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"CENTRESTAGE, a brand new international fashion event organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), would be held from September 7-10 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau says, CENTRESTAGE has been designed to be a platform for international, especially fashion brands and designers from Asia to promote their brands and launch their collections."
CENTRESTAGE, a brand new international fashion event organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), would be held from September 7-10 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau says, CENTRESTAGE has been designed to be a platform for international, especially fashion brands and designers from Asia to promote their brands and launch their collections. The maiden CENTRESTAGE show will feature around 200 fashion brands and four thematic zones: Glam, Allure, Metro and Forward.
Thematic zones and brands an attraction
Glam will bring together top international brands that embody fashion of the highest quality. Allure will showcase sophisticated designs that captivate the senses. Metro will present trendy and sporty designs for cosmopolites while Forward will feature up-and-coming labels and budding fashion talents from Hong Kong and around the region.
Although still in its preparation stage, CENTRESTAGE is quickly gathering momentum and will showcase a long list of impressive brands like: 112 mountainyam, anagram, ANTEPRIMA, Aquascutum, ARTHUR LAM, ATSURO TAYAMA, Charmante, DORIAN HO, Galtiscopio, HARRISON WONG, i.t, KOYO, LOOM LOOP, LU LU CHEUNG, MOISELLE, NOSTRUM and Sudo Kids.
To boost Hong Kong's position as the region's fashion capital, a large-scale fashion parade entitled CENTRESTAGE Elites will be staged on the first day of the event where top models will showcase latest fashion collections from four of the hottest design units in Asia for what promises to be a spectacular fashion extravaganza.
The 40th Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers' Contest (YDC), to be held on September 10, will be another highlight at CENTRESTAGE. Over the years, YDC has played a significant role in identifying emerging talents for the local fashion industry including Barney Cheng, Cecilia Yau, Harrison Wong, Joseph Li, and rising designers such as Aries Sin, Mim Mak and Mountain Yam. YDC is an invaluable platform for fashion designers who aspire to launch their own labels to showcase their works and creativity.
CENTRESTAGE will feature multiple fashion shows and brand showcases to provide a platform for international labels to promote their latest collections. The HKTDC will also organise networking events and trend seminars during the show, and invite seasoned industry professionals and experts to analyse the latest market trends in fashion.
On the last day, CENTRESTAGE will transform into Openstage when visitors aged 12 or above will be admitted free of charge. Openstage will provide public the opportunity to experience a trendsetting fashion event look up-close at latest collections and connect personally with designers who created them.
Lingerie and swimwear trade show Mode City was held in France from July 9, to and 11, 2016. However, this time only 11,000 visitors attended compared to 14,000 last year. There was a decline in footfall of almost 20 per cent. The sectors represented at the show include: lingerie, loungewear, ready-to-wear, nightwear, swimwear, beachwear, beach accessories, beach bags. Visitors were lingerie and swimwear buyers like multi-brand retail outlets specialising in lingerie, department stores and multi-brand ready-to-wear retail outlets with swimwear sections.
Mode City is the world leader in swimwear and summer lingerie market. First introduced in 1985, Mode City takes place every year. It is one of the well-known occasions for people in the fashion, clothing and textiles industries to meet.
If the French contingent saw a drop in attendance, the decline in international visitors was even greater. The economic climate, bad weather, terrorism and political unrest in France hindered traffic. Security factor added to the hesitation of attendees. But Italian and Swiss buyers were well represented, while Spanish maintained their presence, recording similar numbers to last year.
Increasing demand for biodegradable, environment-friendly, versatile and cost-effective materials from end-use industries is key factor that encourages demand from the global cellulose fibers market. The production of man-made fibers involves the industrial processing of wood pulp derived from botanical sources while the manufacture of cellulose fibers entails chemical and mechanical processing of wood pulp. Acetate, viscose and triacetate are the different variants of rayon, a man-made cellulose fiber which are used extensively across several industry verticals.
With rising global concerns related to carbon emissions, excessive oil dependence and fuel sustainability, the demand for cellulose fibers is expected to increase substantially. Industry trends indicate that the global market for textiles will focus greatly on biodegradable, eco-friendly and skin-friendly fabrics. This is a key factor that will propel the global cellulose fibers market in the years to come.
The global cellulose fibers market is bifurcated on the basis of applications and geography. On the basis of application, the cellulose fibers market is divided into sections like clothing, spun yarn, fabrics and others including tapes, sealants and adhesives.
The other end-use industries for this market are carpet production and the paper industry. With demand exceeding 50 per cent of the total, clothing is the largest end-use segment of the global cellulose fibers market. This segment is anticipated to expand rapidly in the forthcoming years.
Also, the segment for spun yarn is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 7.3% between 2012 and 2018. Viscose, corn fibers, tencel, lyocell, modal and rayon are the different forms in which cellulose fibers are applied in industries.
Latest data reveals, China's share of the value of EU clothing imports has declined steadily over the last five years to the benefit of South Asian countries, particularly in lower-end products. China’s leading position continued to be eroded by increasingly vigorous entry of other production zones, says a European Apparel and Textile Confederation (Euratex) bulletin.
In 2010, China's market share of EU textiles and clothing imports stood at 40.8 per cent. However, this had fallen to 35 per cent by 2015. Euratex explains that the tendency for China seemed to be more and more textile exports whose production was facilitated by more sophisticated and productive machinery, at the expense of garments which are much more labour intensive. The main beneficiary was the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) zone – Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which has gone in the opposite direction to China since 2010.
From 19 per cent in 2010, SAARC’s market share of textiles and clothing imports rose to 24.6 per cent in 2015. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) zone, which is smaller than the SAARC, showed enough drive and economic dynamism to grow its share of textile and clothing imports from 6 per cent in 2010 to 8.6 per cent in 2015. The Mediterranean countries, however, experienced the same scenario as China. Despite having long enjoyed the advantage of their proximity to the EU-28, and still a major supplier, their share contracted from more than 20 per cent in 2009 to 18 per cent last year.
Textile manufacturing market in Serbia is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3 per cent during 2016-2020, according to a latest Technavio forecast report. The study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the textile manufacturing market in Serbia for 2016-2020 period. The report also outlines the challenges faced by the manufacturers and the market at large, as well as the key trends emerging in the market.
Textile manufacturing is an integral part of the Serbian economy. It is export oriented and labour intensive, providing the country with huge employment opportunities and, therefore, is an industry that is highly favored by the government. The GDP is expected to accelerate in 2016 following a number of government policies such as relaxation in monetary policies and structural reforms, which are expected to improve the business environment and lead to the inflow of foreign investments. Manufacturers in the market are expected to capitalize the market and boost production. They are also expected to focus on exports, particularly to the EU, the country's most important trading partner.
Technavio consumer and retail analysts highlight three factors - Strategic location, Favorable trade agreements with EU and Low subcontracting costs that are contributing to the growth of the textile manufacturing market in Serbia.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed the development of large textile and garment industrial zones (IZs) to attract investment in dyeing, and fabric and yarn production. The 500ha to 1,000ha zones would attract local and foreign investment for high-end products.
The ministry has also proposed that the government provide full support for the building of textile and garment industrial zones located in provinces and cities experiencing socio-economic difficulties in order to create conditions for the success of small and medium startup enterprises, according to the ministry. The proposal also targets the development of transport infrastructure connecting the large industrial zones to ports and logistics centers and reduces transportation costs.
Meanwhile, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), has sent a document detailing the difficulties of textile and garment enterprises and proposed solutions, supports the IZ plan to the Government. The association also suggested the government provide credit for enterprises to build waste water treatment centers at those industrial zones.
Textile and garment exports grew in the first half of this year, but local firms face difficulties in obtaining production and export contracts for the second half of 2016, according to the MoIT. The ministry reported a six-per cent export increase in the first half of this year to US$12.8 billion.
Thailand and Pakistan are likely to sign a free trade agreement by the end of this year. Both countries with dynamic consumer markets have unlimited scope for business. Although Pakistan faces an unfavorable balance of trade with Thailand the consistent rise in bilateral trade is a positive sign. To increase the volume of trade between the two countries, trade fairs and single country exhibitions will be arranged on a reciprocal basis. The communication gap between the respective private sectors will be bridged. Pakistan already exports frozen fish, woven cotton fabrics, crustaceans, cotton yarns, leather, medicament mixtures and electro-medical apparatus to Thailand.
Thailand and Pakistan established diplomatic ties back in 1951 and both countries have been enjoying steady economic and trade relations. Among the top exporting countries for Pakistan, Thailand comes at 34th place and with regard to top importing countries, Thailand is ranked at 12th place. Trade is expected to flourish after the FTA is signed between the two countries as the cost of doing business will fall and the non-tariff barriers will be removed. Thailand is already investing in Pakistan while more Thai companies are keen on following suit. From 2013 to 2015, bilateral trade increased from 833 million dollars to 973 million dollars.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) is looking at having a Preferential Trade Agreement with India to allow the entry of locally made goods and especially privileged ones to the Indian market. This comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day state visit to Kenya that began on July 10. Modi’s visit renewed trade ties with the world’s seventh-largest economy. Both government and the private sector want the two countries to agree on the PTA which Kenya feels would help bridge the huge trade imbalance that is in favour of India, Kenya’s second-largest source of imports.
Last year, the value of imports from India stood at Sh252.5 billion that was a drop of 2.3 per cent from Sh264.5 billion a year earlier, a data from the Economic Survey 2016 shows. This was against Sh8.9 billion in exports although this was a marginal rise from Sh8.7 billion in 2014. KAM chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga said that said such a deal would increase Kenyan exports to India Kenya and India do not have a Preferential Trade Agreement. Hence, for Kenya to have duty access to India and vice versa, a Preferential Trade Agreement would be required. The manufacturers also aim to increase leather and textile exports to India if the proposed PTA is agreed on.
India, the leading producer of cotton in the world, can use homegrown cotton in manufacturing and exporting value added products. But since it is a seasonal commodity, speculation leads to an artificial price rise. There has been a rise of 35 per cent in cotton prices in the last 80 days in India, whereas world cotton is available 23 per cent cheaper. The jump in cotton prices has resulted in higher input costs for the spinning sector in India. So the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will sell its existing stock purchased under minimum support price to medium and small spinning mills.
Cotton prices reached a high of Rs 35,000 per candy in May this year. The CCI buys cotton from farmers when rates go below the support prices. The opening balance is expected to be 43 lakh bales as on September 30, 2016. Steps are being taken to manage whitefly attack on cotton in the northern states. Cotton exports from India have nearly halted because of the rise in prices. This has forced key importers like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam to turn to other suppliers. The price rise could subsequently push up fabric and clothing prices and put pressure on the margins of garment makers.
A proposal by European Union officials to restrict nearly 300 substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR) has been slammed by several NGOs. The European Commission had collaborated with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and EU member states to compile a list that it would use to enforce a possible ban on CMR substances in a range of consumer goods.
The EU proposed adding the list—spanning classified dyes and carcinogenic amines, petroleum and coal stream substances, and others—as a specific appendix to Reach, a European regulation concerning chemicals and their safe use. The commission is set to fast-track the restriction in textiles and apparel in two phases.
The first phase of the ban is limited to items containing at least 80 per cent of textile fibers by weight and which may come into direct contact with the skin. These items include apparel, footwear and bedding. Additional CMRs and consumer goods, including accessories, upholstery and floor coverings, will be considered in the second phase.
But several NGOs have criticized the idea for two reasons: there are too many materials under consideration for the proposed restriction to be fast-tracked; the scope of substances is not wide enough.
