Kingpins cancels December show in New York due to Covid-19

By

Robin Driver

Published
Sep 1, 2021

Kingpins, the denim-only tradeshow, has announced that, in light of current developments related to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it is canceling this season’s New York event, originally scheduled for December 6-7.

 
“After careful consideration and with a heavy heart we have decided to once again cancel another physical show due to the current pandemic situation,” said Kingpins Show founder Andrew Olah in a release.
 
In particular, the event’s organizers cited “rising infection rates, low global vaccination rates, looming travel restrictions and gloomy warnings from health officials” as the reasons behind their decision to call off the New York edition.

Kingpins further highlighted issues including lockdowns and low vaccination rates in denim producing regions, with countries such as Egypt, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Taiwan, Pakistan, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Tunisia all having between 3% and 15% of their populations vaccinated, according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.
 
Faced with these problems, organizers said that they preferred to cancel the tradeshow, rather than risk failing to offer attendees the level of access and insight that they have come to expect from the event.
 
“The New York show would have marked two years between physical shows and we were eagerly looking forward to welcoming back the denim community in the USA,” explained Olah. “We thought our show would be an ideal time to kick off the Christmas season, rejoicing in the belief that the pandemic was behind us.”
 
Kingpins was nonetheless eager to point out that, despite the cancelation of the New York event, its digital shows will take place as scheduled, with Kingpins24 Global (formerly Amsterdam) slated for October 19-21, while Kingpins24 Latin America is set to run November 9-10.
 
The last few months have seen tradeshows around the world make their return to physical events after Covid-19 forced most shows online in 2020. At the end of June, Tranoï opened its doors in Paris, followed by Première Vision’s “Fashion Rendez-Vous,” also in the French capital, and Milan’s Pitti Uomo, in early July.
 
In the U.S., Première Vision New York made its physical comeback July 20-21, while the Première Vision Sport shows in Portland and Boston are now scheduled for September and October, having been postponed from their original August dates.