‘Business as Unusual’: How the Denim Industry Is Reshaping for a Cautious Market
The same cautious and concerned mood that overshadowed the start of the Fall/Winter 2026-2027 denim season in April lingered through to its final event.
Last week at Munich-based Bluezone, suppliers in the denim supply chain shared how they’re refining their collections to better suit brands’ more conservative buys for the upcoming season. Despite the event being tailored for the German market, issues like the impact of U.S. tariffs continued to drive conversations. Europe’s shrinking denim market also weighed heavy on outlooks.
Bluezone curator Panos Sofianos described it “business as unusual.” However, Dilek Erik, global marketing manager at Sharabati Denim, noted how the denim industry is always in a permanent state of transition.
“Since I started working in the industry, there have never been easy times for denim. The solution is not to react, but to anticipate what is coming and act in good time,” she said.
Automation is key to Tejidos Royo’s longevity and evolution. While the Spanish mill has about 400 employees, Denis Earl Purvis, a sales rep for the mill, said it’s been essential to modernize and streamline parts of its production to compete with more efficient manufacturers in cheaper countries. This is the only way a 122-year-old family-run company can survive, he added.
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Approximately 40 international denim mills presented their latest developments at the show, which was relocated from the industrial Zenith Halle to the more conventional MOC. Though the move placed the consolidated denim event alongside its larger sister textile show, Munich Fabric Start, it was received with mixed reactions. The opportunities for new synergies and closer integration with the fashion industry were recognized, but many attendees and exhibitors expressed their fondness for the community-like feeling of being in a separate denim-focused venue.
“We felt more comfortable at the old location—I miss the denim soul a little here. But at the end of the day, customers find us here too,” said B. Hande Yildirim, sales chief at the Turkish mill Bossa.
On the horizon
While exhibitors at Bluezone showcased their Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collections, their focus was already shifting to the seasons ahead.
Valencia-based Tejidos Royo is consolidating its seasonal collections while it’s the process of relocating two of its factories in Picassent to Alcudia de Crespins, where the family-owned company was founded in 1903, and awaiting new finishing machinery from Switzerland.
For the next two seasons, Purvis said expect tighter collections that focus on proven products favored by established clients. Now is not the time to chase after new customers with aspirational products, he said, noting that these steps are to ensure that deliveries remain on time and existing customers remain satisfied with the quality of Royo’s fabrics.
However, this fall, Royo will introduce a smarter way for brands to achieve smaller quantities of colored denim. Purvis described a new finishing process that mimics the look of garment dyed denim without high minimums. This offers brands the flexibility of producing a wider number of colors and less of it. He said a brand can order just 500 meters of a color.
Changes are ahead for PG Luxury by Isko as well. Instead of rolling out two seasonal collections of novelties and textile innovations each year, textile creative director Paolo Gnutti said he will produce singular concept collections every 2-3 months. This change allows Gnutti to key into the market’s ever-changing demands, adjust to headwinds and better reflects how brands are working on trend-driven products.
Despite the slowdown in Europe’s soft denim sales, Turkish mill Isko is seizing new growth opportunities across Asia. Keith O’Brien, Isko’s senior PR and communications manager, said participating in events in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Egypt has equipped Isko with new insights to better target these markets next season.
In general, O’Brien said Isko is taking a “more concentrated” approach to planning for next season by focusing on what it does the best, and innovating based on market needs.
Calik Denim is preparing to launch a Net-Zero strategy. While sustainable products and technologies constitute approximately 60 percent of all the products and technologies Calik produces, Ibrahim Ethem Buyukpepe, Calik Denim’s acting general manager since February, said the mill is on a mission to minimize its carbon footprint with science-based targets.
Speaking on a panel, Erik from Sharabati Denim teased an upcoming project that will re-wire how the company procures cotton. The mill, which has production in Turkey and Egypt, has entered into an agreement with a Greek organization and nearly 600 cotton farmers in Greece to buy their regenerative cotton. While formal details will become available in October, Erik said it’s a large project that scales regenerative cotton to industrial level.
What’s selling
Though companies are anxious to start a new season, soft fabrics, recycled cotton and fiber blends are resonating with clients for Fall/Winter 2026-2027.
Arvind homed in on its long-standing expertise in Tencel blended denim. Nitesh Dhingra, Arvind’s associate VP of sales and marketing, said the mill spins 5 metric tons of cotton/Tencel a day. The mill addresses demand for performance fabrics with ripstop options that have a cotton/nylon warp and polyester/elastane weft.
For the heritage segment, Arvind teamed with Dr. Denim to develop Japanese-inspired loom state, selvedge and pre-shrunk wide-width fabrics.
With Roots Age, Calik Denim offers unprocessed loom state fabrics, neppy textures and fabrics with salt and pepper looks. Selen Baltaci, Calik’s marketing manager, said the rigid and comfort stretch fabrics are a return to traditional craftsmanship.
While stretch fabrics are in high demand with German clients, Bossa is seeing the overall market shift to more classic denim looks. Raw fabrics, wool/cotton blends and stripe weaves, as well as green and red casts are among the mill’s latest areas of focus. Bossa also showed black denim with a marble effect that is built into the construction instead of being part of the washing and finishing processes.
Tencel and modal blends are trending for Royo. Interest in the mill’s 100 percent recycled cotton denim is also growing. The fabrics are part of a program where Royo sources old bed linens from Spanish hotels and recycles them in its own recycling plant. The shorter cotton fibers mean the fabric has a distinct neppy look. While some brands are resistant to it, Purvis said the appearance and texture is finding its audience.
Felde Fibres highlighted its range of hemp, linen and nettle grown in Germany. The company, which is the only German producer of the fibers, is currently supplying brands like Marc O’ Polo with nettle. Martina Finken, Felde’s head of sales, emphasized how the traceable fibers are suitable for ring and open-end spinning, long staple spinning and non-wovens. Meanwhile, Turkey-based mill Kipas is working on a range of denim fabrics with Felde’s GOTS-certified hemp.
She added that the company will scale its production up to 5,000 tons of fiber with a new facility outside of Berlin opens later this year. All production steps from raw material to finished fibers will be under one roof, allowing Felde to have full control of quality and shorter lead times.
Realteks is preparing to establish an organic farm to supply a portion of the cotton it uses in fabrics. This is in addition to the regenerative cotton farm it has located 15 minutes from its Turkish facilities.
Additionally, Alp Öztürk, a sales associate at Realteks, said the mill is betting on being an early adopter of Eastman Naia in denim. “The fiber is still getting its place in the market but it’s getting more important,” he said.
Isko is building on previously successful capsule collections for F/W 26-27. Future Face 2.0 provides all-day comfort with woven fabrics that feel like a knit. O’Brien said the soft textiles are ideal for the baggy and slouchy silhouettes. With D-Lite, the mill is offering ultralight constructions with an authentic look. City Glam uses coatings and finishes to add matte, leathery effects.
Magic Real Solutions brought Solution BioStone BD, its more sustainable and efficient alternative to pumice stones, to the show. Launched in 2023, the Tunisia-based company is ready to scale its production of long lasting, reusable, sludge-free stones.
Made from organic materials and minerals, Solution BioStone BD provides cost and resource savings. The stones can be used for 200 wash cycles and reduces water consumption by 40 percent.
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