ISKO dazzles with denim choices

Turkish denim specialist ISKO – part of the SANKO Group - invited customers, brands and press for its annual Washion seminar in Istanbul last week to present its latest collection of denim styles and concepts. About 70 denim-clad experts had gathered on June 24th, a hot Tuesday,

to discuss the latest in jeans concepts.

After a brief welcome by Sultan Baykal, global press and PR coordinator, marketing and PR specialist for Germany

, Austria and Switzerland Angelina Rauber took over to present “The consumer shopping experience”, a global consumer market research with some surprising results. The study showed for example that for most customers, buying a pair of jeans is a “nerve-racking experience” and that trying them on can become a real trial, especially if the consumer’s size is not the norm. “Fit is the biggest purchase driver,” confirmed Rauber.

Stretch is the way to go

In his presentation “Live the stretch experience”, ISKO’s product development executive Baris Özden gave an overview of the latest denim concepts, among them such innovations as jeggings (a cross between jeans and leggings, producing superstretch pants) and jeather (a combination of jeans and leather, producing a surprisingly real looking leather-type denim fabric). Stretch is certainly the trend of the future, with more men also embracing stretch jeans that can have up to 80 percent elasticity (ISKO Reform XP).

With so much elasticity, it is important for the jeans to stay in shape even after a day of heavy wear. “Eighty-five percent of women wash their jeans not because they are dirty but because they have lost their shape,” stated Özden. Thus, ISKO has come up with Recall in Shape yarn technology to counter that phenomenon and make sure jeans get back to shape quickly on their own and not only through washing.

Umberto Brocchetto, general manager of Creative Room, an Italian research and development hub, showed examples of each of the denim concepts and innovations presented by Özden. He explained the properties of about 50 items, mainly pairs of jeans but also some jackets and children’s wear, that were made using ISKO concepts like Future Face, Bluejym, Pop TM, Loom FX, XMen and effects like Spectra, Proxy/Oxy, Self Dry, Turbo Tech, Slow Fade and others.

From there, Moreno De’Angelis, washing manager at ISKOTECA, took over to explain different “Washing Experiences on ISKO Fabrics”. The Italian concept showroom offers the development of denim collections, which comes in handy for clients whose main product line is not denim and who do not want invest in their own jeans collections. ISKOTECA also takes care of labelling and button design if desired.

Albert Llort, marketing manager for special dyes at Archroma, rounded off the morning with his presentation about sustainability in the dyeing process. Especially the Advanced Denim project, which ISKO uses, is on the “cutting edge of sustainability” by reducing water, electricity and chemical consumption and CO2 emissions.

The afternoon session consisted of a workshop and factory tour at nearby Yiltem, a garment maker with a production capacity of 250,000 pieces and 30 laundries in Italy. All participants got a chance to try their hand at designing their own jeans by applying moustaches, lines and wrinkles and trying out different fading styles. Puzzled by the choices, the participants left the seminar not only with a lot of information but also a newfound respect for denim.

Photos: at the seminar (FashionUnited)