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Fashion Hong Kong will return to Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo on October 17. Supported by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), it will feature three innovative Hong Kong fashion designers viz Chailie Ho and Polly Ho and first-time participant Vickie Au. It would end on October 20. It will showcase the designers’ collections and feature 24 fashion and accessories brands.
Tokyo is known for its fashion-forward culture while Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo is one of the top-tier international fashion weeks. Designer Chailie Ho will present her collection ‘Dream, or Jail’ which searches for an innovative breakthrough by building around special silhouettes and presenting the tension of fabrics. Following her success last year, Polly Ho’s latest collection ‘The Double Life of Madam White Snake has been inspired by the Chinese legend ‘Madam White Snake’ and created with delicate Canton silk and traditional Chinese knot structures, which reflect her ‘East meets West’ design philosophy. Debutant Vickie Au will introduce her Urban Chill collection. Applying de-constructivist architectural styles and modern swimming pool features, the collection embodies a refreshing summery feeling.
At the Fashion Gallery, visitors will be able to see and handle designers’ runway pieces as well as a wide range of fashion accessories such as eyewear, handbags and shoes from 23 Hong Kong brands. Thirteen of the designers’ brands will be unveiled at K11, a revolutionary museum retail concept that fuses art and shopping, featuring top global and local brands in a complex adorned with sculptures and interactive art.
Clothing exports from Mediterranean countries to Europe have dropped from 25 per cent in 2007 to 17.6 per cent in 2015. Morocco was the eighth largest supplier of clothing and textiles to the European Union in 2015. In the first half of 2016, exports to Europe boomed by 8 per cent. One reason for the dip in Mediterranean exports is competition from Asia. With 1.3 million employees, 3,800 businesses and exports worth $27.2 thousand million in 2015, Vietnam’s clothing and textile sector represents one of the largest exporters in the world. The Chinese textile industry is the world’s leading producer and exporter with 28 million employees. In 2015, its exports topped $284 thousand million, $44 thousand million of which went to the European Union.
There are plans for a joint European and North African sectoral program that needs to be developed and implemented to develop a growth strategy that offers perspectives for the future. Textiles are the largest exports from Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan while for Egypt and Syria it is the second largest after oil. In Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Syria and Jordan the textiles and clothing industry accounts for between 30 and 50 per cent of all industrial jobs.
With an eye on job creation, the government is doing its best to make the textile sector more competitive by pursuing a lower GST rate. It is willing to allow automobile and wine imports from the European Union in return for market access for Indian apparel. According to Textiles Secretary Rashmi Verma, India is at a critical juncture for like China, Indian textiles is moving out of global markets due to increase in labour costs and higher domestic demand. Therefore, this is the right time for the country to occupy the space left by China.
Conceding that Bangladesh is poised to overtake Indian garments and others like Vietnam, Kenya and Ethiopia are catching up, Verma said the government was seeking to nullify the competitive disadvantage that arises due to these countries getting duty-free access to the EU and US Indian products attract a 9.5 per cent duty in the EU.
Asking the industry to take advantage of the recently announced 3-year package for the sector, the Textile Secretary said the upcoming GST regime will make Indian textiles more competitive. It will solve many problems, the tax on tax will go away, input tax credits will be given and the differential tax rate on man-made fibres could be fixed in line with the long-standing demand for fibre neutrality, she claimed.
The industry should engage with a committee in the revenue department on its concerns about GST so that it got a fair deal. She hoped that most probably, the sector would likely get a lower tax rate. The GST Council, chaired by the finance minister, is slated to meet next week to start determining the tax rates for the new indirect tax regime.
Street wear and skate trade show Bright will be held in Germany from January 17 to 19, 2016. The show’s new Urban area will house brands from the wider field of modern hip-hop fashion. Hip-hop fashion has been about baggy pants, oversized tees and bling but there are both avant-garde micro brands as well as long-established names who are currently breathing new freshness into the field.
The Outdoor segment will feature a selection of street wear- and lifestyle-minded outdoor and tech wear brands that connect design with functionality. This will be a platform for brands, especially from the Asian and American markets, who cater to a more niche urban/lifestyle customer. The accessories area will have Bright’s core segments like street wear, skateboarding and sneakers.
The entire core part of the big hall will feature Bright’s new booth layout with a clean, unified design and extended, two-meter-high black back walls, which shall support a clearer show impression and simplify visitor guidance. Visitors shall navigate along a single path – and that will not only tour the whole Bright area, but also its sister trade show Seek next door. For the first time in their co-existence at Arena Berlin, there will be two tunnel modules, connecting the shows at two transition points.
"The premium denim jeans market is forecast to grow at CAGR 8 per cent globally as per a recent study by Technavio. The report gives an overview of the present market scenario along with a forecast on the prospect of premium denim jeans during 2016-2020. The study further calculated the market size considering the revenue generated from retail sales of premium denim jeans to individual customers globally. The report also gives insight to market segmentation as per end customers, various retail formats and geographical segmentation."
The premium denim jeans market is forecast to grow at CAGR 8 per cent globally as per a recent study by Technavio. The report gives an overview of the present market scenario along with a forecast on the prospect of premium denim jeans during 2016-2020. The study further calculated the market size considering the revenue generated from retail sales of premium denim jeans to individual customers globally. The report also gives insight to market segmentation as per end customers, various retail formats and geographical segmentation.
The report primarily highlights three key factors that are contributing to the growth of global premium denim jeans market. Recycled jeans from plastic and other materials, rise in demand for stretch jeans and also increasing demand HNWI and a status symbol are the major factors that Technavio analysts discussed.
Fast fashion striving to reduce environmental impact
In a bid to promote sustainable clothing for better, secure future, manufacturers are striving hard to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals and also reduce greenhouse emissions. Elaborating on the effort by various brands Brijesh Kumar Choubey, lead analyst at Technavio for apparel and textile research points out , sustainable jeans are not only a concept for the developed nations but are also gaining prominence in developing countries, including India and China.
Simultaneously, one of the most popular denim brand Levi’s, a major supporter of sustainable clothing industry, has introduced a line of jeans made of post-consumer waste like recycled plastic bottles and food trays under the ‘Waste>Less’ brand for both men and women. The company has also developed a process of using plastic sourced from brown beer bottles, green soda bottles, clear water bottles, and black food trays for manufacturing its denim material. It is also taking initiative to greatly reduce the water up to 98 per cent and a significant amount of pesticide use while growing the cotton and economically supports hundreds of thousands of cotton farmers. It has partnered with textile technology start-up Evrnu, SPC to create the world’s first jean made of cotton recycled from five discarded cotton T-shirts to make new fiber in the form of a pair of Levi’s 511 jeans.
Preference for stretch jeans to stay
The Technavio report also delves into the market size and demand for stretch jeans. It suggests that manufacturers are replacing cotton with synthetic fibers for manufacturing denim jeans. Although the cost of product for stretch denim jean is 10-15 per cent higher than non-stretch denim, but consumer preference is in peak. The primary reasons behind growing demand for stretch jeans is that stretch fabric retains the shape and fit can be personalized even after frequent washes. Another benefit of stretch fibers is the apparel maintains its shape without bagging in the knee or other areas, which the consumers appreciate. While stretch was being used for women’s wear but today the trend is also evident in menswear.
HNWI with high aspirations driving market
The growing population of upper middle-class and high net worth individuals (HNWI) drives the luxury denim jeans market. According to Technavio, Asian countries exceeded North America as home to the largest HNWI population, with a rise to 4.69 million in 2014, an 8.5 per cent increase from a year earlier. China and Japan are the two emerging countries in global market, registering a double-digit growth in the HNWI population and ultra-HNWI wealth growth. These countries together accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the global HNWI population growth is fuelling growth of premium denim jeans market globally.
Latest issue of Textile Outlook International says, several major clothing exporting countries could lose their preferential access to the UK market when Britain leaves the EU. Unless special terms of access are negotiated, Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, a process commonly known as Brexit, could have major consequences for such suppliers given the size of the UK market.
Last year, the UK was the EU’s second largest clothing import market in value terms after Germany with a 17.7 per cent share of EU clothing imports into all member states. And in volume terms, it was the largest market with a 22.1 per cent share. Because the UK is a member of the EU, exporters in many developing countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Peru enjoy duty-free access to the UK textile and clothing market under arrangements which form part of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). At the same time, imports from Turkey are allowed to enter the UK duty-free and quota-free under the Customs Union between Turkey and the EU. Additionally, while the UK remains a member of the EU, exporters in Vietnam stand to gain from improved access to the UK import market when the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement comes into force.
But if and when the UK leaves the EU, imports into the UK from poorer countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia will, by default, be subject to a common external tariff as declared to the World Trade Organization (WTO) unless special trade agreements are put in place to provide these countries with preferential access to the UK market in particular. While referring to the WTO, it is worth noting that, technically, the UK would have to join the WTO on its own account if and when it left the EU. Moreover, UK membership of the WTO would require the approval of all of the WTO’s member states.
Lenzing will expand and modernize its existing dissolving wood pulp production. Additional new specialty fiber capacities of around 35,000 tons will be added over the next two and a half years. The aim is to increase dissolving wood pulp production from 56 to 75 per cent of the group’s requirements for the production of botanic cellulose fibers by the end of the decade. The modernization will increase efficiency of the plants.
The upgrade and expansion of the bio-refinery setup will underline Lenzing’s leadership as the most sustainable fiber producer. Lenzing’s bio-refinery concept is based on using only certified wood from countries in western and central Europe. It is an essential part of Lenzing’s mission to turn Co2 and sunlight into high value fibers, as it ensures that 100 per cent of the wood components are used to produce fibers, bio-chemicals and bio-energy. This investment is also an essential part of Lenzing’s quality strategy, as the high quality of its botanic fibers depends on the quality of the dissolving wood pulp.
Lenzing, based in Austria, supplies the global textile and nonwoven industry with high quality, botanic cellulose fibers. Its portfolio ranges from dissolving wood pulp to standard and specialty cellulose fibers.
Levi Strauss’ net income rose 69 per cent in Q3 thanks to cost-cutting efforts and rising revenues. Net revenues grew four per cent on a reported basis and five per cent in unfavorable currency translation effects. Revenue growth was due to increased direct-to-consumer sales, which grew 14 per cent in the quarter for stores and e-commerce.
Excluding currency fluctuations, costs were lower thanks to reductions in advertising costs and restructuring-related charges. The company is opening more own stores. There will be 42 more company-operated stores at the end of the third quarter of 2016 than at the end of the same period last year.
Levi’s has struggled in recent years, first as high-end jeans usurped its iconic place as the go-to denim maker and then as athleisure took over as the favored way to dress around town. Levi Strauss’ direct-to-consumer business continues to drive its results with both brick and mortar and e-commerce growing double digits.
Levi Strauss jeans are used by both workers as well as rock stars. It’s known for the 501 design and now the brand is adding stretch to this line. The move has been prompted by consumer preferences for comfort, which has women especially wearing yoga pants beyond their exercise classes.
Gap Inc is looking at emerging economies for growth as it struggles to arrest the decline in comparable sales and faces intense competition from fast fashion brands in the domestic market. A year after it entered the Indian market, the company will now sell its products online in the country, exclusively on Arvind Group’s fashion portal NNNow.com.
E-commerce in India is growing at a fast pace and tier II and tier III cities in the country are contributing significantly towards this growth. Most foreign brands do not have stores in these cities and the online channel is the only way for consumers to acquire these brands.
With growing disposable incomes of the semi-urban population in India, demand for foreign fashion products is increasing. The online foray will give Gap an edge over other foreign retailers such as H&M and Zara in India and allow it to tap into the growth outside of metro and tier I cities in the region. This strategy should drive overall growth for Gap in the region making it a revenue driver in the long term. With competitors such as Zara and H&M focusing on store expansion, Gap’s strategy to foray into the Indian online retail market can give it a competitive edge.
According to a report by Edelweiss Broking, the branded garment’s segment in India will grow to 48 per cent in 2019 of the overall ready-made garments market in the country from the 35 per cent level of 2014. The Indian branded apparel industry is estimated to be $10 billion in size and growing at 10-12 per cent rate per annum according to the report.
In a way, cotton farmers agree that it’s everyone’s right to grow the crop the way they wish but those that have chosen to grow organic product are looking for better ways to co-exist with those that haven’t. In a talk at Textile Exchange’s Organic Cotton Roundtable in Hamburg, Germany, farmers, breeders and those in organizations representing farmers and breeders came up with their views on the challenges of co-existence of organic and GM cotton.
Michael Sligh, Program Director for the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), who has been farming organically on a large scale since the 1970s, said the current cotton environment isn’t one of co-existence. He said organic cotton community is doing everything one knows to protect the farming community from unwanted pesticides and GMO drift.
Organic cotton farmers do everything they can to avoid the scenario, but sometimes nature prevails and what would have been organic cotton, as it was farmed as such, has to get turned back over to the conventional market and not bring in a premium. Last year, the organisation lost 22 per cent of its organic cotton product because of contamination. And while that translates to a hit on the bottom lines, the industry must have felt it harder to put up a face to the small farmers.
