Genoa will welcome denim innovators, next-gen designers and curious consumers to the Italian port city this fall.
The maritime stronghold will host the second edition of GenovaJeans on Oct. 5-8, a cultural event that celebrates Genoa’s history as the birthplace of jeans and its future as an incubator of new ideas for the global denim industry. The public event will take place in Genoa’s historical center, transforming it into an open-air networking space with the “aim of creating an innovative jeans community with a circular and inclusive approach.”
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GenovaJeans is promoted by the Municipality of Genoa in collaboration with ITA, the Italian Trade Agency. The event launched in 2021 with the support of industry leaders including Diesel and Candiani Denim. There, Diesel presented a replica of the first jean ever made to highlight how the Genoese were pioneers in using indigo to dye the heavy cotton fabric that is now used for jeans.
The next edition will focus on the future of denim with an agenda that highlights responsibility and sustainable innovation. GenovaJeans president Manuela Arata said it will bring creatives, designers, technology producers and industry experts together with buyer and consumers, “because innovation comes often from consumers, who in recent years have become more conscious about environmental and ethical issues, compared to previous generations.”
The four-day agenda will include performances, shows, concerts and artistic installations across the city.
“We are ready to host an event that will give the opportunity to discover one of the most famous fabrics and garments in the world, whose origins are deeply connected to our city,” said Marco Bucci, the mayor of Genoa.
The University Library will host leading brands as well as educational workshops with denim experts. New labels and up-and-coming designers adopting circular strategies will participate in a collective exhibition at Metelino. Representatives from all production stages in Italy’s denim supply chain will present in the Oratory of San Tommaso, and Confartigianato members will take over the atriums of the famous Palazzi dei Rolli.
Products will have tags with a special QR code powered by C.L.A.S.S. (Creativity Lifestyle and Sustainable Synergy). The QR codes will serve as a passport describing companies’ choices regarding ethics, transparency and traceability.
CNA Federmoda member companies will exhibit at the Laboratorio del Jeans, which will act as an educational hub and offer established artisans and aspiring ones training in jeans processing. A fully equipped facility will be made possible by Candiani and Diesel.
Jeans will play a central role in exhibitions that are unique to the city. The exhibition “Alle radici del jeans” (At the Root of Jeans) will be hosted at Museum of Italian Emigration and will illustrate the Genoese origins of jeans and their evolution over the centuries through historical discoveries and multimedia installations.
Visitors to the Diocesan Museum will be able to see the “Teli della Passione” (Canvases of the Passion) by the Genoese artist Teramo Piaggio, which are described as “the ancestors of jeans.” The 14 linen canvases are dyed with indigo and painted with white lead and tell the stories of the Passion of Christ.
For contemporary art lovers, ArteJeans Association will curate 50 pieces by international contemporary artists made of Candiani jeans. The pieces will be donated to the city ahead of the foundation of the first Museo Internazionale del Jeans. The Museum of the Risorgimento will host an original work by British artist and recent Levi’s collaborator Ian Berry, who uses denim fabric in his pieces.
