Italy celebrated main innovations in 100% sustainable denim with a fashion twist thanks to the tireless research by CEO and project Founder Paolo Gnutti, who has driven the company to a substantial turnover increase by 40% this year, and rapid expansion into the US market through partnerships with more than 20 US brands.  The company’s new WOW Denim SS 2021 collection shows printed materials restyled through colourful techniques drawn from flowers from the historical traditions of Provence and inspired by nature.  There is also a new range of printed velvet denim and velvet stripes using viscose flock achieving different effects using various washing processes.  Another new collection is called Studio 54 inspired by the metallised colours of cars in the 1950s and 60s featuring colour pastes glittering against dark backgrounds and painted effects.


Italian shirting expert Canclini took part in Denim PV for the first time, showcasing a restyled collection Blue 1925 for its new denim range, with blue and indigo as the main colours, and trendy tones using over-dyeing. The goal was to make the fabrics more appealing to the younger generation. Main qualities included linen, hemp and bamboo, regenerated cotton, and recycled fibres.  Effect innovations range from garment to yarn-dyed, shuttle-loom developed as well as jersey, jacquard fil-coupe and printed materials.

Another special event during the London Denim PV was a special workshop: “Learn how to Re-Trace an iconic pair of jeans”, run under the watchful eye of the maestro Alessio Berto from the Tailor Pattern Support in Italy.  

The workshop run on both days of the trade fair focused on the importance of pattern-making allowing participants to have hands-on opportunity to learn how to create patterns based on heritage jeans of three iconic brands: the Levi’s 501, Lee 101Z and Wrangler 11MWZ.

One of the highlights in this December fair was an exhibition of valuable iconic jeans in collaboration with M.O.D.E. – Museum of Denim Elleti in Verona Italy.  It gives visitors insights into the history of denim through a selection of rare original jeans selected from the museum in three areas of exploration that tell the history of the iconic workwear fabric through showcasing the brand identity of the LEE jeans and their transformation, the designing, creating and wearing of WWII influenced clothing and the vital history of the hard-wearing dungarees or overall.

Photos by Content Editor Lucia Carpio (except for the one she is photographed with the pattern-cutting maestro Alessio Berto at the "Re-Trace" workshop during Denim PV London.

The next Denim PV event will take place June 10 & 11 2020, at Superstudio Piu, Milan, Italy.