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Prada and Ermenegildo Zegna groups have teamed up to acquire majority stake in Filati Biagioli Modesto SpA, a cashmere and other precious yarns producer. Prada and Ermenegildo Zegna will each hold 40 per cent stake in the company. A 15 per cent stake will be held by founding Biagioli family while the remaining 5 per cent will be owned by Renato Cotto, CEO of the new company.
Both Gildo Zegna, CEO, Ermenegildo Zegna and Patrizio Bertelli, CEO, Prada, believe, the deal will help both companies preserve their manufacturing expertise and technical knowledge. It will also boost their Made in Italy production chain. Gildo Zegna will be the chairman of the new company, while Franca Biagioli, a key representative of the founding family, and Bertelli will join the board of directors.
To fill the supply gap of viscose fabric in India, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) held a webinar on sourcing of viscose fabric in association with Birla Cellulose. A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC urged India to increase domestic supply of quality viscose fabric at the right price to increase presence in manmade fibre (MMF) based garments sector. He talked about, government plans to introduce the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the MMF segment.
PMS Uppal, MD, Pee Empro Exports, urged exporters to focus on the entire package including R&D, design, innovation, speed and price of MMF garments. He also urged them to speed up deliveries. Sudhir Sekri, Chairman, Export Promotion Sub Committee, called for a combination of brand pressure, regulatory enforcement and supplier implementation to quicken viscose production in the country.
The event was also attended by several textile companies including Eagle Silk Mills,which requested the government to target international branding of their garments to promote them in the global market, as per Darmesh Patel, Director.
Indonesia’s garment and textile exports are projected to drop during the first seven months of this year on account of COVID-19. According to Indo Textiles, Indonesia exports around 70 per cent of its textiles to the United States, the European Union, and the Middle East. In 2019, it exported $9,172.36 million worth of garments and fabrics, reports Textile Focus.
Due to the pandemic, value of Indonesia’s exports declined 15.94 per cent year-on-year to $ 7,709.94 million last year. It is predicted to drop further by 6.72 per cent from January and July 2021. Since January 1, Indonesia has been implementing the Omnibus Law to create new employment, stimulate investment, lower taxes, simplify licensing procedures, and improve the ease of doing business for both domestic and foreign producers. The Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) and the Indonesian Embassy in Mexico recently worked to increase home décor and textile exports to Mexico. The agreement includes the market for Balinese clothes and textiles in Mexico, as well as Indonesian furniture.
To respond to Western criticism of forced labor in Xinjiang province, China has developed its own ‘sustainable’ cotton certification scheme. Through this move, China aims to offset the supremacy of Western countries and develop a self-sustaining, independent standard and certification system,
For this, the China Cotton Association (CCA) has launched a new body, the Cotton China Sustainable Development Program. The organization aims to combat the use of forced labor by imprisoned Uyghur Muslims in the region that supplies one-fifth of the world’s cotton. In recent months, China has seen a political and consumer reaction in response to publicly expressed concerns about the exploitation of forced labor by companies and the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).
The Cotton China Sustainable Development Program seeks to encourage sustainable cotton production while decreasing reliance on Western standards. It would give China a considerable say in worldwide pricing and standard-setting.
On its part, the BCI aims to collaborate with the textile supply chain and brands to create a sustainable cotton industrial chain spanning production, textile and clothing manufacture, and brand sales.
Designers introduced their new formal wear range with an athleisure twist at the recently Milan Fashion Week for Men. A Women’s Wear Daily report says, designer Serdar Uzuntas launched a collection that modernized workwear-inspired, deconstructed suits with flap pockets and oversize cardigans. The designer also introduced a bold paw print that was splashed all across the crisp cotton pants, polo shirts and T-shirts in the collection.
Activewear specialist Spyder launched a coed collection that was full of saturated and bold colors. Spanning different sports disciplines, the lineup featured everything from cycling shorts paired with technical windbreakers in blocks of colors to basketball shorts and leotards. It also included everyday options such as a tracksuit bearing a print reminiscent of digital 3D animations and bomber jackets with a silky texture that looked as good for a springtime run outdoors as they did paired with more dressed-up looks.
The spring collection of brand Ten C focused on technicality and performance. The collection by designer Alessandro Pungetti was presented via video days before the event started. For the collection, the brand relied heavily on its signature Original Japanese Jersey, a performance-driven, nine-ounce fabric that was worked into crisp flight jackets, parkas and anoraks .Its parka was also rendered in an edgy, see-through nylon version with tapered details on the pockets and lapels creating an interesting contrast. The brand collaborated with Toronto-based artist Moya Garrison-Msingwana for a capsule collection of T-shirts.
New and existing players’ increasing focus on the segment has made the intimates and lingerie category a $250 billion global business. As per a Glossy report, the category has undergone radical transformation over the last decade. It now focuses on body positivity and size inclusively as against earlier when lingerie targeted specific body types.
While Victoria’s Secret continues to be popular, other brands such as Parade are finding favor with customers by focusing on real people rather than aspirational role models, says Andre Artacho, Managing Director, Two Nil a growth consultancy.
New and old brands venture into underwear
Adidas, which earlier sold men’s underwear only in the US, recently collaborated with Israeli textile manufacturer Delta Galil to sell both men’s and women’s underwear on a global scale. Henceforth, Delta Galil will manufacture and distribute all underwear products launched by Adidas. To compete with other players such as Aerie, Victoria’s Secret and Lively, the company will also manufacture bras and bottoms, says Victoria Vandagriff, President, Delta Galil-Brands Division.
Adidas will sell this collection under two labels: the Badge of Sport line, which uses athletic silhouettes and performance materials; and Adidas Originals,
the brand’s more streetwear and fashion-focused line. Both ranges will be sold through the brand’s DTC channels and department stores. Adidas will also sell the Badge of Sport line at sporting goods stores like Champs and Dick’s Sporting Goods, while the Originals line will be distributed at select fashion retailers.
According to Vandagriff, underwear buyers primarily focus on garment comfort, as seen from the growth in sales of bralettes, wire-free bras and seamless garments in the last six months. As per latest data from retail analytics platform Edited, while sales of triangle bralettes grew by 120 per cent between December and February, sales of sports bras and stretch material underwear boomed 382 per cent within the same timeframe.
A lot of new brands have entered the underwear market in the last few years, says Vandagriff. Most notable amongst these is Aerie whose revenues grew 89 per cent to nearly $300 million in the first quarter. DTC brands including Parade and Lively have also grown in importance. While Parade’s revenues grew to $10 million in first year of operations, intimates manufacturer Gelmart sold its first incubated brand Lively for $85 million in 2019.
Consumer’s attitude towards underwear has changed over the years. From something they wore for others, it has become a piece of garment they wear for themselves, adds Vandagraff. Victoria’s Secret too has introduced a new rebranding strategy focusing on body inclusivity and gender neutrality. The brand aims to evolve with changing underwear market to regain past glory.
Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has launched an online community Connect by IFAI. As per Textile World, the new initiative will facilitate valuable networking amongst industry peers and will allow for industry-wide conversations.
Connect by IFAI is equipped with a variety of features to help engage with industry peers, find answers and learn with fellow IFAI members. It also has badge and ribbon labels to showcase certifications, member organizations and industry accomplishments.
A discussion board in the online community provides the opportunity to post questions and find answers. The community also has a dedicated Resource Library to house documents for resource sharing. The library automatically archives attachments posted to discussions which enables members to add additional resources to share helpful information.
The Connect directory also provides a list of all suppliers and fabricators according to their name, location, company, business type, market served, etc. The library can be accessed by all IFAI members.
Japan’s apparel imports declined by both weight-wise and value-wise in the first four months of 2021, as per Apparel Resources
From January-April’21, Japan garment imports declined by 5.52 per cent to 853.70 billion yen as compared to 903.54 billion yen in the same period of 2020, noting 5.52 per cent yearly downfall.
In terms of weight, Japanese apparel import declined to 2,070.28 million kg in the mentioned period as against 2,076.55 million kg in the corresponding period of 2020 which is a 0.30 per cent yearly decline.
The fall has been witnessed due to lowering demand of woven clothing in Japanese apparel market, while knitted segment remained positive
The share of knitted garments in overall imports was 433.52 billion yen while woven garments constituted 420.17 billion yen. Low unit prices in 2021 have put exporters to Japan under immense pressure as per kg garments imported by Japan valued just 410 yen in 2021’s first four months as compared to 440 yena year earlier.
Particularly in April ’21, the country’s import revenues slumped by 7.25 per cent to 223.82 billion yen as compared to April ’20.
AATCC has launched a new virtual educational program from July 21 through September 15, 2021.
Known as the E-Textiles Exploratory Series, the program will feature industry experts discussing a variety of topics including safety, data privacy, design, methodology, standards, cyber security, commercialization, as well as e-textile fundamentals. The Consumer Product Safety Commission will host a free session on safety through risk assessment, and other presentations will be available for purchase as a series or individually, both live or on-demand.
Presenters at the program include Ashish Kapoor, Intel; Jacqueline Campbell, Consumer Product Safety Commission; Madison (Maddy) Maxey, Loomia; Chris Jorgensen, IPC; Diana Wyman, AATCC; Travis Norton, Bureau Veritas; Chris Crowley, Montance and Pratyush Rai, Nanowear
Founded as the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), the Association continues to evolve to meet the needs of those in the ever-changing textile, apparel, and materials industries. AATCC has served textile professionals since 1921. Today, the Association provides test method development, quality control materials, education, and professional networking for a global audience.
The Lenzing Group has extended its revolutionary fiber identification technology to Tencel™ branded lyocell and modal fibers. Lenzing’s fiber identification technology provides physical identification of fiber origin at different stages of textile products such as the fabric and garment level. This makes the fiber fully traceable and protects it from counterfeiting. It also guarantees that the fibers are produced in state-of-the-art-production facilities that meet high standards for resource efficiency and environmental and social responsibility.
Lenzing plans to make fiber identification a vital part of its fabric certification process within Lenzing E-Branding Service. As of November 2021, the brand plans to test all fabrics for fiber identification, enhancing the security of Lenzing’s online services and testing facilities and increasing transparency and security between value chain partners. By the first half of 2022, it will integrate additional services into Lenzing E-branding Service for brands and retailers.
