Beyond Basics: Denim Mills Innovate with Color, Texture and Prints

Gen Z’s penchant for dueling fashion trends—from bold and exaggerated silhouettes to outdoor-inspired colors and textures—influenced the curation of Bluezone’s trend presentation and the direction exhibitors took for their Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collections.

Patterns, natural and synthetic colors, and new shapes covered the Munich show floor last week.

Chinese denim producer Panther Denim presented Yolo, a collection of recycled cotton and polyester blended stretch fabrics suitable for the extreme silhouettes the cohort favors. The collection, a rep said, offers smooth and flat surfaces, bright colors, and softer and silkier handles.

Speaking to the quiet luxury trend, Panther presented Natural Lux, a range of elevated fabrics made with wool, cashmere and silk. A rep said clients are responding well to sartorial looks as well as sateen fabrics made with Better Cotton fibers and a touch of spandex. The mill’s Black and White collection taps into this demand for dressier looks with cotton and polyester blends.

Panther Denim also touted Retro Dye, a dye technique that washes like indigo and can be processed at traditional denim laundries without the need for garment dye facilities. The mill extended the technique to corduroy this season, which a rep said is easier to handle than garment dyeing. Panther also presented colored foiled fabric, which clients can customize.

Kilim Denim expanded its range of jacquard denim with new comfort stretch options. The company also presented Jensen, a new range of competitively priced polyester fabrics that achieve rich and saturated colors. Kilim presented the fabrics in summertime hues like coral and periwinkle, but customers can also select any Pantone color specific for their collection.

The Turkish mill also leaned into its heritage as an accredited uniform producer for the Turkish army and police force with a new range of tactical fabrics geared to the outdoor apparel market. The ripstop fabrics are antimicrobial as well as oil and water repellant.

Ripstop denim was also a part of Chittagong Denim’s collection at Bluezone. The Bangladeshi mill showed a deep range of denim in earthy brown, green, burgundy, ash and ecru shades, the latter being made of 20 percent hemp and 80 percent cotton.

Fabrics with a woven patchwork pattern were a highlight in Chittagong’s collection, showed in indigo and ecru varieties. However, the mill catered to the wide variety of trends occurring in the market with fabrics that had brushed backs for softness, knit denim, fabrics printed with camouflage or prints, and others with clear natural-looking coatings.

Ghost prints were a highlight in Raymond UCO Denim’s collection. The print is applied to the fabric during the finishing stage and becomes visible only after washing. How visible the print becomes depends on the intensity of the wash. The Indian mill also offered ecru and indigo jacquards.

Turkish denim producer Isko continued its partnership with denim developer Paolo Gnutti, who transforms its denim into unrecognizable textiles. The new Isko Luxury by PG collection spanned velvet touch fabrics inspired by Venetian jacquards—complete with precious gold, silver and silk yarns—to versions that are washed down and reveal its indigo foundation. Gnutti said he swapped viscose flocking for polyamide to better maintain the color in intense wash processes.

Embossed faux leather denims in the collection were achieved with the same application used by the accessories industry, he added. Candy-colored foils that evoke the feeling of 1970s disco clubs were applied to denim as well as PFDs and garments for an intense shine effect.

Isko Luxury by PG also focused on heritage denim looks. Rigid 2×1 fabrics mimicked the neppy appearance of hemp, green-cast selvedge nodded to the natural color of indigo and lightweight selvedge denim was interpretated as shirting—an unusual use of typically heavy fabric.

Turkish jeans manufacturer Ereks Garments is motivated by the industry’s shift to the unexpected. Rather than new washes or finishes, a rep said the real excitement in denim is in the voluminous yet “still sexy and feminine” silhouettes. Styles like cropped and pleated wide-leg jeans made with rigid fabrics are emerging as the new youthful alternative to boyfriend or skinny jeans. The roomy fit also speaks to the growing popularity of unisex fashion.

Baggier fits are filtering into men’s denim as well. Ereks’ rep said the company sees brands reducing their orders for skinny and straight while asking for more relaxed fits.

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