FW
Designers Teatum Jones (Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones) and Agi and Sam (Agape Mdumulla and Sam Cotton) are the winners of international Woolmark prize for British Isles in women’s and men’s wear categories respectively. Teatum Jones are known for their use and development of merino wool, from concept to the final garment. The pair were chosen from eight shortlisted talents.
The Woolmark prize is a global search for the world’s best emerging design talent. It has entered its fourth year. With a record 70 labels nominated across 23 countries, this year’s prize will propel a fresh crop of fashion stars into the spotlight, showcasing new and innovative ways to work with Australian merino wool.
Each regional finalist receives a cash sponsorship and the opportunity to compete in the final. The winning merino wool capsule collection of the overall winner will be stocked in a dozen of the world’s most prestigious fashion retailers.
Chosen by some of the globe’s most prestigious fashion bodies and set to be critiqued by a judging panel of industry heavyweights, these stand-out designers will each compete within their region for a chance to win the international Woolmark prize.
www.woolmarkprize.com/
Things are going from bad to worse at American Apparel. The Los Angeles-based US fashion retailer, is experiencing low sales as its debt mounts. It fears it might not be able to meet funding commitments for the next 12 months even if it increases revenue and cuts costs.
The brand is best known for its racy advertising and its practice of making its clothes in Los Angeles' garment district rather than in Asia. American Apparel has racked up about 340 million dollars in net losses in the last five years. It has more than 200 million dollars in debt and negative shareholders’ equity.
The company has been embroiled in boardroom turmoil, and last year ousted its controversial chief executive Dov Charney in a public clash. Earlier this year, it announced plans to raise as much as $10 million from share sales after it reported a jump in first quarter losses. American Apparel has announced $30 million cost cutting measures in a bid to stabilise business. This includes job cuts and store closures. The retailer operates 239 stores and employs 10,000 workers. It plans to close underperforming retail locations in unprofitable and over-saturated markets and looks to add new stores in profitable fast-growing territories.
store.americanapparel.net/
Chinese wool buyers and processors are well aware of the differences in wool types across the world. They understand fully that two of the critical factors in any buying and processing decision are the micron and color of the wool. These dictate use and yield. And the Welsh industry says its wool has been sampled to internationally recognised standards and tested using the same methods and quality controls as those used in other principal wool testing laboratories across the world.
The Chinese market is important for UK wool producers. It normally takes at least a month for wool shipments to reach China from Wales. Great care is taken at all levels of the British wool supply chain from farm onwards. A high level of skill is employed at every level of the wool supply chain in the UK. About 30 per cent of British wool now finds its way to China.
Wool has historically the most important and widespread of Wales’ industries. Traditionally, woven Welsh wool blankets and throws are popular not only in the UK but across the world. Wool is a 100 per cent natural fiber and has evolved to become one of the most effective natural forms of all-weather protection known to man.
Denim units in Bangladesh are in top gear. Hundreds of units are operating to deliver on huge orders for denim products ahead of Id. To cope with growing orders, workers have been working till midnight to meet demand of country's large local customer base. Targeting hot Id sales, some manufacturers have also raised their investment volume for further mounting their production capacity in a bid to book a good portion of the hefty trade during the largest festival for Muslims.
Keraniganj, located on the banks of river Buriganga, is home for more than 5,500 small and medium-sized factories, mostly denim, they make various types of clothing. The hub is a cluster of 200 units spread over two kilometers area. The apparel zone supplies around 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s total demand for denim.
Wholesalers and retailers from all over the country come to purchase good-quality wear from the cluster, which was known for supplying re-modified used clothes in the 80s. The whole chain of manufacturing includes sewing, dyeing and washing is on a desperate run to maintain smooth supply of quality fashion wear for both men and women.
Japan will support Pakistan in boosting the value added textile sector's exports and will provide assistance for product diversification, international marketing and enhancing capacity building of garment institutes. In the early 1990s, Japan provided similar assistance, which yielded a positive impact on the quality and productivity of the textile sector.
Japan and Pakistan have discussed parameters for the project of skill development and market diversification for the garment industry. Japan would facilitate Pakistan’s garment sector especially small and medium enterprises in the field of international marketing practices along with compliance requirement, marketing and product diversification.
Japan coordinated with Pakistan’s textile sector in 1993 and helped upgrade the National Textile University, Faisalabad. The new project will open a new era of cooperation between the two countries and will provide technical assistance in different fields of the textile sector. The project would facilitate in achieving goals and objectives set forth in the Textile Policy 2014-19. Japanese companies are already working in health, education and energy sectors of Pakistan.
But a high rate of import duty deters Japan from importing textiles from Pakistan. Japan is the world’s largest importer of textiles and prefers Sri Lanka and India with a relatively low ratio of taxes.
Sourcing at Magic will take place in the United States from August 16 to 19. It showcases the latest in apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and children. This is a fashion trade show that happens twice a year and meant for large buyers as also small and medium businesses.
It’s North America's largest, most comprehensive sourcing event. Thousands of exhibitors showcase next season’s collections. The show expects more than 2,000 exhibitors from 24 countries. A variety of seminars hosted by top industry professionals will be open for attendees and exhibitors. Magic is unique because it shows and blends a variety of brands alongside a variety of factories from around the world. It covers advanced contemporary luxury brands to the latest trends in fast fashion.
A mobile app will help assist exhibitors as well as visitors. It is a searchable database. Within the app a search can be made by country of origin, name of factory, products and minimums. A digital matchmaking service will allow attendees to find the manufacturers that will best fit their production needs. Sourcing at Magic is focusing on wearable technology this August. There will be an interactive exhibit area.
www.magiconline.com/sourcing-at-magic
For 20 years, Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer has enjoyed an international reputation for excellent sourcing in a highly professional environment. More than 1,200 exhibitors from 18 countries and regions are taking part in the 22nd HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week Spring/ Summer ’16 which runs from July 6 to 9 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).
Eight groups pavilions, including the event’s largest from the Chinese Mainland, are representing a diverse range of markets, including Japan, Thailand, India and South Korea.
India in focus at HKFW
India has emerged as the second largest exporter of textiles after Mainland China. With a supply chain covering production of cotton fibres, fabrics and garments, India’s textile and garment manufacturers are highly competitive in the world market. To promote garment industry, the Apparel Export Promotion Council has organised the Indian Pavilion at Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer for the 13th consecutive year.
“This year, we have come with 65 Indian companies to promote casual garments for men, women and kids; scarves; shawls; sweaters and T-shirts which are all made in India. Hong Kong Fashion Week is an international show that draws buyers from all over the world. A lot of customers from European and the US buying offices in Hong Kong visit this fair regularly to look for new vendors. That’s why Indian companies have maintained a strong presence in the fair,” said Pravin Agarwal, Executive Committee Member, Apparel Export Promotion Council.
Wide zones display the latest
Under the theme ‘Tribal Safari’, the fashion week features a wide array of product zones including; ‘International Fashion Designers’ showcase, ‘Emporium De Mode’, ‘Fashion Jewellery Feast’, salon of Scarves and Shawls, Denim Arcade and Bridal & Evening Wear.
Fashion Gallery is the largest zone, showcasing designer labels and top brands, while International Fashion Designers’ Showcase is an exciting space for trend-setters. Men in Style segment gives exhibitors of menswear prominence. Retailers are value-adding through accessories and exhibitors are catered for in a number of zones such as World of Fashion Accessories, Handbags Select, Salon of Scarves and Shawls and Fashion Jewellery Feast.
China will start selling its cotton stockpile this year. The plan is to auction off one million ton, or 4.6 million bales, of the fiber to start with. In previous auctions, widespread complaints about the quality of cotton being released caused some mills to balk at buying supplies. To help get the cotton moving, China offered incentives tied to import access. Over the past year, only the minimum amount of import quota was issued. If reserve sales are very slow, those incentives could eventually reappear.
The possibility of rotating reserve stocks is another thing worth paying attention to. Historically the Chinese government has replaced older supplies with newer ones. It isn’t clear yet whether that will be a possibility in the future, but if it is, that could impact the availability of current and future Chinese harvests.
The bottomline is that the changes made in current crop year, where Chinese imports have placed increased emphasis on the use of domestic supplies, will be sustained. The corresponding sustained reduction in global import demand has helped stocks outside of China increase and allowed prices to shift lower.
As long as China keeps imports low and uses reserves to fill any gaps, and as long as the rest of the world produces a surplus of cotton, stocks outside of China will remain strong and prices can be expected to remain low.
Vietnam's textile industry has been seeing a strong flow of foreign investment over the first half of the year. Taiwanese-owned Polytex Far Eastern Company has been granted a license to build a yarn factory in the southern province of Binh Duong. It is the largest foreign project in the province in the first six months, with a cost estimate of $274 million for the first stage. Between $700 million to $1 billion is planned for the second stage.
The company’s third textile project in Vietnam is meant to take advantage of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP), which, when signed, will give Vietnamese products duty-free access to major markets. With an investment of $660 million, Turkish-owned Hyosung Istanbul Tekstil has a yarn factory. The British-owned Worldon Vietnam has a $300 million project. These are the biggest FDI projects to be approved in Vietnam by June 20, accounting for 29.2 per cent of the total new pledges during the time.
Vietnam licensed 757 new FDI projects with total pledges of $3.83 billion by June 20, down 21 per cent year on year. Meanwhile $1.65 billion has been registered for existing projects, a year-on-year decrease of 17 per cent.
Cotton USA sourcing fair was held in China from June 22 to 25. The fair provided a valuable opportunity to network and build connections along the global textile supply chain with the goal of increasing US cotton exports. Nearly 120 participants attended the private trade fair, representing 26 fabric mills, 20 garment manufacturers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Asean region and 18 global brands and retailers.
There was an overview of global raw cotton situation, an update on global sourcing directions and a brief on new consumer-influencing apparel purchases. Prior to the fair, participants attended a briefing session. Cotton Incorporated shared information at a booth to introduce latest innovations, supply chain opportunities and marketing programs.
Cotton Council International (CCI) roped in a variety of participants, especially international brands and retailers representing from the United States, Europe, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Hong Kong, to join the supply chain event and attract fabric mills and garment manufacturers. Among the brands and retailers were: Academy Sports, Blue Pin, Fashion Box, Gerry Weber, Ralph Lauren, Street One and VF Asia.
