Denim Talks

Kingpins Media
  • 4.3 (4)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Welcome to Denim Talks, the podcast from Kingpins - the authority on the international jeans and denim market. Here we will explore all things denim, including looking into its mysterious beginning, its dirty laundry and speak to some of the people pioneering its sustainable future. Along the way, you’ll meet some of the jeans business’ key influencers in design and business as we investigate how denim has shaped fashion and business over the last 200 years...Or 500 years, depending on which version of jeans’ history you believe.

  1. 10/13/2025

    Denim Talks: LDJ x Barengo

    At Kingpins New York in July 2025, Lil Denim Jean (@lildenimjean) founders Nick Baur and Max Kaupp speak with designer Federico Berengo (@barengo) about his denim collection.

    31 min

  2. 10/13/2025

    Denim Talks: LDJ x JXRGE

    At Kingpins New York in July 2025, Lil Denim Jean (@lildenimjean) founders Nick Baur and Max Kaupp speak with JXRGE (@jxrgewmarr) about the creative process and how JXRGE's work as a tattoo artist influences his denim design.

    31 min

  3. 12/18/2024

    Andrew Olah and Salli Deighton

    Salli Deighton got her start at Wrangler and Lee and went on to build a career working in denim design and product development for some of the largest retailers and brands.  The latest project for the U.K. native is close to home — quite literally. In early 2025, she plans to open LaundRE, a denim laundry in the heart of London. The project is many years in the making but now is poised to officially open. Once fully operational, Deighton said the facility will be able to process 1,000 units/day.  Kingpins founder Andrew Olah recently caught up with Deighton to discuss the impetus behind the project and her plans for its future.

    27 min
  4. Andrew Olah and Steven Bethell

    11/14/2024

    Andrew Olah and Steven Bethell

    Denim Talks

    17 min
  5. Andrew Olah and Paolo Leidi Get Technical About Denim

    10/14/2024

    Andrew Olah and Paolo Leidi Get Technical About Denim

    Kingpins Founder Andrew Olah recently caught up with textile engineer Paolo Leidi to talk about the state of denim manufacturing and what they see on the horizon. Paolo Leidi is the Denim, Corduroy and Apparel fabrics Engineer at ITE. Website: www.itetex.com Instagram: @ite_indigo_taste_experience

    28 min
  6. Fashion, Feminism & the Future

    10/14/2024

    Fashion, Feminism & the Future

    Ayesha Barenblat, founder & CEO of Remake, shares how the Instagram generation is galvanizing social change IRL.  Remake is founded on the idea of ‘radical disruption.’  The organization leverages everything from social media to public policy to make equitable business practices and mindful consumption a reality. In addition to partnerships with the Clean Clothes Campaign, the International Labor Organization and other likeminded NGOs, Remake’s community organizing efforts have provoked more than 2,000 young people around the globe to join in the fight for human rights and climate justice. “The real way to really get citizens to care is to build that local organizing machinery the same way as unions do it. That’s what we need. We need sort of union machinery for citizens, and that’s what we’re out here to do.” Here, Barenblat and Kingpins founder Andrew Olah discuss what makes the organization’s results-driven, multi-stakeholder strategy successful and why fashion is a feminist issue. Website: https://remake.world/ Instagram: @remakeourworld

    30 min
  7. Sanjeev Bahl, founder and CEO of Saitex, talks happiness, disruption and the limitations of the current sustainability conversations.

    07/08/2024

    Sanjeev Bahl, founder and CEO of Saitex, talks happiness, disruption and the limitations of the current sustainability conversations.

    Sanjeev Bahl is tired of talking about sustainability. As the founder and CEO of Saitex, a fully vertical textile company that spins and weaves denim from yarns they have dyed with sewing factories in Ho Chi Minh City and Los Angeles, he has received numerous recognitions for the company’s socially and environmentally conscious stance. But he said, the goal from the outset was just to do the right thing. And today, Bahl is still waiting for apparel to commit to making the necessary investments to stop the “race to the bottom” that’s impeding advancements and adoption of available climate solutions. In the meantime, he’s committed to taking a holistic approach to environmental and social stewardship. Here, Kingpins founder Andrew Olah and Bahl, let us in on one of many insightful conversations the two have shared over the years as they’ve grown and evolved their businesses. The two old friends discuss their similar outlooks on life, why measuring success based on a country’s GDP is insufficient and how AI will really transform the denim business.

    33 min
  8. Jerome Dahan, founder of Citizens of Humanity and 7 for All Mankind, on the thrill of building brands and the bewildering state of the market.

    04/15/2024

    Jerome Dahan, founder of Citizens of Humanity and 7 for All Mankind, on the thrill of building brands and the bewildering state of the market.

    If anyone can shed light on what’s happening in denim today, it would be Jerome Dahan. For the founder of both Citizens of Humanity and 7 for All Mankind the focus on price points is undermining the industry, allowing denim to drift too far away from the creativity that propelled brands like his to success. Andrew Olah, founder of the Kingpins trade show and the Olah Inc. agency, has known Dahan for decades and credits him for bringing innovation to what had been a stale category. “Part of it is timing. Timing is everything. He had the perfect comprehension of the customer at the moment,” Olah said. “There was no slub denim, no differentiation. There were a few at the time: AG, Paper [Denim & Cloth], True Religion and Paige, each with a different take. It was a moment when jeans went from $50 to $180.” Those pricey jeans helped make denim fashion. “That was a huge moment of history where everything changed,” Olah said. “It’s difficult to replicate now. No one understands the consumer and the consumer doesn’t have a propensity to want to wear jeans.” Leveraging experience at his first company, Circa, as well as a stint at Lucky Brand, he launched 7 for All Mankind with Michael Glaser in 2000. Next, he created Citizens of Humanity in 2002, which he said in some ways was an even bigger feat. “When I started Citizens, it was a challenge because I left  7 for all Mankind, and I was like, ‘Okay, am I gonna be able to do it again? It’s like, you don’t know until you do it.’” And he did. Here, Olah and Dahan sit down to discuss the industry, how it’s evolved and their shared love of denim.

    18 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.3
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Welcome to Denim Talks, the podcast from Kingpins - the authority on the international jeans and denim market. Here we will explore all things denim, including looking into its mysterious beginning, its dirty laundry and speak to some of the people pioneering its sustainable future. Along the way, you’ll meet some of the jeans business’ key influencers in design and business as we investigate how denim has shaped fashion and business over the last 200 years...Or 500 years, depending on which version of jeans’ history you believe.

Information

  • Creator
    Kingpins Media
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Denim Talks
  • Show Website
    Denim Talks