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Data and analytics firm GlobalData says, the global athleisure market will rise 9 per cent this year, outpacing the total clothing and footwear market beyond 2023. This growing athleisure trend is leading to the introduction of new workout-geared makeup in the US like the one launched by Clinique Fit. It is also fuelling the growth of companies like Nike and Lululemon that are capitalising on consumers’ increased health and wellness pursuits. With the number of women shopping for a sports bra increasing from 38 per cent in 2015 to 45 per cent in 2018, major retailers from Amazon to Target are rolling out their own athleisure lines.
A recent study by the NPD Group notes, athleisure styles will lead sales growth of US shoes through 2021. More brands will shift away from performance and fashion footwear to focus on athleisure footwear. The sale of these sports leisure footwear including athletic-inspired casual sneakers and skate shoes increased by 7 per cent in the 12 months through August. In contrast, the sale of high heels and other fashion styles declined by 5 per cent while those of technical performance footwear sales declined by 7 per cent.
Bangladesh has to sell tanned leather at 40 per cent below international rates. This is because of poor compliance and working conditions in the leather sector as well as a lack of certification, which is a must for better prices. Tanners use between 45,000 and 50,000 liters of water to wash a ton of rawhides but the international standard is 25,000 liters. So to begin with tanneries have to produce goods at eco-friendly factories. Safety, health and transport facility for workers need to be worked on. Cold storages need to be set up in different parts of the country so that rawhides can be preserved there for a long time.
The contribution of the country’s leather sector is 0.35 per cent to the gross domestic product and 3.54 per cent to national exports. Exports of leather and leather goods from Bangladesh have rebounded after more than two years due to higher shipments to non-traditional markets. Work orders are expected to further increase after a certification is attained from the global rights body Labor Working Group. The LWG certification is awarded to companies based on points awarded for factors such as treatment and less use of water, solid waste management, chemical use and labor welfare.
Arville has strengthened its specialist capabilities by installing a new wide-width bias cutting machine at its Wether by site. This machine will allow the company to convert its technical fabrics that are woven in tubular form more quickly and efficiently. It will also consolidate Arville’s competitive edge with extra capacity to produce bias-cut textiles for customers, who are manufacturing products and components for demanding and varied end applications in the aerospace and automotive industries.
The Svega Bias Cutter/Winder opens and cuts fabric at a pre-determined bias angle, eliminating the need for end users to carry out the process themselves – minimising wastage, while saving them money and time. It features a pneumatic-controlled fabric pressure bar, electronic fabric bias bars, an easy loading and unloading mechanism, as well as a bow bar for wrinkle elimination.
The new machine follows on from the recent installation of extra rapier looms, with additional looms set to arrive later in the year, totalling an investment circa £1.2 million that will enable Arville to benefit from significant expansion of production capacity.
This machine has a wide-range of reinforcement applications. Bias cutting allows the slit fabrics to drape and form much more easily to the complex shapes of components such as circular hoses and special diaphragms and seals which are employed in the aerospace and automotive industries, and for which they act as critical reinforcements.
"The denim industry has always adopted a laidback attitude with very few innovations in the classic blue jeans. However, the decline of department stores, rapid influx of fast fashion and the rise of athleisure has threatened the stronghold of denim with consumers now being inclined more towards casual and comfortable clothes like stretch and elastic pants."
The denim industry has always adopted a laidback attitude with very few innovations in the classic blue jeans. However, the decline of department stores, rapid influx of fast fashion and the rise of athleisure has threatened the stronghold of denim with consumers now being inclined more towards casual and comfortable clothes like stretch and elastic pants.
New advertising technique and collaborations to attract consumers
One of the main reasons for this is that even in age of avant garde style in the widening fashion markets, denim brands are making the same product for ages. Brands and retailers are hiring the same people to create products making it difficult for consumers to differentiate between the products in the market.
Therefore, to attract millennial and Gen Z consumers, major denim brands need to not only adopt new
advertising techniques but also form new collaborations which give their brands a more human feel. A case in point is Wrangler’s partnership with the provocative “Old Time Road” rapper Lil Nas Xwhich helped the brand to align itself with cultural relevancy. The timely collaboration also led to a surge in Wrangler’s stock prices by around 17 per cent. Similarly, Levi’s collaboration with Heron Preston has allowed the company to communicate with a niche market outside its usual customer base.
Though collaborations like these are subject to greater scrutiny than ever before, they provide consumers with wider options to satisfy their need for utility and authenticity.
Constant innovation to counter athleisure craze Another way the denim industry can challenge the growing craze for athleisure is through constant innovation. As G-Star RAW’s Denim & Sustainability Expert Adriana Galijasevic notes, Gen Z shoppers are drawn to fashion brands that demonstrate innovation.
Most brands today are finding new ways to incorporate elasticity in their sturdy denims. Premium denim brand G-Star combines the denim aesthetic with sports functionality via its Ultimate Stretch range which was introduced in 2013. Another innovation that the denim industry is banking on is creation of Smart Clothing. Levi’s recently collaborated with Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects Lab to introduce a new form of wearable technology through Project Jacquard®. The creation of such an article blends the everyday tech used with clothing to create a responsive article that changes how we interact with the world.
The denim brand also championed a new way to make clothes which is undefined by size. It utilises 3D capturing technology in its manufacturing process to engineer a bespoke pair of jeans based on a consumer’s measurements. Though the mainstream adoption of this technology is still a miles away, its a foot in the right direction.
Sustainability gains ground
Sustainability is gaining ground with consumers openly voicing their concerns about fashion’s impact on the environment. They are shunning brands that fail to meet their demands for transparency and sustainability. This is forcing both small and large brands to assume greater responsibility. Coalitions such as the Better Cotton Initiative, which Levi’s is a founder of, are establishing standards for cotton cultivation, fair labor practices and resource conservation, effectively diminishing water usage by 20 per cent.
Brands are also making their supply chains accountable for protecting both their workers and the planet. They are adopting the transparency route to increase brand loyalty. Both Nudie and G-Star provide internal and external transparency reports. This engenders customer loyalty for both these brands.
As the apparel culture continues to evolve with changing generations, the appetite for denim will also shifts in culture continue to fluctuate, alongside the circuit of fads, the appetite for denim will persist. However, in order to maintain their relevance, denim brands need to evolve with advancing technologies besides being environmentally aware.
Europe is the largest buyer of clothing in the world. Imports were up three per cent in 2018. The United States, the second largest importer of clothing in the world, increased its purchases by one per cent last year. Japan, the third largest, raised its imports of apparel by eight per cent.
Despite the current trade uncertainty, the fashion industry continues a clear globalization course. In 2005, the ten largest importers of clothing represented 90.8 per cent of the total purchases in the sector. Thirteen years later, their share has fallen to 71.3 per cent. Europe’s global share has shrunk from 47.3 per cent in 2005 to 38.4 per cent in 2018.
Beyond major global buyers, South Korea, China and Switzerland have been the countries that have increased their imports the most in 2018, registering double-digit advances. South Korea, which takes the fifth position in this classification, raised its purchases by 16 per cent last year. China, on the other hand, increased its purchases by 14 per cent, similar to Russia and Switzerland, which increased their share by 13 per cent. Also, in textile imports, the ten largest players have been losing prominence, going from generating 62.2 per cent of global purchases in 2005 to 54.6 per cent in 2018.
Tukatech has opened a center in Bangalore, offering a complete array of services for fashion design and development, providing the most advanced fashion technology and industry knowledge for any type of apparel customer.
The five-story building designed for collaboration or private meetings offers desks and private meeting spaces. Fashion professionals can take advantage of apparel CAD, 3D virtual sampling, sample cutting, and sewing. A communal micro factory concept will assist in the production of small runs. Startup companies, e-commerce companies, brands, and supply chains can come on to the same platform. The one-stop center offers services such as plotting, pattern making, grading, marker making, and sample making, and through to cut and sew and supply chain guidance. These services will help almost all these companies that need technical services without the need for hiring specialists and purchasing equipment.
Founded in 1995, Tukatech is the garment and apparel industry’s leading provider of end-to-end fashion software and garment manufacturing technology solutions. Tukatech offers award-winning 2D pattern making, grading, and marker-making software, automated marker making software, 3D sample making/virtual prototyping software, as well as garment plotters, and automatic spreaders and cutters for production. The capability of Tukatech’s technology remains unparalleled in the fashion industry.
The uptrend in the China’s nylon market has ended as most plants chose to absorb the higher cost in order to keep their customers. In fact, sales of cloth factories had improved recently. For example, some large jet-spinning plants have a good sales/production ratio of around 200 per cent to 300 per cent last week. However, many fabric plants had large stocks in hand and they were still suffering deficits, since nylon filament prices were falling through the first nine months of 2019.
Many fabric mills were also selling at profit-losing rates in order to transform the stocks into cash. Fabric mills had no intention of procuring more than they needed to. Toward the end of the third quarter, and the usually peak sales month of September, the market remained mild, and plants’ capital flow was generally tight. On top of that, there were no clear signs of an improvement in trade relations between China and the US, since textile and apparel products were still under the additional import tariff list.
Based on the normally weak demand in October, nylon filament yarn plants are more inclined to keep their production going according to sales, and control their inventory to restrict risks when feedstock cost is high.
The textile industry in Pakistan have urged the government for subsidised gas and electricity rates and tax breaks. Exporters are unclear about the actual energy tariffs for the purpose of quoting prices of products. In September last year, gas supply to the industrial sector (exporters of the zero-rated section, including textile and jute, carpets, leather, sports and surgical) was revised from 28:72 to 50:50 for domestic gas and LNG respectively. The electricity tariff was fixed at a certain level without building other charges (quarterly adjustment, fuel price adjustment and various other surcharges) to the export industry which would be part of the subsidy claim to be picked up by the federal government. But the industry is now faced with an additional quarterly adjustment charged by distribution companies. The industry regrets that implementation of the decisions on reduced energy rates is selective, partial and subject to irrelevant and non-professional interpretations at the lower levels.
A special energy package was extended early this year to the erstwhile zero-rated industry to provide it a competitive energy tariff to expand and increase exports. These rates were notified in October last year but captive power plants were excluded from the ambit of the zero-rated industry. Later, captive power generation of these export units was also included in the same tariff.
Reebok and Adidas have jointly launched a sneaker called Instapump Fury Boost, the shoe merges Adidas’ technology Boost with Reebok’s silhouette Instapump Fury.
Boost is a cushioning technology from Adidas. It uses a material called thermoplastic polyurethane that compresses under pressure for better shock absorption and instantly bounces back to its original shape. Adidas originally introduced Boost in 2013. Reebok first launched the Instapump Fury sneaker in 1994. At the time, the sleek sandal-like design stretched over a thin GraphLite shard that bridged a gaping split sole unit. The Instapump Fury pushed the limits of what was possible in the world of athletic footwear and became a cult classic lifestyle favorite. There was no other athletic shoe like it. Now it is being rereleased with the Boost technology from Adidas and other minor changes and upgrades. The Instapump Fury Boost will be released across three packs that salute the heritage of the Fury and Boost concepts.
Reebok and Adidas are under the same umbrella but their products stayed entirely separate from one another — until now. Most footwear brands stand alone as powerful pillars and paradigms of product. As the sneaker industry shifts, evolves, and changes, two major brands are joining forces for the first time ever.
Madewell’s sales in 2018 were up 32 per cent compared to 2017. The denim company makes popular apparels for Gen Z and young millennials. Its active customers have grown 30 per cent from 2017. Madewell may go public in 2019. Earlier this year, Madewell launched a curvy style and offers up to size 24 online. In fiscal 2018, only 19 per cent of Madewell’s revenue came from jeans. Most of it was generated from lifestyle products including T-shirts, jackets, footwear, bags and dresses. Madewell is known for sustainability and higher quality items.
But the growing secondhand trend is an unexpected headwind for Madewell. The same customer who will buy Madewell because it lasts long is the environmentally conscious consumer. More women than ever are willing to buy secondhand products in the US. So Madewell has to keep an eye on the secondhand market and has to think about its response to that. Madewell’s planned IPO may finally break it free of struggling parent J.Crew. However, it faces stiff competition from the abundance of similar retailers with overlapping offerings, innovative denim competitors, and a growing secondhand market.
American Eagle claims the most share of the US jeans market among 15- to 25-year-olds and ranks second in all jeans brands, behind Levi’s.
