The Future of Denim Branding - the Judging Panel left to right: Adriano Goldschmied / Amy Leverton / Aroon Hirdaramani / Bob Rijnders / Donna Ida Thornton / Jonathan Cheung / Kristina Szasz / Matt Abbott / Sven Signe Den Hartogh / Nathalie Van Moeseke /
The Future of Denim Branding Competition by Avery Dennison RBIS aims to discover the most forward thinking student/graduate that is able to combine intelligent branding with design creativity to set a new standard in what the future holds for branding within the denim industry.
Link to & Enter The Future of Denim Branding Competition
Read on to learn more about our expert judging panel -
Adriano Goldschmied, 'the godfather of denim', AG Jeans
Some call him the “god-father of denim”; others know him as Adriano Goldschmied. His denim knowledge and history in the industry is unmatched. He opened The King Shop in 1970 in the ski resort of Cortina, D’Ampezzo followed by the launch of ‘King’s Jeans’ and ‘Daily Blue’. Eight years later he founded Diesel, bringing in Renzo Rosso, who he mentored as a partner. Goldschmied was instrumental in the development of other successful European brands including Replay, Goldie, Evisu and Rivet. In 1980 he formed ‘The Genius Group’, a think tank of the most artistic and influential minds in the fashion industry at that time. In 1993 he began manufacturing his signature line, ‘A Gold E’, in Los Angeles. His subsequent venture, ‘AG Adriano Goldschmied’, founded in Italy in 1996 and was relocated to Los Angeles in 2000, won Sportswear International’s Best Women’s Jeans award for 2002 through 2004. Goldschmied went on to create the luxury denim label GOLDSIGN in 2005, elevating premium denim to new heights.
Aroon Hirdaramani, Director Hirdaramani Group
Headquartered in Sri Lanka, the Hirdaramani Group is one of the country’s largest conglomerates with interests in apparel manufacturing, hotels managed by the Hilton and Taj Group, renewable energy, IT, retail and finance. The Group has a global reach, with over 40,000 employees across 6 countries and garments being sold to the world’s leading brands and retailers including Marks & Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, Calvin Klein and Uniqlo. The Group’s production facilities across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam utilize lean manufacturing and produce approximately 12 million garments each month. Aroon Hirdaramani has served as a Director of the Hirdaramani Group since 2003. Aroon earned a bachelor's degree in Business Economics from Brown University in 2001. After graduation, he worked as an analyst in investment banking at Credit Suisse in New York. Over the past 10 years he has helped to grow the Group's turnover exponentially and make it a model for operational excellence and environmental sustainability.
Matt Abbott, VP Men’s Denim Calvin Klein
Menswear designer Matthew Abbott has experienced and mastered more or less all facets of the mens apparel industry. From his humble beginnings heading up production for menswear brand Burro to subsequently designing for brands such as Pepe Jeans, Timberland and Dockers Europe, Matthew has brought a strong design awareness, exquisite attention to detail and high level of design innovation. The most recent chapters in his journey brought him to New York in 2009 where he joined Calvin Klein Retail as Director of Mens Design. After a brief sojourn in 2012 to Original Penguin where he took up the post of Creative Director he returned to Calvin as VP Mens Design Calvin Klein Jeans.
Jonathan Cheung, SVP Levi’s
Jonathan has been with Levi’s since 2009 and is currently responsible for leading both the global Men’s & Women’s Levi’s® design teams based in San Francisco. Previous to joining Levi’s, Jonathan served as Head of Global Research, Design and Merchandising at Armani Jeans, the designer denim label of Giorgio Armani in Milan. Prior to his position at Armani Jeans, Jonathan designed both the Couture and Jeans collections for the acclaimed Italian clothing label Moschino, working directly with fashion design legend Franco Moschino, in Milan. Jonathan graduated from leading design fashion college Kingston School of Fashion with first class honors in Fashion Design. Jonathan has more than 20 years of Men’s & Women’s denim design experience and is truly a global citizen.
Sven Signe Den Hartogh, Denim Enthusiast & Blogger, The Stranded Sailors
Due to a lack of belief in the educational system, Sven left school to explore the opportunities that life had to offer. The hand of fate set the path for Sven to work at a jeans store where he developed his love for jeans and clothing. Sven has a passion to create by letting creativity flow with a strong belief in individualism and inner human potential. He is the mastermind and strategist behind the Stranded Sailors blog which has timeless craftsmanship and style at it's heart. The Stranded Sailors is a collective that shares it's love for style, art, denim and nature through film and photography.
Amy Leverton, Head Denim & Youth WGSN
Amy Leverton has been working in the denim industry since 2003; for four years as a denim and casual wear designer and the last 7 years in trend forecasting and consultancy. Her career started at the niche collaborative company Oki-ni, in London, where she worked with denim brands such as Lee and Evisu. During this time she worked on a limited White Oak selvedge jean for Duffer St. George and visited the legendary Cone Mills plant in Greensboro, North Carolina. She took Cone’s three-day course in denim, which became the defining moment that led to her passion for indigo. In 2007 she entered the world of trend analysis, working for the UK's leading online trend forecasting website, WGSN before heading over to the USA's competitor, Stylesight, in 2010. She now holds the position Director of Denim and Youth Culture at the newly merged WGSN and Stylesight product.
Bob Rijnders, Butcher of Blue
Bob Rijnders, born 27th July 1972 began his career at the age of 20 at a jeans shop in Amersfoort. After 3 years he opened his own 100 square metre jeans shop in a small town called Hoogland (The Highlands); 18 years later there are now two shops in that location covering a total of 600 square metres. Over the years, Bob has been involved with the introduction of Nudie Jeans and the launch of Denham the jeanmaker. This experience labelled Bob the 'Butcher', a name which has led Bob to create his own brand 'Butcher of Blue'. Made using fabric from one of the oldest traditional denim mills in Japan, the Butcher has applied his experience to select first grade Japanese denim with natural ageing characteristics. Years in the trade has acquired the Butcher a respectful appreciation of using high quality denim that will grow better with age.
Kristina Szasz, Design Director, Karl Lagerfeld/Karl Denim
Kristina Szasz is a visionary and passionate leader and has a proven track record for over 20 years in the fashion industry on a global platform. She has held many leading creative roles at Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Iceberg, Levis, Lee, Dockers, Nike and Carhartt and has been personal assistant of Marchese Emilio Pucci in the past. Kristina is currently Design Director for Karl Lagerfeld Paris/ Karl Denim She has been in the jury of the La Jolla Fashion Film Awards in San Diego, judge at the WGSN Global Fashion Awards, Who's Next Paris and Jeansation, Monte Carlo.
Donna Ida Thornton, Founder & CEO Donna Ida
Jean Queen Donna Ida Thornton is the curator of the modern wardrobe with three eponymous boutiques, an online store donnaida.com and lifestyle brand IDA; a collection of high-waisted denim and luxurious separates. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Donna Ida Thornton moved to the UK in 1999 for a career in marketing when she spotted a gap in the market. While out shopping one day Donna realised she couldn’t find anywhere to buy jeans that she felt truly comfortable in. Donna opened the doors to the first Donna Ida boutique on Draycott Avenue in the fashionable Chelsea area in October 2006. Two more boutiques quickly followed. In 2008, Donna launched www.donnaida.com to mirror the in-store experience. Donna launched her own brand IDA in 2012, an entirely new concept in denim which is dedicated to celebrating the ‘iconic woman’ silhouette with a collection of true-waisted and tailored jeans with classic co-ordinates to complement them.
Nathalie Van Moeseke, Head of Procurement, Raw Materials, Jeanswear VF Corporation
Nathalie Van Moeseke has over 20 years’ experience within the denim market working with some of the industry's largest brands. As Head of Procurement, Raw Materials, Jeanswear at VF Corporation, Nathalie works with brands including Lee, Wrangler and 7FAM translating the dreams of designers into products that are technically possible. Keeping an eye on the market and staying up to date with the latest innovations, Nathalie uses her expertise to produce products that are of high quality and within cost parameters set by the company. With a Bachelor degree in textile's, Nathalie is passionate about textile's, innovation and discovering new techniques that are available to the denim market. Her role at VF Corporation sees her liaise with textile companies and suppliers globally to develop new processes surrounding raw materials within the denim market.
The Future of Denim Branding Competition by Avery Dennison RBIS aims to discover the most forward thinking student/graduate that is able to combine intelligent branding with design creativity to set a new standard in what the future holds for branding within the denim industry.
Link to & Enter The Future of Denim Branding Competition
Read on to learn more about our expert judging panel -
Adriano Goldschmied, 'the godfather of denim', AG Jeans
Some call him the “god-father of denim”; others know him as Adriano Goldschmied. His denim knowledge and history in the industry is unmatched. He opened The King Shop in 1970 in the ski resort of Cortina, D’Ampezzo followed by the launch of ‘King’s Jeans’ and ‘Daily Blue’. Eight years later he founded Diesel, bringing in Renzo Rosso, who he mentored as a partner. Goldschmied was instrumental in the development of other successful European brands including Replay, Goldie, Evisu and Rivet. In 1980 he formed ‘The Genius Group’, a think tank of the most artistic and influential minds in the fashion industry at that time. In 1993 he began manufacturing his signature line, ‘A Gold E’, in Los Angeles. His subsequent venture, ‘AG Adriano Goldschmied’, founded in Italy in 1996 and was relocated to Los Angeles in 2000, won Sportswear International’s Best Women’s Jeans award for 2002 through 2004. Goldschmied went on to create the luxury denim label GOLDSIGN in 2005, elevating premium denim to new heights.
Aroon Hirdaramani, Director Hirdaramani Group
Headquartered in Sri Lanka, the Hirdaramani Group is one of the country’s largest conglomerates with interests in apparel manufacturing, hotels managed by the Hilton and Taj Group, renewable energy, IT, retail and finance. The Group has a global reach, with over 40,000 employees across 6 countries and garments being sold to the world’s leading brands and retailers including Marks & Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, Calvin Klein and Uniqlo. The Group’s production facilities across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam utilize lean manufacturing and produce approximately 12 million garments each month. Aroon Hirdaramani has served as a Director of the Hirdaramani Group since 2003. Aroon earned a bachelor's degree in Business Economics from Brown University in 2001. After graduation, he worked as an analyst in investment banking at Credit Suisse in New York. Over the past 10 years he has helped to grow the Group's turnover exponentially and make it a model for operational excellence and environmental sustainability.
Matt Abbott, VP Men’s Denim Calvin Klein
Menswear designer Matthew Abbott has experienced and mastered more or less all facets of the mens apparel industry. From his humble beginnings heading up production for menswear brand Burro to subsequently designing for brands such as Pepe Jeans, Timberland and Dockers Europe, Matthew has brought a strong design awareness, exquisite attention to detail and high level of design innovation. The most recent chapters in his journey brought him to New York in 2009 where he joined Calvin Klein Retail as Director of Mens Design. After a brief sojourn in 2012 to Original Penguin where he took up the post of Creative Director he returned to Calvin as VP Mens Design Calvin Klein Jeans.
Jonathan Cheung, SVP Levi’s
Jonathan has been with Levi’s since 2009 and is currently responsible for leading both the global Men’s & Women’s Levi’s® design teams based in San Francisco. Previous to joining Levi’s, Jonathan served as Head of Global Research, Design and Merchandising at Armani Jeans, the designer denim label of Giorgio Armani in Milan. Prior to his position at Armani Jeans, Jonathan designed both the Couture and Jeans collections for the acclaimed Italian clothing label Moschino, working directly with fashion design legend Franco Moschino, in Milan. Jonathan graduated from leading design fashion college Kingston School of Fashion with first class honors in Fashion Design. Jonathan has more than 20 years of Men’s & Women’s denim design experience and is truly a global citizen.
Sven Signe Den Hartogh, Denim Enthusiast & Blogger, The Stranded Sailors
Due to a lack of belief in the educational system, Sven left school to explore the opportunities that life had to offer. The hand of fate set the path for Sven to work at a jeans store where he developed his love for jeans and clothing. Sven has a passion to create by letting creativity flow with a strong belief in individualism and inner human potential. He is the mastermind and strategist behind the Stranded Sailors blog which has timeless craftsmanship and style at it's heart. The Stranded Sailors is a collective that shares it's love for style, art, denim and nature through film and photography.
Amy Leverton, Head Denim & Youth WGSN
Amy Leverton has been working in the denim industry since 2003; for four years as a denim and casual wear designer and the last 7 years in trend forecasting and consultancy. Her career started at the niche collaborative company Oki-ni, in London, where she worked with denim brands such as Lee and Evisu. During this time she worked on a limited White Oak selvedge jean for Duffer St. George and visited the legendary Cone Mills plant in Greensboro, North Carolina. She took Cone’s three-day course in denim, which became the defining moment that led to her passion for indigo. In 2007 she entered the world of trend analysis, working for the UK's leading online trend forecasting website, WGSN before heading over to the USA's competitor, Stylesight, in 2010. She now holds the position Director of Denim and Youth Culture at the newly merged WGSN and Stylesight product.
Bob Rijnders, Butcher of Blue
Bob Rijnders, born 27th July 1972 began his career at the age of 20 at a jeans shop in Amersfoort. After 3 years he opened his own 100 square metre jeans shop in a small town called Hoogland (The Highlands); 18 years later there are now two shops in that location covering a total of 600 square metres. Over the years, Bob has been involved with the introduction of Nudie Jeans and the launch of Denham the jeanmaker. This experience labelled Bob the 'Butcher', a name which has led Bob to create his own brand 'Butcher of Blue'. Made using fabric from one of the oldest traditional denim mills in Japan, the Butcher has applied his experience to select first grade Japanese denim with natural ageing characteristics. Years in the trade has acquired the Butcher a respectful appreciation of using high quality denim that will grow better with age.
Kristina Szasz, Design Director, Karl Lagerfeld/Karl Denim
Kristina Szasz is a visionary and passionate leader and has a proven track record for over 20 years in the fashion industry on a global platform. She has held many leading creative roles at Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Iceberg, Levis, Lee, Dockers, Nike and Carhartt and has been personal assistant of Marchese Emilio Pucci in the past. Kristina is currently Design Director for Karl Lagerfeld Paris/ Karl Denim She has been in the jury of the La Jolla Fashion Film Awards in San Diego, judge at the WGSN Global Fashion Awards, Who's Next Paris and Jeansation, Monte Carlo.
Donna Ida Thornton, Founder & CEO Donna Ida
Jean Queen Donna Ida Thornton is the curator of the modern wardrobe with three eponymous boutiques, an online store donnaida.com and lifestyle brand IDA; a collection of high-waisted denim and luxurious separates. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Donna Ida Thornton moved to the UK in 1999 for a career in marketing when she spotted a gap in the market. While out shopping one day Donna realised she couldn’t find anywhere to buy jeans that she felt truly comfortable in. Donna opened the doors to the first Donna Ida boutique on Draycott Avenue in the fashionable Chelsea area in October 2006. Two more boutiques quickly followed. In 2008, Donna launched www.donnaida.com to mirror the in-store experience. Donna launched her own brand IDA in 2012, an entirely new concept in denim which is dedicated to celebrating the ‘iconic woman’ silhouette with a collection of true-waisted and tailored jeans with classic co-ordinates to complement them.
Nathalie Van Moeseke, Head of Procurement, Raw Materials, Jeanswear VF Corporation
Nathalie Van Moeseke has over 20 years’ experience within the denim market working with some of the industry's largest brands. As Head of Procurement, Raw Materials, Jeanswear at VF Corporation, Nathalie works with brands including Lee, Wrangler and 7FAM translating the dreams of designers into products that are technically possible. Keeping an eye on the market and staying up to date with the latest innovations, Nathalie uses her expertise to produce products that are of high quality and within cost parameters set by the company. With a Bachelor degree in textile's, Nathalie is passionate about textile's, innovation and discovering new techniques that are available to the denim market. Her role at VF Corporation sees her liaise with textile companies and suppliers globally to develop new processes surrounding raw materials within the denim market.