Fabrica X’s Denim Retail Concept Highlights Supply Chain Innovation

A new retail concept puts denim innovation in the spotlight.

Fabrica X, the Hong Kong-based store operated by The Mills Fabrica, unveiled Denim Futures last week. This campaign offers consumers a behind-the-scenes look at the entire supply chain lifecycle that creates the jeans they know and love.

Visitors to Denim Futures get a hands-on experience showing what the future of denim could look like. The installation includes an upcycling workshop, 3D digitalization and opportunities to touch and feel new material innovations. Unspun’s 3D body scanning, Renewcell’s biodegradable raw material Circulose and Circ, a chemical recycling technology that can recycle polycotton, are among the featured technologies.

Consumers can also purchase jeans from a curated selection of sustainable and future-focused brands.

Brands include Story Wear, a Taiwanese social enterprise that upcycles denim waste by skilled makers from disadvantaged backgrounds; M.ATO, a Hong Kong brand that combines traditional Japanese dye and stitching techniques; Sophie Hawkins, a London-based designer who uses circular manufacturing to produce jumpsuits; and Klee Klee, a Shanghai low-impact denim brand.

Cintia Nunes, general manager, head of Asia, The Mills Fabrica, said denim has been a big focus the techstyle VC and accelerator “given its universal popularity and also impact on the environment.” 

“Our goal is to bring together our portfolio companies, partners, and connections from every step of the supply chain to not only showcase the future of denim, but also celebrate the progress and commitment to the cause,” she said.

The eight-month campaign is supported by Lenzing, Levi’s and Advance Denim, China’s oldest denim mill.

For Advance, the store presents an opportunity to educate the end consumer about its sustainable initiatives, including the water-saving BigBox dyeing system, plant-based botanic dyes and recent collaboration with Gracell and Renewcell.

“We really appreciate the Denim Futures campaign that The Mills Fabrica curated, showing the solutions to the sustainable denim production chain, as well as how consumers can treat their jeans in a more sustainable way,” said Michael Lam, Advance Denim director. “At Advance Denim, we share the same mission as The Mills Fabrica, to encourage industry-wide innovations for the sustainable development of the sector.”

All of the educational content presented in Denim Futures was verified by Fashionary, a Hong Kong company that designs and produces practical tools for fashion professionals, as well as The Magic of Denim Consultancy.

Denim Futures follows successful campaigns that focused on biomaterials and plastic circularity. The Mills Fabrica is planning to further amplify the impact retail store concept by launching Fabrica X at more global locations, in addition to its innovation gallery in London.