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Artistic Milliners to acquire a majority stake in Cone Denim

88.5 WFDD - Public Radio For The Piedmont | By David Ford
Published September 19, 2025 at 4:59 PM EDT
An archival black and white photo of the White Oak Mill in Greensboro.
Courtesy Greensboro History Museum
This archival photo shows the White Oak Mill in Greensboro, which closed in 2017.

A global denim company is buying a majority stake in Greensboro-based Cone Denim from Elevate Textiles.

The new multi-national company will operate under the Cone Denim name as a standalone within Artistic Milliners, which operates more than a dozen facilities in Pakistan with additional sourcing and manufacturing hubs in Mexico and Los Angeles.

The two former textile industry competitors hope to leverage Cone’s 134-year legacy, combined with Artistic Milliners’ global portfolio, including U.S. manufacturing.

Cone’s Greensboro facility shut down in 2017. Cone Denim president Steve Maggard says he’s excited to re-enter the garment-making market.

"This acquisition and the assets are being added to the company under Cone will now make us fully vertical," says Maggard. "We'll have garment capability. And then the laundry in Los Angeles, to me, is very exciting, because we're able to, once again, have manufacturing in the United States."

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
David Ford
Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.
See stories by David Ford