FW
"A recent survey by Label Insights reveals, millennial consumers are curious about the companies they buy their clothes from. They covet transparency and honey and prefer to buy only from brands that are transparent. Apparel companies like LVMH’s Dior, Chanel, Gucci and Prada are therefore, supplementing visually-striking ads with mini-docs and behind-the-scenes videos on popular platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. This is resulting in an increase in the number of monthly views, steady subscriber growth, and increased brand affinity."
A recent survey by Label Insights reveals, millennial consumers are curious about the companies they buy their clothes from. They covet transparency and honey and prefer to buy only from brands that are transparent. Apparel companies like LVMH’s Dior, Chanel, Gucci and Prada are therefore, supplementing visually-striking ads with mini-docs and behind-the-scenes videos on popular platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. This is resulting in an increase in the number of monthly views, steady subscriber growth, and increased brand affinity.
Top apparel brands are also making documentaries to showcase their ethical or sustainable product launches. For this, they collaborated with creators and celebrities in the run-up to marquee fashion events like the Paris Fashion Week and the Met Gala besides embracing user-generated content (UGC).
Luxury brands top video makers
Currently accounting for 32 per cent of the total luxury expenditure, Millennials will comprise 50 per cent of the
personal luxury market by 2025. This makes it essential for brands to earn customer’s loyalty and videos are an ideal way to achieve this.
Nowadays, millennials are most fascinated with videos that reveal the more authentic side of a brand. Nearly eight of the top 10 luxury videos across these social platforms showcase the making of luxury apparel. Most of them incorporate interviews with designers and artistic directors. Examples include. Dior’s video on how it creates the illusion of movement in its Dior Summer 20 men’s garments (#1) and how Chanel made its latest Métiers d’Art necklace with 1500 individual rhinestones (#6).
Spreading social messages
Taking UGC to the deluxe level, Italian fashion house Gucci crowdsources online video artists worldwide to create one-minute films about its Ace sneaker (#24HourAce). The brand then showcases this premium user-generated content on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, drawing millions of views. It commissions UGC artists who are in tune with social video trends.
This year, the brand has commissioned ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) videos to give millennials a brain massage, associating gentle sounds like whispers or squishes with good feelings about their newest product. And it works — every single Gucci video in the top ten list above related to ASMR. These collaborative videos of Gucci alongwith its readiness to embrace social video trends endears the brand to millennials.
Gucci also uses Performance Insights to keep a tab on trends like ASMR. These insights enable the brand to identify the top trends in real-time and create new videos that resonate with their audiences.
Nostalgia with time-based videos
Reintroducing ghosted concepts, luxury watch brand Chanel plans to gift millennials with a sense of time before the smartphone era. Its recent campaign promoting its new J12 watch disrupts that notion of time with a video series about the value of time in a fast-paced world.
The luxury brand features ten celebrities from Keira Knightley to Naomi Campbell in a classic black and white interview format. The celebrities muse on the most defining seconds of their lives. Though the brand’s videos feature celebrities with large social media followings, its star-studded content is only released on its official social channels.
Using a unique distribution mechanism to increase its followers, Under Armour recently partnered Dawyney ‘The Rock’ Joahnso for releasing all of its video content through the Rock’s channels instead of its own. This strategy resulted in millions of views and engagements for brand which gets 4.3M views and 836K engagements per upload.
Endorsing high-art
Christian Dior, voted eighth best apparel & accessory brand by cross-platform views creates beautiful video narratives to attract millions of monthly viewers. One of its recent videos shows artisans crafting the Dior’s 30 Montaigne bag at a leather goods workshop in Florence, Italy. The video earned4.5M views on Instagram. This stitch-by-stitch video provides millennials with the transparency they crave. The brand also uses video to establish itself as an enthusiast of high art.
The South India Textile Research Association, Coimbatore, demonstrated its technology for spinning and yarn-making to make banana fiber suitable for blending with other fabrics in the textile industry.
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University highlighted the significance of fiber-based nanofilm wraps for extending the shelf life of horticultural commodities in super markets. The Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Coimbatore, displayed its machine developed for minimal processing of the central core stem. ICAR-NRCB has already expressed its keenness to promote cluster development for mechanical extraction of fiber, and development of fiber banks to cater to the demands of the fiber industry and sustainable business models. An incubation center in Tirupur is promoting production of banana-silk clothing.
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission is promoting the use of banana fiber for making handmade paper bags, statues, pen stands and garments. Once the fabrics match the three categories of fineness, softness and durability, fine, soft and durable yarn will be extracted from banana leaves and stitched into clothes. Rugs made from banana silk yarn fibers are popular the world over. Banana fiber is also used to make cushion covers, neckties, bags, table cloths, curtains etc. In Japan, it has long been used for making traditional dresses like the kimono. It’s lightweight and comfortable to wear, and is preferred by people in Japan as summer wear.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) announced the full catwalk schedule for the London Fashion Week this September. Alongside the catwalk line-up, the show will also have access to panel discussions with key industry figures, who will share unprecedented insight to the fashion industry.
As a part of the new public-facing London Fashion Week proposition, the BFC has curated a Positive Fashion Designer Exhibition which will fully embrace #PositiveFashion, the initiative designed to celebrate industry best practice and encourage future business decisions to create positive change. #PositiveFashion is led by three key pillars: Sustainability, Equality & Diversity, Craftsmanship & Community; each brand showcasing in the Designer Exhibition answers to one or more of those pillars.
The BFC also announced that its designer brands and partners are participating in the Positive Fashion Designer Exhibition, which is open to both the trade and public audiences. The platform is thrilled to give these brands a platform to tell their compelling stories and educate the audience on how the fashion industry can be used as a force for change. The United Nations will launch the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also known as The Global Goals to London Fashion Week. These goals are a universal route map and call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that every global citizen enjoys peace and prosperity by 2030. The #Togetherband tapestry installation will be part of the Positive Fashion Exhibition, to introduce the London Fashion Week audience to the goals.
Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held from November 5 to 6, 2019. The expo covers all aspects of the denim supply chain. Exhibitors display fabrics, garments, threads, machinery, finishing equipment and accessories. Its underlying concept is to fulfill the needs of the international denim community, offering the opportunity to make new contacts, discover new products and gain a comprehensive overview of the latest developments available from the region. Nearly a 100 denim industry exhibitors will be presenting latest denim developments and innovations for autumn/winter 2021. Bangladesh Denim Expo offers the ideal environment for discovering the latest in denim trends and advances in sustainable denim production techniques within the country.
Now in its fifth year, the expo has grown from all angles, with increases in attendees, exhibitors, and international recognition from visitors and trade press. It’s now widely regarded as the most prestigious denim trade event in the region, helping promote Bangladesh and its denim industry to a broader national and international audience. Each expo presents a theme to promote discussion among exhibitors, guests and invited speakers, intended to inform attendees and the trade about issues surrounding sustainability, transparency, circularity and better business practices for adoption by the local and international denim community.
The next edition of Apparel Sourcing Week (ASW) 2020 to be held in Bangalore from February 20 to 22, 2020, will hold bigger discussions and forums on varying topics ranging from how to create an ideal omnichannel, the challenges of a circular economy to role of private equity and MOQ issues, etc.
One of the eagerly awaited seminars is ‘Opportunity Buying: Convert Opportunity Buying into Business Opportunity’. The key focus of this seminar will be the growing ‘opportunity buying’ model in retail sector and how manufacturers can play a role in it. Manufacturing Small Quantities: How to Address Issues related to MOQ will debate on topics trending today like smart factory, on-demand business model, robust logistics systems and allied domains.
In the seminar on ‘Global Trade Environment: Navigating the Uncertainties in Global Trade Today to Decide Where to Source’, eight industry experts from M&S, Li & Fung, PVH among others will share their views on challenges related to international trade faced by retailers amidst the threats of trade war, tariff rates, fluctuating currency exchange rates and trade policies. It will also include a session on Sustain Business with Sustainability, which will talk about the growing importance of sustainable practices for the manufacturing industry.
The seminar titled, ‘Selling to Omnichannel Formats/Creating an Ideal Omnichannel – A Perspective from the Manufacturing and Retail Side’ will present case studies of how online is going offline and vice versa, and also about the requirements of complete integration of all channels. The seminar on ‘New Product Categories for the Future – A Discussion on Athleisure, Activewear and Smart Garments’ will enlighten the audience as to how these categories are going to rule the market and also the challenges that come with them.
At the ongoing annual fashion extravaganza, Centrestage Elites brought together renowned Hong Kong designer Anais Mak and her brand Anais Jourden, and New York-based Joseph Altuzarra and his brand Altuzarra in a joint fashion show that featured their pre-spring 2020 collections.
The fourth edition of Centrestage is being held from September 4-7, 2019. The event features over 240 participating brands, of which over 80 are from Hong Kong. Around 1,500 international buyers are attending this event, with the objective of connecting local brands with the global fashion industry. Across the four days of the fair, attendees can participate in more than 40 events including over 20 fashion shows, designer sharing sessions, open talks, trend analyses and networking opportunities.
Asia's premier fashion event, Centrestage is organised annually by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). It offers a promotion platform for fashion brands and designers to showcase their talent, at the same time helping to strengthen Hong Kong's position as one of Asia's fashion capitals. Last night's gala presented the latest collections from the two designers, drawing an attendance of more than 1,000 industry insiders, celebrities and fashionistas including Priscilla Wong, Sharon Chan, Bowie Cheung, Jennifer Yu, Judy Kwong, Ashley Lam, Dickson Yu, Karl Ting and Veronica Shiu.
Applied DNA has entered into a partnership with Navarpluma. This will extend Applied DNA’s textiles business to include the global down and feather supply chain. Applied DNA is a leader in PCR-based DNA manufacturing for product authenticity and traceability solutions. Navarpluma is one of the world’s premier suppliers of down and feathers to the textile industry.
The partnership follows the completion of a groundbreaking technological advance by Applied DNA to utilize its SigNature DNA system to allow for traceability of materials in the down and feather industry. Navarpluma will be the first to offer this new system to customers who are among the world’s top brands. Use of Applied DNA’s SigNature DNA will give Navarpluma the ability to validate the provenance of raw materials used. This ability conveys a significant competitive advantage to Navarpluma’s products in the marketplace and to those products manufactured from its raw materials. Being first-to-market with end-to-end traceability of its supply chain is expected to attract new clients to Navarpluma while also creating stronger relationships with its customer base. Navarpluma’s reputation in the market is that of an innovative and forward-thinking supplier known for employing new advances in technology to improve its products for its clients.
Karl Mayer is stepping up its operations in the home textile sector. The company has optimised its machine technology for producing fine, fashionable, net curtain fabrics, and has created a stylish collection to show examples of the products.
Karl Mayer is working on a gauge of E 28 for home textile applications. With its finer gauge, this tricot machine with weft insertion is designed to produce fashionable embroidery. Delicate veil-like fabrics with lustrous effects produced by the shimmering yarns can be produced as well as filigree fabrics with subtle linear designs. The TM Weft works on a combination of a pillar stitch, inlay and magazine weft to produce unconventional embroidery. The yarn, which is incorporated over the entire working width, creates a different look and guarantees crosswise stability, which prevents undesirable elongation when the fabric is rotated about an angle of 90° for use as net curtains.
If the pattern effects are not going to be embroidered on, but rather incorporated directly into the net curtaining fabrics, the Weft. Fashion TM 3 would be the machine of choice. This new tricot machine has three guide bars and can insert medium-weight fancy yarns as magazine weft yarns. The delicately patterned fabrics combine fine lattice grounds with a variety of attractive linear designs.
The Lycra Company, a leader in innovative fiber and technology solutions for the apparel industry, has launched the new Lycra® FitSense™ technology. This groundbreaking innovation is a patented water-based dispersion that features the same molecule as the Lycra® fiber, but in liquid form.
The Lycra® FitSense™ technology is screen printed onto fabric containing Lycra® fiber to deliver targeted lightweight support that can be combined with visual effects like patterns or color blocks. As a result, sewn-in panels or extra seams that may restrict movement and cause discomfort can be eliminated and the consumer’s need for great-fitting, ultra-comfortable garments satisfied, giving support just where it is needed.
The Lycra® FitSense™ technology can transform activewear and athleisure apparel (leggings and tops) and intimate apparel (bras, sports bras, bralettes, underwear and shapewear) by adding lightweight power, soft shaping and lift, and targeted support without sacrificing comfort.
Lycra® FitSense™ technology offers printers, garment makers, brands and retailers a host of benefits. This solution helps streamline garment manufacturing, offers unlimited design possibilities that provide functional benefits, and differentiates garments by providing a premium offering made with a breakthrough innovation.
Pakistan’s exports of readymade garment increased 32.77per cent in 2018-19. Exports of knitwear increased 15.52 per cent in the same period.
The country is taking steps to attract foreign and domestic investment and revive sick units in the textile sector. The installed capacity of the manufacturing sector will be increased to enhance competitive import substitution, export enhancement, employment generation and revenue generation. The US-China trade war has positively impacted textile exports from Pakistan. Global value chains, especially in the textile sector, are realigning in the US market due to the high tariffs against Chinese imports. This realignment is providing an immense opportunity to Pakistan’s textile industry to integrate into the value chains, which will exponentially contribute in enhancing exports of the country. A policy paradigm is being worked out for upward growth of the manufacturing sector. An industrial policy will assist the industrial sector in improving its growth by effective allocation of resources.
The economy still centers around production of cotton, a commodity, while manufacturers have been slow to embrace automation. But those that have gained a global foothold may benefit from the country's depreciating currency -- the rupee has lost a third of its value in the last two years, which makes Pakistan exports cheaper.
