Aubade and Elie Saab have collaborated on lingerie and nightwear collections.

Aubade is a French lingerie brand. Elie Saab is a luxury fashion house, which has diversified into other products like watches, home collections and jewellery.

Launching in July 2023, the collaboration will include the My Desire lingerie collection and the Whimsical Affair nightwear range that plays on the seductive ambience of Elie Saab combined with the feminine signature of Aubade.

The collections will be infused with shimmering golden lurex embroidery and sheer tulle and deep black silk satin for the nightwear. The line will also be available in two colour palettes, naughty black, with deep black and golden accents, and love affair, an elegant nude rose to evoke a naked lingerie effect. The Elie Saab plus Aubade collection will include a wireless triangle bralette, underwired triangle bra, a balconette bra, a plunging padded bra, a corset, and matching bottoms. In addition, the collection will feature suspenders and two bodies, as well as a nightwear collection with a camisole, a negligee, shorties, long silk pants and a kimono.

The Elie Saab plus Aubade collaboration will be available at Aubade’s boutiques and online, as well as at selected multi-brand stores, from July 2023.

As 2022 winds down to its last fortnight with festivities in the air, the India’s apparel exports sector can’t participate in the joy. A justifiable concern is spreading across the industry as the EU continues to grapple with the Russo-Ukraine war theatrics and the US displaying caution in its non-essential spending – the scene is set for plunging business in retail. The continually shrinking exports figures is the cause for many a headache as the near future doesn’t hold much promise.

Declining figures cause concern

October 2022 saw India’s goods export contract 16.5 per cent, a first in 19 months. October saw some serious decline - readymade garment exports fell to its 28-month low of $988.7 million. Cotton yarn exports took the biggest hit with a decline of 46 per cent to $ 719 million. Tiruppur, India’s largest knitwear export hub recorded a 39.8 per cent drop, whereas in August and September it fared slightly better with 17.4 and 33.1 per cent contractions respectively. Textile and readymade garment export as a whole saw a contraction of 8.5 per cent to $18.3 billion in the first half of fiscal year 23, way below the 17.8 per cent growth in overall merchandising exports.

Another sector that faces damaging exports decline is gems and jewellery. Actually, the fall of textile and readymade garments and gems and jewellery exports had begun months ago and affected lives of these labour-intensive industries. These statistics are telling about India’s exports in the near future as India has been eroding its competitiveness particularly in the textile and readymade garments in the last few years. At the moment, the ambitious target of increasing shipment to $100 billion in the next five years may just turn out to be a dream.

As a member of the Textile Export Promotion Council declared, the current fiscal year has been the worst experience for the country’s textile value chain and that the record high prices of domestic cotton made it worse. Apparently, India, for the first time in history, has had to import cotton yarn in the months of June and July.

Cotton a bigger challenge

The situation for India’s cotton yarn can best be described as an unpleasant roller-coaster ride. Although domestic price may have fallen in October, the all-time high prices in previous months have had a deep impact in spinning. Moreover, the step down in prices has not been that significant between Rs 68,000 to 70,000 per candy is still high. The secretary of the Gujarat Spinners Association stated that spinning mills in the state are losing Rs 15-20 per kilo of yarn and are running below 60 per cent capacity. This situation has brought a tight situation for the 600-odd spinning mills in Gujarat where over 60 per cent of the total production is for exporting.

Alongside cotton yarn woes, the knitwear sector is suffering hard as well. Tiruppur, one of the largest Asian exporting hubs, is witnessing the impact of slowdown in the US and the EU which accounted for 70 per cent of its exports. From $0.329 billion in August, the fall in October stood at $0.264 billion. New orders have ceased and current pending orders have been withdrawn as the buyers claim unsold stocks. Tirupur prayed that Thanksgiving and the upcoming Christmas will see movement of unsold stocks in the US and the EU, opening up the possibility of fresh orders.

Canopy, the global not-for-profit environmental protection forum in association with independent third-party auditors Preferred by Nature and SCS Global Services publicly released the first CanopyStyle Audits featuring man-made cellulosic fibre producers and a dissolving pulp supplier. Canopy, dedicated to protecting forests, species, and climate, has collaborated with over 900 companies to develop cutting-edge environmental policies that transform unsustainable supply chains, spark innovative solutions, and protect the planet’s remaining ‘Ancient and Endangered Forests’. “Canopy is very pleased to see more and more producers join the CanopyStyle initiative and follow through to get audited,” said Amanda Carr, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Canopy. “Canopy’s doors are wide open to all global producers of man-made cellulosic fibre who want to collaborate to forward Ancient and Endangered Forest conservation, as well as the scaling up of low-impact Next Generation fibre solutions.”

The extensive audits spanned the global manufacturing of man-made fibres sourced from ancient and endangered forest and other controversial sources. The audited companies were found to be low risk

Participating cellulosic-fibre producers

Jilin Chemical Fiber Stock is a holding subsidiary of Jilin Chemical Fiber Stock. Founded in 1960 and put into operation on August 1, 1964, the listed company specializes in viscose fibre. Its main products are viscose filament and viscose staple yarn. The designed production capacity for filament fibre is 80,000 tons and for the staple fibre is 125,000 tons. The company is one of the top 10 enterprises in China's chemical fibre industry.

Xinxiang Chemical Fiber was established in March 1993 in China and is a subsidiary of the Xinxiang Bailu Investment Group. The company has two mills with 200,000 tons of production capacity, 80,000 tons of which is man-made cellulosic fibre (MMCF) and the rest spandex.

Kara Fiber is a new lyocell production facility based in Gaziantep, Turkey and part of Kara Holding, which focuses on production of nonwoven textiles, yarn, plastics, and man-made cellulosic fibre. Kara Fiber started production of Lyocell (brand name Ecocell) in October 2021 and is still in the testing phase while already selling Lyocell fibre.

ENKA manufactures endless viscose yarns (multi-filament yarns) from pure cellulose under the trademark ENKA® Viscose. Located in Industriecenter, Obernburg, Germany since 1924, it’s the largest chemical fibre manufacturing site in Western Europe. An additional textile treatment plant is located in Gorzow, Poland.

PT. Rayon Utama Makmur also known as RUM Indonesia is a rayon or viscose staple fibre manufacturer. It produces viscose staple fibre (VSF) for the textile industry by using dissolving pulp as input material and has 80,000 tons capacity in a year.

Kelheim Fibres GmbH, headquartered in Kelheim, Germany, is a producer of viscose specialty fibres. Its fibres under GALAXY®, DANUFIL®, VISETA® and VILOFT® trademarks, are used to produce textiles, hygiene, and medical products, specialty papers as well as technical and household products.

Cosmo is an affiliate of The Gores Group and was established to restore, restart and operate the former Weyerhaeuser Specialty Cellulose Mill. Cosmo Specialty Fibers produces lyocell, viscose, acetate, ethers, MCC, and nitrocellulose dissolving pulp. Products are made from Pacific Northwest USA softwoods, primarily Douglas Fir and western hemlock.

Tirupur’s apparel exports grew ten per cent in November 2022. This follows a fall in exports in August 2022, September 2022 and October 2022 of 14 per cent, 24 per cent and 34 per cent.

So the positive growth in November is quite encouraging and further growth is expected due to the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement entered into with Australia and the free trade agreement with the UK. Tirupur’s exports of knitwear and garments to the United Kingdom are growing by 20 per cent year on year.About 20 per cent of the knitwear hub’s annual exports of knitwear and garments go to the United Kingdom. And with the India-United Kingdom free trade agreement in the offing, exports from Tirupur could see a ten per cent growth.

Indian firms employ more than 1.1 lakh people in the UK. Britain is trying to continue its hold on Indian businesses post-Brexit by wooing them with technological partnerships in high-tech areas such as low-carbon automobile engines, graphene engineering and aerospace. Britain is interested in expanding its footprint in the financial sector in India and in projecting London as the first choice for Indian companies raising global finance, so a deal involving financial markets is important for Britain.

Moda will feature a competition for footwear design students. The project brief is based on the Quagga, a cross between a horse and a zebra that was native to South Africa and is now extinct.

The Quaggahad adapted its size, camouflage and natural survival capability with its surroundings. The Quagga evolved through specific conditions, so students have been tasked to create footwear that also evolves through certain conditions.

The concept allows students to push their design boundaries and explore niche footwear theories and innovations. All 16 of the students have been invited to display their innovative designs at Moda and from nine finalists the winner will be announced at an awards ceremony. Visitors to the show will also be given the opportunity to vote for their favourite design and the design with the most votes will receive the Buyer’s Choice Award.The initiative is aimed at showcasing young talent and the future of footwear design.

Talented designers will get the opportunity to show their work to a global audience. Fashion footwear trade show Moda will be held in the UK, February 5 to 8, 2023. Moda will present the industry’s most sought-after brands including Fly London, XTi, Refresh, Carmela, Chatham, Mustang, Alpe, Thomas Blunt, Lunar, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, and many more.

Migrant workers at Tirupur, India are out of a job. Several units in this textile city of Tamil Nadu have shut down as a protest demanding an increase in yarn prices.The city which was once buzzing with activities is now in lockdown mode.

There are around 6200 dyeing, knitting, stitching, and garment printing units in and around Tirupur. There are around 12,000 migrant workers especially from Orissa who are employed in various industries including the textile industries in the district. Tirupur’s apparel exports fell 21 per cent in October 2022 from October 2021. Of this, knitwear exports, which Tirupur is known for, fell almost 40 per cent. And this was the third straight month knitwear exports contracted. Average capacity utilisation at garment exporting units in Tirupur is 30 per cent now.

The US, EU and the UK account for 85 per cent of shipments from Tirupur. With high inflation in these economies, clothing is not a priority for consumers now. Further, with buyers saddled with huge stocks, they are postponing delivery. This has resulted in stocks piling up at the producers’ end. So Tirupur has a huge inventory of finished goods as brands are asking for deferred shipments. With buyers in the EU and the US holding high inventory, and expectations of better sales during the Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas, exporters are expecting orders to revive only by January.

Pakistan’s textile exports dropped 18 percent in November 2022 compared to the corresponding month last year. The July to November period of fiscal year 2023 witnessed a five percent reduction in textile exports against the same period in fiscal year 2022.

Exports of products like cotton cloth, knitwear, bedwear and towels decreased while readymade garments maintained the 2022 level. However, exports were up four percent over November 2021’s level. Cotton cloth exports dropped by 25 percent in November when compared with the same month last year. The decrease stood at nine percent over the previous month’s exports. However, knitwear exports were up two percent, bedwear two percent, towels 16 percent and readymade garments 18 percent when compared with October.But knitwear exports declined 12 percent over the corresponding month of last year followed by bedwear 29 percent and towels 12 percent in comparison with November 2022. Exports of readymade garments were the same as recorded in November 2021.

The textile sector is Pakistan’s top exporter with an over 60 percent share in the country’s total exports. In fiscal year 2022, total textile exports were at a record high after an increase of over 25 percent when compared with fiscal year 2021.

LVMH plans a new factory in Italy producing Louis Vuitton bags and other leather accessories. The workshop will be the largest in Italy entirely dedicated to making these products for Louis Vuitton.

LVMH is the world’s largest luxury goods group. For the first nine months of 2022, revenues of LVMH were up 28 per cent compared to the same period of 2021.

Europe, the United States and Japan benefitted from the solid demand of local customers and the recovery in international travel. Asia (including China) saw a lower level of growth over the first nine months of 2022, though growth in the latest quarter accelerated there due to the partial easing of health restrictions. The wines and spirits business recorded a revenue growth of 23 per cent. Growth was particularly strong in Europe, the United States and Japan. The fashion and leather goods business recorded revenue growth of 31 per cent. Many new products were unveiled, in leather goods as well as in watches. With a revenue growth of 19 per cent, the perfumes and cosmetics business maintained its highly selective distribution strategy. The watches andjewelry business group recorded revenue growth of 23 per cent. In selective retailing, revenue growth was 30 per cent in the first nine months of 2022.

Crystal Denim plans to bring digital twins of its speciality denim fabrics to users of the VStitcher 3D design platform via a new partnership with Browzwear. The integration will give designers and manufacturers of denim garments greater ability to visualise designs in realistic 3D, which enables quick and easy creative exploration. The true-to-life digital garments also allow greater collaboration through product development while their accuracy supports faster, more confident decision-making.

subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Crystal, a global manufacturer which delivered 410 million pieces of apparel to some of the world’s top brands in 2021, Crystal Denim has been working with Browzwear since 2008. By 2019, the denim division had converted to 100 per cent digital workflows for co-creation projects with customers and reduced sample production by over 75 per cent during the initial development stage, significantly reducing turnaround times, the consumption of materials and energy and water consumption.

Browzwear has been an important partner to Crystal Denim as both strive for a net-zero emission future, not only for their companies but for the industry overall. In an industry as challenging as fashion, Crystal Denim’s willingness to share tools and technologies with others has conveyed a competitive edge.

The estimated cotton production currently in India is 341.91 lakh bales. The estimated consumption is 311 lakh bales.

The performance of Indian cotton spinners moderated in the second quarter due to inflationary pressures and uncompetitive prices. However, absolute profits are projected to remain healthy, supported by a higher scale of operations.

For the first half of the financial year, inventory levels for most players have come down with the cotton stocks from the previous harvest season getting extinguished and sharp volatility in cotton prices affecting the buying power of spinners.And with higher raw material prices exerting cost pressures, operating margins remained flat.

In the second quarter revenue and margins dipped for Indian spinners amidst macro headwinds, while for the apparel segment revenue and margins remained flat, with recessionary conditions in key markets. Most players faced a decline in inventory levels in the second quarter after cotton stocks from the previous harvest season started to reduce and cotton prices saw a sharp volatility, resulting in players becoming cautious on buying. A recessionary environment in key export markets affected discretionary consumer spending leading to lower export sales. For the first half of the fiscal year, inventory levels for most players had reduced. This was in line with large retailers who focused on reducing inventory due to a weak demand scenario and recessionary pressures in key exporting regions.