ISKO launches the first multi-sensorial event about denim during the Milan Design Week 2019 (April 9 – 13, 2019), in collaboration with a unique selection of premium fashion brands.
ISKO chose the exciting frame of the Milan Design Week to present Denim Sound Textures, the first immersive and interactive experience that will introduce guests to the surprising multi-sensoriality of the much-loved fabric.
ISKO confirms denim as an inspirational material to see, touch and even to listen to. In fact, the sounds emitted by the different kinds of denim can stimulate different senses. The project culminates in ten creative interpretations, all different to each other, by some very exclusive brand partners that have relied on ISKO fabrics for their collections: HUGO, Madewell, Replay, Dovetail Workwear, François Girbaud, Taylor Stitch, 7 For All Mankind, Blue de Gênes, Tiziano Guardini and O’Neill.
This one-of-a-kind project is the result of ISKO’s focus on pushing the unlimited possibilities of denim: an ongoing technical, aesthetic and functional research process, which highlights the core values of the company – competence, creativity, social and environmental responsibility – as its leading force.
The exhibition is taking place at the renowned Salone dei Tessuti, Via San Gregorio 29, Milan, where the public is invited to explore the ISKO Gallery. The space is enveloping, the walls and ceilings are fully covered in denim of different shades and textures, and it is developed on a 200 squared meter long path.
The core of the project is a series of advanced denim technologies that ISKO designed and developed over the years, adhering to a rigorous Responsible Innovation™ approach. These concepts are part of the company’s innovation assets that count over 20 patents, more than 100 trademarks and 100+ patents pending worldwide.
DWA Design Studio created interactive sculptures that tell the story of every presented technology: the sculpture gives shape to the fabric in a sequence of installations that showcase both abstract and organic designs.
Sound designer and composer Chiara Luzzana curated the sound research around these technologies, using methods and techniques that recall their characteristics. A violin bow, a pick, a stethoscope microphone: objects that touch, brush and manipulate fabrics to capture their specific sound vibrations. When directly touched, sculptures emit a specific acoustic pattern. Depending on the technology, the sound can be rough, fluid, round, soft, warm or enveloping.
Alongside with the installations, ISKO’s brand partners express their identity telling their interpretation of the different technologies.
“We are constantly pushing the boundaries of what denim means to people”, claims Fabio Di Liberto, ISKO Brand Director. “The Denim Sound Textures is another great example of this exploratory spirit at ISKO”.
INFORMATION ON ISKO™ TECHNOLOGIES AND OUR BRAND PARTNERS:
ISKO Blue Skin™
ISKO Blue Skin™ is the innovative fabric featuring a stretch that works 4-ways and moves with the body like a second skin.
O’Neill made of ISKO Blue Skin™
For the Land and the Sea: Hybrid Denim Boardshorts
ISKO and O’Neill joined forces to create the first ever denim boardshort: the result of the collaboration is a unique design that brings street style to the ocean, yet reflects the need for functionality. Made with fast-drying, lightweight, 4-way stretch and ISKO Blue Skin™ fabric, the boardshort delivers unrestricted mobility and durability, maintaining its shape no matter how hard it has been ridden. Featuring side and back pockets and iconic contrasting yellow stitching, the design has a relaxed silhouette and lace-up waistband.
The short’s denim is also 50% lighter than traditional fabric and is water repellent thanks to the O’Neill Hyperdry technology. The fabric, environmentally sustainable, remains soft and breathable: both in and out of the water.
About O’Neill
In 1952, Jack O’Neill used his passion for surfing to beat Mother Nature at her own game. Pioneering the world’s first neoprene wetsuit, Jack’s vision of producing functional and innovative board riding products is still at the heart of the brand. O’Neill’s core values – innovation in style and technology – have seen the company devote itself to the evolution of the action sports lifestyle, with a progressive spirit that will always drive O’Neill forward.
Replay made of ISKO Blue Skin™
Elasticity and Three-dimensional Flexibility
Replay and ISKO™ partnered using the ISKO Blue Skin™ technology to create Hyperflex +, an empowered version of Hyperflex, the brand’s well-known best-seller launched in 2014. While Hyperflex offers 100% elasticity in the weft, Hyperflex + also provides a certain percentage of elasticity in the warp, giving it a three-dimensional flexibility in the threads running the length of the fabric: a 3D elasticity for a perfect fit in every direction, which will stand the test of time thanks to the “recovery power” feature. From chinos to super high waist skinny jeans, from ultra-black to grays and indigo, all the garments have undergone the same 3D drying process that gives a worn in look to the apparel.
About Replay
Replay focuses on its appeal for consumers who are looking to invest on quality on any of their denim purchases, by underlining the brand’s dedicated research and knowledge of materials. Since the brand first appeared, it has reinterpreted clothing from the past bringing in the latest manufacturing technology, always with an eye on heritage. The result of which has given their signature aesthetic an absolute sense of modernity.
ISKO Pop™
Soft and shiny, ISKO Pop™ combines comfort and a unique silky hand feel, as a result of a patented concept that starts from the yarn and stays in the garment. This is particularly groundbreaking since softeners are not used in the process and a reduction in chemical use also makes the fabric sustainable.
7 For All Mankind made of ISKO Pop™ Performance, Luxury and Outstanding Comfort
7 For All Mankind used revolutionary ISKO Pop™ technology to enhance the super soft hand feel within the Slim Illusion innovative fabric program.
This unique fabric guarantees outstanding shape retention and performance with the most luxurious finish, and provides a natural lift which is developed into 7 For All Mankind denim and color collections each season.
7 For All Mankind’s customers crave the perfect fit and lean look that Slim Illusion can fully deliver. Internationally loved, flattering and luxurious, this soft fabric not only provides great comfort, but has been the successful result of a one-of-a-kind collaboration.
About 7 For All Mankind
7 For All Mankind has been delivering its love of denim with a sophisticated luxury for nearly 20 years. The brand quickly earned a following for its innovative use of fabrics, unparalleled fits and finishes. The team is working towards the 20th anniversary with a forward vision and are pushing industry standards to a new level of innovation.
ISKO Jool™
A denim fabric with ISKO™’s woven technology giving a knit look and feel, plus added comfort, breathability, and temperature control with a wool weft.
Blue De Gênes made of ISKO Jool™ Denim Look meets the Softness of Wool
Blue De Gênes chose the ISKO Jool™ technology which combines a denim look with comfort, breathability and the warm embrace of wool.
This indigo suit is made in a special herringbone-patterned ISKO Jool™ fabric that combines indigo dyed cotton and wool. The unique composition makes the suit fade through each wear just like you will see it fade in a pair of “dry” jeans.
The Senatore Indigo Wool Jacket is a classic railroad inspired jacket with two front pockets, one chest pocket, branded corozo buttons and stitch details. The Raphael Oviera Indigo Wool Trouser is a loosed fitted pant in a carrot shape that features chino pockets, two back pockets, pick-stitching details, branded corozo buttons and closed pleats.
About Blue De Gênes
Blue de Gênes is a denim brand with an authentic look, a strong identity and a design that will last for years. To do their designs justice, they source quality materials from around the world, add a sense of craftsmanship and use traditional techniques of making clothes. The brand is inspired from the tradition of denim coming from Genoa, Italy and honors the story of blue jeans with indigo “flowing in their veins”.
ISKO™ Cosy
A hybrid denim preventing cold air from sneaking in. The secret of ISKO™ Cosy denim’s coziness is that finer fabrics together create a softer fabric perfect for thermal insulation and wind protection.
Dovetail Workwear made of ISKO™ Cosy Thermodynamic Warmth – Partners in Pants
ISKO™ Cosy fabric meets Dovetail Workwear in an innovative new line of winterized apparel. Utility, durability, and ultimate warmth are combined in the ISKO™ Cosy version of Dovetail’s Britt Utility Pant and Freshley Overall. Made from a double-textured fleeced denim, the ISKO™ Cosy fabric offers thermodynamic warmth without sacrificing style, mobility, or fit. ISKO™ Cosy is 40% warmer than regular denim in terms of thermoregulation and windproof properties. And there are no stiff, bulky liners or bonding.
The product passed its toughest test, being approved by women who wore-tested it on the job, in Alaska and Antarctica. As the signal winter line for Dovetail Workwear, the ISKO™ Cosy collaboration with ISKO is set to make a big impact.
About Dovetail Workwear
Dovetail Workwear exists to close the gap in, fit, function, performance and style for women who do physically demanding work. Founded by 3 women in Portland, Oregon, USA, Dovetail Workwear is fast changing the landscape and expectations for women’s workwear. Dovetail offers women durable, utilitarian apparel that flexes with the body, feels good, and flatters the female form.
ISKO™ Straight Stretch
Enhanced by flexibility in length, only where it’s needed, the fabric has a rigid look and offers comfort where it counts.
Marithé + François Girbaud made of ISKO™ Straight Stretch Rigid Look and flexibility for modern denim tailoring
The innovative properties of ISKO’s Straight Stretch fabrics, designed in collaboration with François Girbaud, enhance the body, enabling the invention of new shapes for active working lives in urban environments.
Meticulously engineered pants design a fuselage-shaped silhouette. A new cuff system on the men’s pants hooks over the heel, generating stretch without restricting movement. An extra- long rise and volume through the waist are used to transform the silhouette, allowing the pants to be worn high or low on the hips, altering proportions.
Braces are used to accentuate the length-wise stretch created through the tapered cut. Alternatively, using a series of buttons, the men’s pants can be “suspended” from a tailored work-wear style jacket to form a new “all-in-one” suit creating the look of an overall.
About Marithé + François Girbaud
Since their invention, in 1968, of the industrialisation of the washing process to artificially age denim, out-of-the-box thinkers Marithé Bachellerie and François Girbaud have been at the forefront of innovation in their experimentation and development of materials, treatments, techniques and shapes, with a focus on ethically conscious processes, and have created a global brand that transcends time and influences the market and industry alike.
ISKO Future Face™
Soft to touch and with enhanced shape retention properties, it offers a silk-like finish with all the properties of denim. Lightweight, it is the first woven technology with a knitted look.
HUGO 332 made of ISKO Future Face™ Flexible and Slim Fit Jeans
A collaboration between HUGO and ISKO Future Face™ presents the 332 jeans, a ground- breaking mix of style and technology. Created in flexible jersey denim, this authentic design offers extraordinary movement with the comfort of loungewear and the look of five-pocket jeans. Washed to a grey hue with lived-in fading and cotton-touch ISKO Pop™ finishing, these engineered jeans are cut to a slim fit with a tapered, cropped leg, and detailed with a reverse- logo patch for iconic flair.
About HUGO
HUGO is a premium fashion brand that sees clothing as a form of self-expression. Its collections are designed for those who take their own approach to style, offering a full range of tailoring and casual pieces with fashion-forward attitude. While HUGO Menswear presents sharp cuts and clean designs that stand outside the status quo, HUGO Womenswear offers styles filled with bold attitude, from standout tailoring to feminine dresses. HUGO’s only rule when it comes to style: being your authentic self and nothing else.
ISKO™ Selvedge
Globally-admired fabric, ISKO™ Selvedge brings a 100-year-old woven technique into the 21st century. Perfect for that essential rolled-up cuff, this comfortable premium denim has a traditional look with modernized stretch.
Taylor Stitch ’68 Jean made of ISKO™ Selvedge Responsibly Built for the Long Haul
Taylor Stitch took their favorite jeans, ‘68 Organic Selvage, and made them even better. By combining their design with ISKO™ Selvedge technology made out of 100% Organic Cotton, the new edition is a celebration of the brand’s commitment to building the best possible clothing while pledging to limit their environmental impact. Available in Slim & Democratic fits, the jean matches their signature design with a modernized stretch to create a newly refreshed heritage.
Taylor Stitch and ISKO’s collaboration involves process innovation including reclaiming and reducing the use of water and energy during manufacturing, a true partnership in sustainability.
About Taylor Stitch
Responsibly built for the long haul, Taylor Stitch is doubling down on their commitment to building the best possible clothing while pledging to limit their environmental impact. From fiber to end functionality, the brand has grown from a need for products without limitations that could handle chopping wood, surf sessions or simply heading to the office. On top of making their apparel, Taylor Stitch is asking questions about how they can protect wild, forever.
ISKO Scratch & Jean™
A soft denim technology which is the very first tri-dimensional denim, envisioned as a canvas for artistic effects using easy scraping techniques.
Tiziano Guardini made of ISKO Scratch & Jean™ 3D Soft Denim for Sustainable Customization
Tiziano Guardini’s designs are all conceived under the idea of a deep connection with nature: that is why he chose to partner with ISKO, pioneer of sustainable innovation and technology in the field of fashion, awarded with the Nordic Swan and EU Ecolabel. The collaboration involves the ISKO’s Earth Fit™ collection, one that fully embodies Tiziano’s constant desire for an eco- sustainable flow of modernity. For the latest collection, presented in Milano, Tiziano chose ISKO Scratch & Jean™, a tri-dimensional, soft denim created for artistic effects that can, because of its uniqueness, satisfy any designer’s wish. The piece that went on the catwalk was entirely made of ISKO Scratch & Jean™ scratched denim, characterized by laser cut animalier prints.
About Tiziano Guardini
For Tiziano Guardini sustainability must always be side by the side with creativity, innovation and experimentation. The designer creates collections that are to be in perfect harmony with the earth and with the sacred in life. In Tiziano Guardini’s perspective, men can only survive keeping a positive relationship with nature that we have been mistreating for too long. Only a renovated view connected to the earth can bring a change.
ABOUT ISKO
ISKO, the leading ingredient brand on a global level, is the only denim producer in the world to be recognized with the Nordic Swan and EU Ecolabel certifications. The company has a production capacity of 300 million meters of fabric per year, with 2000 state-of-the-art automatic looms. ISKO was the first to introduce the LCA (Life Cycle Assessments) methodology in the denim industry, which in line with the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 certifications makes it possible to evaluate and quantify the environmental footprint of a product throughout the entire life cycle, from the raw material to the finished product. The company is committed to applying the LCAs to all its 25,000 products, with the aim of identifying areas for improvement for sustainability. From the LCA, ISKO has also formulated the related Environmental Product Declarations (EPD® – Environmental Product Declarations), tools that allow the communication of objective, comparable and credible information relating to the environmental performance of the products.
With a global presence, with offices in 35 countries, ISKO is part of SANKO TEKSTIL, the textile division of SANKO Group. SANKO Group is one of the largest conglomerates in the world and is active in a wide variety of sectors, from construction and energy to packaging, financial services, healthcare and education. It is also a significant investor in the field of renewable energy, particularly hydroelectric and wind power plants. Learn more at: www.iskodenim.com
ISKO is a trademark of SANKO TEKSTIL.
ABOUT DWA DESIGN STUDIO
DWA was founded in Milan in 2005 by Alberto Artesani and Frederik De Wachter. Through their work, the two co- founders plan private and collective spaces in which to live, stop and share. From large to small, from the container to the content, they give identity to their projects from the concept to the final realization, transforming them into creative solutions in tune with the needs of the customers.