The BPD Washhouse Expo Offers a Glimpse at the Future of Denim and the Future Looks Bright!

A wall of denim at the BPD Washhouse Expo

 

 

BPD, the company behind BPD jeans and BPD Washhouse held a denim expo in New York City's Soho where suppliers from Indonesia, China and Turkey displayed a warehouse full of jeans and denim products. These companies are at the beginning of the supply chain when it comes to denim manufacturing. In other words, this is where your favorite brands get the denim to make your jeans. So why would this be interesting to you? It's valuable to see what they're doing as it can be a good indicator of what you should expect to be wearing about a year from now.

One of the interesting thing about suppliers is their practice of hiring independent designers to display how their denim can look at it's end state. Therefore, what you see on display is not a binder full of fabrics, but a rack full of inspirational denim apparel that would hold up next to any brand. Makes you wonder if the suppliers are better off getting in the brand business and just selling direct to consumers. 

Space was limited at the 101 Wooster space where the event was held, but BPD owner Bill Curtain had a well curated showing of vendors as well as small classes on the lower floor for those interested in learning some of the methods behind denim manufacturing. Some highlights from the show included denim that is indigo on one side, but on the reverse side reveals yarn-dyed colored stripes. Jacquard jeans broke the mold when it came to adding unique "finishing" and texture to jeans (is it still a jean if it's jacquard?) and we have a lot to look forward to when it comes to shirting as a few suppliers focused on updating the fabric from the standard lightweight chambray.

Scroll down to see pictures of the future of denim and what you have to look forward to.

  

Indonesia-based Mafatlal denim's standout piece was a denim fabric that when reversed revealed stripes which are not printed, but woven into the construction.

 

Can we have this in women's please?

 

Left: A closeup of the reversible fabric revealed in cuffs      Right: A crisscross weave makes for an interesting, but super subtle pattern

 

Indigo Kimono anyone?

 

From the looks of these denim shirting fabrics, we're not even close to being at the apex of where we can go with denim tops

 

Orta mills of Turkey is the supplier of Mavi and is committed to innovation. Denim fabrics fall into six collections. Amplify with Cognitive Stretch aimed at flexibility and recovery. Vapor made of super lightweight denim (which I'm guessing is used in Mavi's Feather collection. Octave with permanent UV protection and water resistance. Reverb made of vintage cotton with Cognitive Stretch intended to pay homage to denim's roots. Synthesis which is a lightweight fabric with temperature control. Lastly, there's Symbiosis, a performance denim intended to be worn at work or the gym.

 

Calik Denim is another supplier from Turkey pushing the envelope. Brands are still testing the waters with jacquard jeans, but I suspect it's time is coming very soon

 

Artisan Cloth had a display of denim shirts ready for the shop floor. Makes me wonder why the suppliers don't go into the brand business themselves. 

 

BPD offered classes on dying with indigo using tie-dye techniques.

 

Looking into the bottomless blue hole of indigo dye.