"This September edition of Apparel Sourcing, Europe’s top show for global clothing and accessories and Shawls & Scarves – The Accessories Showcase that specialises in neck and shoulder accessories, recorded a 13.9 per cent increase in visitors compared to last year."

This September edition of Apparel Sourcing, Europe’s top show for global clothing and accessories and Shawls & Scarves – The Accessories Showcase that specialises in neck and shoulder accessories, recorded a 13.9 per cent increase in visitors compared to last year.

As Michael Scherpe, President, Messe Frankfurt France points out, “There are two main things to take away from this season’s show: improved standards of skills in clothing production and internationalisation.” He said feedback from production and collections showed clothing production methods are getting closer to reaching our standards. This was evident at the show. The exhibition organised by Ccipttex, ‘From Workshop to Shop’, showcasing 10 Chinese ready-to-wear brands, illustrated this perfectly.

Professionalism and quality

These are the hallmarks of this 13th session of the European trade fair for clothing and accessories held in September 2017. The ‘From Workshop to Shop’ exhibition, organised by Ccipttex had some 30 outfits from around 10 Chinese ready-to-wear brands arranged around a space, using virtual reality. These brands for women and men’s ready-to-wear are already established in China and abroad too.

Country showcase

With a good number of points of entry, since Apparel Sourcing had never hosted as many national pavilions: Sri Lanka, an alternative to India, had some specialist firms with branches abroad. Vietnam still rouses much curiosity as it offers an alternative and is very diversified, ranging as far as horn jewellery (Diep Duong). Pakistan and Bangladesh were popular on account of their huge production capacity. Nepal presented something of a surprise to many, in particular with fine finishing and design features of their cashmere products. Cambodia, the guest of honour, whose Minister for Trade, His Excellency Pan Sorasak, came to promote and encourage exports of clothing and textile products from his country. Two other opportunities for new discoveries with Myanmar, which is experiencing growing interest for sourcing, and Kyrgyzstan, which aims to assume a key role in clothing manufacture thanks to tax exemptions in Europe and the advantage of its geographical situation.

Striking highlights

The return of major Indian businesses with rich ranges of wraps, shawls and headscarves, was a driving force. Consistent, attractive offers for good design reinvigorated the show: the well-designed collection of shopping bags from the Indian FF, ‘kawaï’ (Japanese for cute) packaging from the Chinese hosiery firm Geochi, themed collections from shoes to umbrellas from WM from Shanghai, and, fabrics and products in alpaca from the Peruvian Incapalca, who, like the Nepalese at Apparel Sourcing, attracted luxury brands. Retailers and shop owners were also able to benefit from this offer for finished products.

Apparel Sourcing Paris also organised nine lectures about current topics in procurement for the clothing industry. These were: future of the clothing industry, new technologies, new skills, new countries for sourcing: the Kyrgyz Republic, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia and the responsibility of prime contractors were the topics discussed over the four days of the show.