Watch your newsstands and mailboxes this week, because tomorrow is the release date for a very special denim edition of industry bible Sportswear International, issued in a special Bossa-Jeanologia collab denim bag, featuring a big article about… JEAN SCHOOL.
A big thank you and ALOHA go out to the entire SWI marketing and editorial team. Here’s to the old days, today and the future of your great mag.
Probably one of the ‘premier league’ honours of the world today, we’ve been invited to tell our House of Denim story at Future:Today, a TED event in Stockholm next week. For those who don’t know it, check out TED.com. Anyone in Stockholm, I recommend that you try to gatecrash this event because it’s going to be great!
Everyone involved, thanks for your contribution – I will try to do us all justice 
Thanks to our friends at ThisIsVDO.nl, please click the link to see our quick report of the first day at Jean School.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4HQ4Feh_iY&feature=youtu.be
A subtitled version will be up soon – sorry for all non-dutch speaking friends.
On October 19th, Ms Caroline Gehrels, the vice-mayor of Amsterdam visited Jean School on a fact-finding trip. Thanks to a huge delegation of denim industry experts for turning up to show her around and explain what’s going on in our industry.
It was a great way to show the school to a number of people who’ve been really important to us in the past. Unfortunately we’ve been too busy to invite or thank them properly. (Like you, Tony T…). Afterwards, everyone mingled with teachers and students; internships and projects were discussed . Erna, I stole your picture off FB, hope you don’t mind.
The Delhi Denim Summit : Towards a Brighter Blue 08 Oct 2012
On our mission ‘Towards A Brighter Blue’ we set off for New Delhi to connect with key players in the Indian denim industry.
Our trip was part of a Dutch Fashion networking programme called Dutch Fashion Here & Now – Jeans & High Fashion, a great representation of Amsterdam’s industry.
With the help of our partners at FDCI (Thanks Mr Sethi, Harmeet) and new friends at Denim Club of India (Rajesh & team) we set up our own networking space at India Fashion Week’s Pragati Maidan venue: The Indigo Embassy. Our partnership with FDCI is already proving a very valuable starting point, thanks so much to all concerned.
Our project kicked off in exceptional style, when the Netherlands Embassy, our partner in this event, hosted a cocktail party for us. We were amazed and flattered when we arrived, since the embassy team had dressed the embassy ground palm trees in jeans! (see pic)
Main objective of our trip to India however, was to meet up and connect with Indian kindred spirits to build partnerships for the future. We were delighted to meet Mr Rajesh Dudeja of Denim Club of India and his growing team of denim visionairies.
The session itself was a great success, with around 40 delegates from education, production and industry attending. The vice ambassador of the Netherlands and Mr Sunil Sethi, president of FDCI gave introductory speeches, after which Mariette Hoitink (of HTNK agency, Amsterdam) and I presented the House of Denim vision and our recent Jean School project. After that, Rajesh shared his ideas and objectives from the DCI perspective. Finally, industry experts Prashant Agarwal and Rajesh Bheda gave their perspectives on the future of the industry and need for innovation. To conclude, Arvind Mills creative director Rajesh Gupta and representatives from Li & Fung and Pearl academy contributed their thoughts towards the process.
All were in agreement that the industry has exceptional opportunities ahead; but sustainability and innovation are of the highest prioirity. With a capacity of already 800 million yards a year, India is truly a production powerhouse – and with an average Indian jeans ownership per capita of 0.2 compared to 5.1 in the Netherlands, the market is also huge. A partnership between Dutch design and ‘value-added’ expertise with Indian production and market muscle has enormous perspective.
One of the most inspiring parts of our trip, however, was to learn of Mr Dudeja’s ‘hand loom denim’ project. Having adapted traditional weaving techniques to the specific requirements of denim, he has achieved a phenomenal level of quality. Hand loomed denim is simply beautiful; an amazing breakthrough of sustainability at the ‘low tech’ end of the innovation spectrum. It uses no electricity and requires no laundry, since the hand-feel of the fabric is so soft and the weaving gives a satin-like finish. We are already in the process of introducing this beautiful fabric to top Amsterdam denim designers to see where a collaboration might lead.
We thank all our new Indian friends for their support, enthusiasm and wonderful gifts, most notably the smart Nehru-style jacket that I proudly wore at the event. We look forward to new adventures ahead.
As many of you know, innovation is one of the key pillars of House of Denim’s vision ‘Towards a Brighter Blue’. Last Monday, a small but important first step was taken to change our industry.
On the clipper ‘Stad Amsterdam’, our friend Mr Fuat Gozacan of FG group signed an MoU with the Mayors of Izmir and Amsterdam to collaborate on the innovation of sustainable laundry, finishings, washes. Witnessed by captains of the Turkish denim industry (including senior representatives from Isko, Orta, Bossa, Mavi, Dynamo and other major players, including Ministry of Economics and members of Parliament), the FG Group president announced the launch of a new development lab to be built by FG in Amsterdam.
It was a great day for all of us – on a personal note i was inspired to meet great people from so many prestigious companies that i had previously only heard of. I’m very grateful that so many people took the time to spend the afternoon with us.
Following an amazing success in New Delhi, the Indigo Embassy is ready to pop up in the vibrant Kosmopolis of Istanbul. On Monday, captains of the Turkish and Dutch denim scenes meet on board the clipper Stad Amsterdam. The objective: to celebrate our growing business, develop new relationships and cocreate a brighter future for the denim industry.
As well as presentations by the HoD team, Mariette Hoitink and myself, our keynote speaker Mr Fuat Gozacan will give a keynote address about the need for innovation in the laundry & finishing part of our industry.
Over 70 players from weaving, laundry and brands as well as educators and senior policy makers have confirmed attendance, so we look forward to a very full house on Monday.
Our friends at K.O.I. and KICI took the initiative to put their money where their mouth is, and set up a pop-up denim repair shop in Amsterdam’s Berenstraat. The cosy little store, within hamburger-throwing-distance from Scotch’s Amsterdam’s Blauw store, Denham Jeanmaker HQ and Tenue De Nimes allow denim lovers to either save their old jeans from the garbage can (we will give them a new life as part of an upcycling project) or to have them masterfully repaired by House of Denim’s tailor, Jeroen. The whole denim scene turned up for the opening party thanks to Iki beer, Hupsake and Burger Meester, as well as everyone who turned up. It was a great night.
Last week saw our long-cherished dreams come true: the opening of Jean School.
A new adventured kicked off for our first class of students… and their lecturers. In a close collaboration between ROCvA Amsterdam (education board), the House of Denim foundation (Us) and the Amsterdam & International denim communities (you), in only 3 years we’ve gone from 1st ideas to students-in-a-classroom. An amazing effort by everyone, and a ballsy, visionary move by the school.
As a promise of great things ahead, the first day was turbo-charged with a guest lecture by some of the finest people in the Dutch denim industry: Alex Jaspers, Menno van Meurs and Wouter Munnichs. It was a delight for Mariette Hoitink and I to introduce them, and it was touching to hear their stories and enthusiasm.
Alex: “I’ve known and worked with James for a long time. I liked the idea from the start, but to be honest, I never really believed it would actually happen. But here we are! You guys are SO lucky, you get to spend every hour of your days for 3 years playing around with the coolest stuff on earth: denim. And you get to call it ‘school’… wow. You have been blessed.”
James (me) introduces the guest lecturers and talks about Evisu
On behalf of the House of Denim crew i’d like to say a big Thank You to Modint, Modefabriek, HTNK and Dutch DFA for enabling us to give the ‘Towards a Brighter Blue’ lecture at Blueprint this month.
It was great to share ideas with journalists from Elle, Sportswear Int’l, New Style and Textilia – and with industry colleagues from Hema, Scotch & Soda, Hilfiger and Gstar.
