The first Global Textile Trade Fair (GTTF) was organized by the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI) in the US to promote world’s second largest manmade fibre (MMF) manufacturing hub based at Surat, Gujarat, India.

As per a report by the American Bazaar Online, the three-day exhibition was held at Gas South Convention Center, Duluth, Georgia from June 09 to 11. It was supported by India’s Ministry of Textiles.

Inaugurated by Sebastian Barron, Field Representative, Office of the Georgia Governor, the exhibition was visited by hundreds of visitors on the first day who placed large orders with 50 Suat-based textile manufacturers.

Dr Vijay GPrabhakar, Founder Chair, US Congressman Danny K Davis’ Multi Ethnic Advisory Task Force, presented a Congressional commendation to Ashish D Gujarati, President, SGCCI for the historic initiative of bringing Indian apparel and home textiles expo to the US.

Overwhelmed with the response of US buyers, Gujarati noted that the US imports nearly $112 billion worth of apparel, clothing and home textiles annually, 58 per cent of which is MMF textiles.

Surat textile industry has recently upgraded their textile manufacturing technology and is now among the world’s best. Its products will surely find relevance in the US market, he added.

Gujarati invited home textile retailers, apparel and clothing retailers, kids wear brand owners to visit the exhibition to give a big boost to India-US bilateral trade.

PittiUomowill return to its physical event format and traditional four-day program for the 102nd edition. Dedicated to the 2023 Spring/Summer collections, the reference trade fair for men's fashion will house 682 exhibitors, 280 of them from abroad, and 15,000 visitors from June 14 to 17 in Florence, Italy.

With the evocative theme 'Pitti_Island', Pitti Imagine promises a rich and stimulating program to visitors. British designer of Jamaican origin, Grace Wales Bonner will focus on the richness and diversity of Black culture in her work and unveil her collection during the event

PittiUomowill also support a dozen Ukrainian creatives during this 102nd edition, in response to the war that broke out in their country on February 24. It will dedicate a specific area will be dedicated to these designers in the Fortezza da Basso. The seven creativesto be showcased include: T Mosca, KaterinaKvit, The Coat, Poustovit, Ksenia Schneider, Bobkova and Litkovska, and the two craftsmen Olk Manufacture and Gunia Project.

Egypt-based denim manufacturer, Lotustex Textile has acquired Karl Mayer’s first Link-Matic® system for automatic batch change on Prodye®-S slasher indigo dye range

The sophisticated automation solution considerably simplifies the batch change on indigo and sizing machines, thus increasing productivity by 30 per cent, depending on the number of batch changes per day.

The solution also reduces yarn waste upto 600 million on indigo dyeing range. It saves usable yarn material with each batch – while at the same time requiring less manpower. During batch changes, only one operator is required to prepare the warper beams for entry into the machine.

A fully automatic knotting unit couples the warp yarns of the new batch to the yarns of the batch just finished.

Founded in 2019, Lotustex Textile is first company to invest in the innovative Link-matic® system in recent months in order to optimize the performance of its Prodye®-S sizing machine. Especially for its activities in the fashion sector, Lotustex Textile expects a significantly higher flexibility and cost reduction. The delivery date for the new acquisition is November 2022.

Italian textile manufacturer Sitip will present its excellence in fabric production at Techtextil.

Participating in a special Forum about innovative fabrics organized by the Agency ICE, promoting abroad the Italian companies and their internationalization, as examples of the latest developments, Sitip will display fabrics that are a part of its Native Sustainable Textiles collection at the fair.

The first of these fabrics includes the Native-Strappp RES ACR which is a recycled brushed tricot warp knit, made with post-consumer yarns. The OEKO-TEX® certified fabric is hook-receptive and mainly used in the medical and orthopedic sector.

The second fabric known as the Native Moon Pes is an anti-abrasion recycled tricot warp knit fabric ade with post-consumer yarns. Certified with OEKO-TEX®, the fabric is mainly used in the footwear sector.

The third fabric-Native Parigi NG is a recycled no-brushed tricot warp knit, made with pre and post-consumer yarns and Oeko-Tex® certified. It is mainly used in the footwear sector.

Sitip will also participate in TechtextilPerformance Textiles in Fashion special show, an initiative that aims to demonstrate the properties or possible applications some companies can develop as end products.

On the occasion, Sitip will present one of its best and highly appreciated development ‘from fabric to clothing’ coming from the Cosmopolitan Fashion-tech fabric collection. This will include the warp-knitted white shirt in Cosmopolitan Milano, a 4-way stretch fabric very quick to dry, giving exceptional comfort on the skin, freedom of movement and perfect fit; the jacket and pants made with its special Cosmopolitan Citylife, which is a 4-way stretch nylon fabric equipped with UPF 50+ protection, quick drying, easy care, highly performing, breathable, comfortable, insulating and with an exceptional fit.

Ludhiana’s leading trade body, Garments Machinery Manufacturers & Suppliers Association (GMMSA), the leading trade body of Ludhiana, held its elections for the 2022-2024 term.

As per an Apparel Resources report, the association electedTeja Singh as its new President while Narinder Kumar was elected as the General Secretary.

The election took place under the supervision of Presiding Officer AjitLakra and Observer NarinderMiglani; both are leading textile players of Ludhiana. Gurpreet Singh was appointed as the Senior Vice President; Gurdev Singh, Vice President; Sukhwinder Singh, Treasurer; Amit Jain, Joint Secretary and Rajesh Sharma as the Public Relations Officer of the association.

Ram Krishan has been nominated Chairman, ParmeshWassist Roby, Vice Chairman and JatinderSudhera, Advisor.

The new GMMSA team assured, it will work towards the the betterment of the association and the industry on the whole.

H&M has launched an innovative range of baby clothes made from 100 per cent biodegradable materials that can be composted once they're worn out.

Comprising 12 garment pieces, the biodegradable collection offers tops, bottoms, jackets, hats, and blankets. It features adjustable cuffs and foldable waistbands making them extendable and modifiable enough to handle any sudden newborn growth spurts. The organic cotton items are 100 per cent biodegradable down to the pigments used for the designs, and they eschew buttons and metal trims. Once the clothes are worn out, they can simply be tossed into an at-home compost pile.

The collection is certified circular by the non-profit Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. It uses materials free of chemicals harmful to the environment and humans and is produced with 100 per cent recycled water and renewable energy, etc. Each product in the collection has been assessed across five categories of sustainability performance: product circularity, clean air and climate protection, material health, social fairness, and water and soil stewardship.

A Spanish company engaged in developing in eco-efficient textile technologies Jeanologia will showcase its Compact super range of laser solutions at ITM Exhibition 2022.

The company claims its laser solutions are 40 per cent faster than other technologies in the market. They can produce 2,000 garments at day, reducing operational costs and speeding up time-to-market guaranteeing a more competitive and sustainable industry.

The Compact Super integrates the revolutionary software e-Mark X2 which increases the laser speed as well as allowing a more efficient energy management. The integration of hardware and software makes it possible to increase the marking speed while maintaining the same power, simplifying processes as well was allowing infinite design possibilities with great quality and authenticity. At the same time as avoiding second quality garments, achieving perfect reproducibility from the first to the last garment.

Intended to take maximum advantage of space in production centers, creating a safe and comfortable working environment for its operators, this advanced laser range satisfies the needs of large productions with garment versatility, detailed and precise designs, while being easy to use.

During ITM, Jeanologia will also spotlight the integration of its disruptive technologies promoting a new operational model focused on sustainability and digitalization reducing times, costs and simplifying processes.

The integration of laser, G2 ozone, e-Flow, Smart Boxes and H2Zero, the company’s first water recycling system creating productions that are 100 per cent ecological enable it to produce with zero discharge, stimulating productivity and efficiency in the textile industry for garment finishing.

A global leader in innovative solution and sustainable products, Huntsman Textile Effects, will showcase its extensive and complete end-to-end suite of solutions for technical and functional apparel and home and hospitality textiles, at Techtextil from June 21-24, 2022, in Frankfurt, Germany.

The solutions to be showcased by Huntsman include resource-saving solutions, innovative dyes, revolutionary digital inks, high-performing and sustainable towel solutions, high-performance flame-retardants and innovative odour-control solutions.

Another innovation to be showcased by Huntsman includes AviTera Se, a revolutionary technology that has the lowest environmental impact during dyeing of polyester-cellulosic (PES-CO) blends. It combines alkali-clearable TerasilW/WW disperse dyes and Avitera Se reactive dyes to cut processing time from around nine hours to just six. This helps mills reduce the water and energy required for production by up to 50 per cent and increase output by up to 25 per cent or more. Avitera Se Fast also delivers outstanding wet-fastness to ensure that sportswear will not bleed or stain during home laundering, or while in storage or transit.

Continuing its long-standing partnership with Chemours, Huntsman will also present eco-friendly finishes repelling water and stains to help garments look new for longer. Teflon EcoElite with Zelan R3 technology is the industry’s first renewably sourced water-repellent finish. It contains 63 per cent plant-based materials and exceeds performance levels possible with traditional fluorinated technologies, offering excellent water repellency and durability while preserving breathability.

One of the UK’s longest standing fashion trade shows, Modahas been integrated into the Spring Fair & Autumn Fair, with the next edition taking place at Autumn Fair from September 04-07, 2022 at NEC Birmingham. To be attended by hundreds of brands and designers, the trade fair will incorporate a new Jewellery & Watch section.

Besides discovering the latest jewellery designs and collections, visitors will also see the latest fashion accessories from Big Metal, Lisa Angel, Suzie Blue, Amber Hall Jewellery, Cavendish French, Kali Ma Designs, Lido Pearls, Shrieking Violet, Midhaven, Ping Ping Jewellery, Scream Pretty, Sea Gems, Silver Jewellery Cavern, Reeves & Reeves, Ronin Jewellery, Siren Silver, Spoke 925, Bluelily925silver, The Old Farmhouse Jewellery, Clementine Jewellery, Icon Watches, Paradise Jewellery, Eliza Gracious, Gracee Jewellery, Pura Vida, etc.

A show curated for a new era of retail, the Autumn Fair explores the power of diversification, offering unique products to customers. The fair incorporates four key buying destinations, Home, Gift, Moda and Design & Source over four days, with 12 sectors including: Everyday, Home, Living & Décor, Housewares, The Summerhouse, Beauty & Wellbeing, Gift, Greetings & Stationery, Kids, Toys & Play, Footwear, Jewellery & Watch, Womenswear, Fashion Accessories and Sourcing.

Not satisfied with being known as one of the world’s most popular jeans brand, Levi Strauss & Co, aims to grow into an international conglomerate with a wide portfolio of brands and multiple stores with a strong presence in categories beyond denim,including tops and womenswear. The company aims to boost sales to $10 billion by 2027 from $5.8 billion in this fiscal year.

For this, it aims to target growth of Levi’s, Dockers brands and activewear label Beyond Yoga that was acquired last August for $400 million. And as per Harmit Singh, Chief Financial Officer theyalsoplan to foray into new market by acquiring brands. The recent acquisition of Beyond Yoga would add over $100 million to revenues in 2022, he adds.

The company will target potential upmarket retailers like Ulla Johnson, Veronica Beant or Artiiza to gain a greater access to richer consumers or direct-to-consumers brands like Buck Mason or Marine Layer says Janet Kloppenburg, Founder, JJK Research

Consolidating market position

Struggling to maintain its position 11 years ago, Levi’s achieved a turnaround under the leadership of Chip Bergh, CEO, who joined Levi’s 11 years ago. Under Bergh leadership Levi’s resetthe women’s collection, increasing its contribution to 33 per cent of the company’s overall sales last year. The company has grown at an average rate of 6 per cent annually since 2015.

Levi’s has consolidated its presence in the market by adopting strategic marketing campaigns, a revamped wholesale strategy that favors more upscale stockists including Ssense and Shopbop, and collaborations with brands like MiuMiu. It revamped the staple 501 jeans and added a luxury feel to it, adds Kloppenburg.

Besides, Levi’s also remained more affordable compared to the designer brands it was now stocked alongside. This allowed the brand to grab market share from both high-end and mass rivals.

Growth plans

In the next five years, Levi’s plans to increase sales by 6 to 8 percent annually. It also aims to increase its adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) margin to 15 percent in 2027, from 12.4 percent in 2021. Of the projected $10 billion in revenue in 2027, $1 billion is expected to be generated by Dockers and Beyond Yoga.

Levi’s will drive this growth by strengthening its direct-to-consumer channel, which includes e-commerce and 3,000 standalone stores across the world. Currently, DTC accounts for 36 percent of all revenue. By 2027, the company expects that share to reach 55 percent, partly thanks to 400 new locations, mostly smaller-format, “NextGen” stores. About 100 of these stores will be in the US. Even so, Levi’s will continue to work with select multi-brand retailers and department stores, adds Berg

Differentiation strategies

Levi’s will also maintain growth by differentiating assortment through M&A or bolstering apparel categories outside denim and penetrating new markets. In terms of M&A, the company is focused on four categories: tops, womenswear, outerwear and footwear.It also plans to grow its women’s business on par with men’s, Berg says.