Denim Days Continues Global Expansion, Heads to Nashville

Denim Days is coming to Nashville. Show organizers for the industry event that connects professionals, designers and brands to denim consumers, said the two-day festival will take place this fall.Denim Days initially launched in Amsterdam in 2014 and has since expanded to New York. Nashville Denim Days is set to run Nov. 10 to 11 at the Marathon Music works near downtown Nashville.Denim Days “acts as a spotlight on the global denim scene from completely local perspectives, uniting the denim community and consumers, addicts and aficionados, brands and buyers in each market to celebrate each city’s unique passion for denim,” according to show organizers. Similar to its festival formats in Amsterdam and New York, the event will feature brand activations, hands-on workshops by artisans and denim mills, a vintage market, live entertainment, and local food and drink, the company said.And its Nashville edition — comparable to New York Denim Days — will be geared toward the consumer.New York Denim Days will take place Sept. 22 and 23 for its second edition at Metropolitan Pavilion, beginning with pop-up shops at the New York Waterway terminals during New York Fashion Week, Sept. 6 to 14. Regarding its return to New York, Andrew Olah, one of the New York Denim Days organizers and founder of the Kingpins Show, said, “With its mix of denimheads, the best brands and retailers and the most forward fashion, New York is the perfect home for Denim Days. We are thrilled to be back this year and will be shining an even bigger spotlight on the jeans industry.”[caption id="attachment_1202647697" align="aligncenter" width="380"] An artist customizes denim at the Hudson Jeans booth during Denim Days New York.[/caption]Both Nashville Denim Days and New York Denim Days will host an invitation-only day of denim lectures called Denim Legend Talks on November 9 and September 21, respectively, which is exclusively tailored for the trade, aiming to “give industry professionals, students of the denim industry, and press unprecedented access to denim icons and insiders.” And the original Amsterdam Denim Days will run a week-long festival, Oct. 22 to 28. The event includes ongoing sales and events hosted by denim retailers; its two-day Amsterdam Blueprint festival; and the Kingpins Amsterdam show on October 24 and 25. Denim Days events are initiated by House of Denim and organized by Modefabriek, in collaboration with Kingpins Show and HTNK, a fashion recruitment company and consultancy located in the Netherlands, the company said. [caption id="attachment_1202647701" align="aligncenter" width="380"] A shopper at the New York Denim Days street festival peruses vintage offerings.[/caption]Olah said, “Last year, we brought Denim Days to New York because we believed the concept would resonate with the New York denim scene — and we could not have asked for a better reception. Nashville is playing an increasingly important role in the American denim and fashion industry and with its large creative community and deep roots in music, we felt that the city was a natural fit for Denim Days.”The event is being organized in collaboration with the Nashville Fashion Alliance. Van Tucker, chief executive officer of the NFA, said, “Is there anything Nashvillians love more than events that bring together our great music, food and fashion scenes? We’re excited for denim aficionados from all over the world to join us for Denim Days in Nashville and experience all that our great city has to offer.”And the show will differentiate from its locations in Amsterdam and New York by integrating Nashville’s distinctive, casual culture into the lineup. Olah told WWD, “Nashville is a music capital and there is definitely a synergy between denim and music — they are inextricably linked — and we hope to highlight and build on this fun association. Music lovers are denim lovers, [and] denim lovers are music lovers,” he said. “And while Nashville is not what one would necessarily call a ‘denim city,’ it is a place where a lot of passion and energy and resources are being dedicated to building a sustainable and thriving garment and fashion industry — and that is something we strongly support and relate to. We are collaborating with the Nashville Fashion Alliance to help spotlight the city's local brands, retailers and manufacturers.”For More Textiles News From WWD, See:

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