Apparel manufacturers hope, the current growth in apparel exports will sustain for the next few months with new orders coming in despite the Omicron wave in Europe and the United States.

As per a Business Standard report, retailers in these two major destinations continue to witness high footfalls even in the post-Christmas lean period as consumers have kept on releasing pent-up demand for clothing. The retailers are also getting 6 per cent higher prices because of increasing freight costs.

In the first seven days of 2022, apparel shipments grew by 32 per cent to a little over $869 million year-on-year, according the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), citing data from the National Board of Revenue.

Receipts in 2021 and 2020 amounted to $659 million and $677 million respectively, according to Faruque Hassan, President, BGMEA

FazlulHoque, Former President, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), adds, the new variant of COVID-19 will not have any impact on exports until lockdowns and business shutdowns are enforced in export destinations."

The garment sector maintained around 28 per cent year-on-year export growth on average in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Data from the Export Promotion Bureau shows, RMG exports in December amounted to $4.04 billion while the half-yearly export in July-December of the current fiscal year reached $19.90 billion.

Hassan hopes, apparel exports are able to reach $7-$8 billion by the end of this fiscal year.

A renewed appetite for denim and the new designs dominating the industry have led to a huge surge in jeans imports by the US.

As a report by Sourcing Journal shows, jeans imports by the US surged by 29.57 percent to $3.32 billion year to date in November compared to a year earlier

Data from the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA) shows, US’ imports from Bangladesh rose by 34.06 percent in the 11-month period to $699.9 million, while imports from Mexico increased by 41.67 percent increase to $424.74 million.

Imports from Pakistan surged by 56.68 percent rise to $356.92 million, from Egypt by 63.93 percent to $158.81 million, Nicaragua’30.78 percent to $116.52 million, Sri Lanka by 43.45 percent to $65.11 million and from Turkey by 61.54 percent to $62.37 million.

Imports from Vietnam registered a modest growth of 6.51 percent to $364.34 million while imports from China, surged by 16.53 percent gain in the period to $355.22 million, and those from Cambodia rose by 19.05 percent to $155.68 million.

Imports from second tier suppliers including Madagascar, India, Colombia, Macau, Guatemala, Italy and Japan also surged in the first 11 months of 2021 compared to a year earlier. Nations with declines or minimal increases in the period were Lesotho, , Indonesia, Jordan, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

On the other hand, jeans imports from Western Hemisphere countries rose by 39.63 percent to $779.85 million in the period.

Moving over from women’s wear, fashion brands flocked to menswear in 2021. Most expanded their menswear collections during the year, inspired by rising fashion sense amongst men. 

Athletes influence menswear collections in 2021

Athletes were the focus for most fashion brands during the year, as per a Glossy report. Most brands launched new collections for athletes during the year. For instance, Frame relaunched its seven-year old menswear range. The brand aims to grow its men’s collection to 50 per cent of total business from the current 10 per cent, says Nicolas Dreyfus, CEO. The range is being used to outfit NBA and NFL players for the game day.  

Jens Grede, Co-Founder, believes athletes can greatly influence fashion. This year, he collaborated with Tom Brady on a men’s fashion brand, called Brady. The brand will make its debut in mid-January. The new Pinterest Predict 2022 report also backs the notion that men’s fashion is greatly influenced by athletes. It says, searches for “pearl necklace men” increased 7X in the year ending in June 2021. Besides Gen Z, men form Pinterest’s fastest-growing user base. 

In response to men’s rising interest in fashion, brands are launching new menswear styles, sometimes, indirectly partner retailers. For instance, the New York label Commission launched a fall menswear collection while Paris-based Gauchere launched a collection in September. Both collections were inspired by online luxury retailer Ssense whose half customers are men. 

Men’s apparels grow by four times over women’s

Based on the knowledge that around 50 per cent of men’s sales come from women’s customers buying for their partners, contemporary brand Sanctuary launched a menswear range in September, notes Ken Polanko, CEO. The brand partnered retailers Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s for the collection. 

Men’s apparel wear growth outpaces women’s, says the NPD Group. From January to November 2021, men’s apparel sales grew four times than women’s apparel. The category grew 12 per cent, compared to the same time period in pre-pandemic 2019. 

Men plan wardrobe refresh 

Men are re-assessing their fashion needs, says Kristen Classi-Zummo, Fashion 

Apparel Industry Analyst, NPD Group. They are planning to refresh their pre-pandemic wardrobes by testing new brands, she adds.  For these customers, the market is filled with new brands and retailers. Nili Lotan, who owns a namesake brand, will launch her menswear collection in summer 2022. Similarly, luxury brand Erdem will launch a new menswear collection next year and so will The Outnet. 

This year, mall retailer New York & Company launched a menswear collection in August while Louis Vuitton opened its first standalone men’s store in Miami. Tracy Margolies, Chief Merchant, Saks also dedicated the first floor of its new store Barney at Saks in Greenwich, to men’s accessories.

The final calendar published by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French fashion’s governing body, shows that 16 brands are scheduled to stage physical events at the upcoming Paris Couture Week with Dior and Chanel holding two separate shows.

Valentino, which showcased its collection in Italy and online during the last three season also returned to the fashion week. Other brands that will participate in the event include Azzaro Couture, Alexis Mabille, Stéphane Rolland, JulienFournié, AlexandreVauthier, Viktor & Rolf, Elie Saab, Yuima Nakazato, ImaneAyissi and Yanina Couture. In addition, there are seven physical presentations and six digital-only shows.

Gaultier’s show will feature a collection designed by Glenn Martens. The Belgian designer behind Paris-based Y/Project, and also the creative director of Diesel, follows Sacai’sChitose Abe as the house’s second guest couturier.

The Paris Couture Week will make a return from January 24 to 27 ever since Giorgio Armani cancelled his privehalte couture spring 2022 show due to the surge in COVID-19 infections in Europe.

French AIDS charity Sidaction subsequently postponed its fundraising gala to July 7, and it is understood that most events have been called off.

GiambattistaValli has opted for a digital presentation that is scheduled to go live at 7:30 p.m. Paris time on Jan. 17, the eve of Men’s Fashion Week. The shows will comply with reinforced safety protocols. In addition to travel restrictions, which are regularly updated, the French government plans to upgrade its existing health pass to a vaccination pass on Jan. 15.

Timberland has launched Timberloop- its product take-back program. The” policy encourages customers across the US to return any Timberland apparel, footwear or accessories to give them a new life.

Through this program, Timberland aims to refurbish a few of its products and sell them on a resale site later in 2022. It will also disassemble other used products and reuse a few of their parts. The program will include markets in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region later this year.

As a financial sweetener to encourage the brand’s customers to participate in this circularity program, customers who participate in the Timberloop plan will score 10 percent off their next purchase.

Susie Mulder, Global Brand President, says the program is a huge step as it work towards its vision of a more equitable and green future.

Timberland has also furthered its investments in regenerative agriculture while striving to ensure social impact can occur across its global supply chain in nations such as Haiti.

To be held from February 06-09, 2022 in Birmingham, UK’s most diverse, vibrant, and exciting wholesale marketplace for home, gift, and fashion, Spring Fair has extended the deadline for its sought-after Little Black Book packed full of information and the 1000’s of exhibitors set to showcase new products.

Featuring a handy map at the front of book giving a bird’s eye view of the show’s layout, the Little Black Book comprises an A-Z listing of all the showcasing brands, and all the new additions for 2022. It will also list all the product ares including the Moda Catwalk, The Club lounge and Curated Meetings, the Inspiring Retail Stage, the heads up on the new Power of One pledges, and the Sustainability, Made in Britain, and Garden Gift & Home Product Trails.

A host of retailers including John Lewis, TJX Europe, McElhinney’s Department Store, Goody2Shoes, GASP, Boardwalk, Gormley, Applause Store Merchandise, Denby Retail, Paper Tiger, Riley's Garden Centre, Bedding Heave, Burton Blake, By Nina, Draycott& Charles Interiors, Evie&me Interiors, Farm & Garden Supplies, Four Seasons Trading Four Sisters, Fragonito, Frankly, Fy!, Freitaslaf Net LTD, Geek Retreat Newcastle, Kings Road Company, Luxury Gift in a Box, M.E.G. Cards and Gifts, Midcounties Coop Food, Mix.co.uk, SapproUK Limited, Silverstone Interactive Museum, Vh Cosmetics, Yorkshire Willow, WallacesHomevalue& Garden Centre, etc have already registered to visit Spring Fair

Boosted by a demand from apparel producers Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Europe and the United States, Thailand’s textile exports are expected to grow by 15 per cent.

However a shortage of workers in the Thai Sewing and textile factory has led to a surge in Cambodian migrant workers retuning to Thailand in search of employment.

Cambodia does not have a textile industry to support the garment sector. This has boosted textile exports from neighboring Thailand that are skyrocketing and are expected to grow by 15 per cent. Thai textile exports were also boosted by demand from other apparel producers such as Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Europe and the United States, as well as eco-friendly product trends.

YuttanaSilksarnvitch, Chairman, Thai Garment Manufacturers Association, said major brands are ordering products made from recycled textiles, organic cotton and other eco-friendly materials.

Nike has topped the list of most valuable apparel brand across the globe in 2021. The company achieved a $30.44 billion valuation in 2021It made more than $44 billion in sales. It trounced other brands by a mile in getting to this spot.

The list was formulated by FinancePR.com which said, Nike’s North American business is said to be the most lucrative one. The region contributed over $17 billion of the firm’s 2021 revenues. Again, the US market is its most significant one, accounting for about 40 per cent of its global earnings.

Moreover, Nike generates income from three significant segments. These are the apparel, footwear, and equipment segments, of which the footwear segment is the largest and most profitable of them all. It earned the company about $28 billion from sales in 2021.

Nike trounced other reputable brands by a mile in getting to that spot. For instance, the second-placed brand GUCCI attained a valuation of about $16 billion. Louis Vuitton came in third at about $15 billion. Nike’s closest competitor in the sports segment, Adidas, closed at slightly above $14 billion.

VF Corporation has appointed Nicole Otto to the position of Global Brand President, The North Face®. Otto joins VF following a successful 16-year career at Nike and will succeed Steve Murray, who is retiring and returning to the UK. The leadership transition will be effective June 2022. Otto will report to VF Chairman, President and CEO, Steve Rendle, and serve on VF’s Executive Leadership Team.

Otto most recently served as Vice President of Nike Direct North America from 2018 through May 2021. In this role, she oversaw Nike’s digital experiences and full fleet of inline and factory stores throughout the North America region. Otto was responsible for integrating the company’s physical and digital retail ecosystem to deliver online-to-offline services and experiences that forge deep connections with consumers. Under her leadership, Nike launched new flagship and Nike Live experiences in New York City and Los Angeles and began its expansion of owned retail across the U.S.

Otto’s appointment is part of VF’s succession plan in response to Steve Murray’s planned retirement this year. Murray was appointed Global Brand President, The North Face®, in September 2020. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Group President for VF’s Americas Region and earlier as President of VF’s Action Sports Coalition and Global Brand President of Vans®.

Colorado-based footwear maker Crocs Inc has raised economic outlook for 2021. The company’s expects revenues, to grow by 67 percent during the year as compared to the earlier estimate of 65 per cent on account of 42 per cent surge in Q4 sales.

As per a Fashion Network report, Crocs’ revenues grew by 77.2 per cent to 1.7 billion in revenues compared to $974.4 million in the same nine-month period in the previous year. The company expects its full year revenues to reach $2.31 billion compared with $1.38 billion in 2020.

Last month, Crocs also purchased privately owned Italian footwear label Heydude for $2.5 billion. Through this acquisition, the company aims to achieve $5 billion in revenues by 2026,

In 2022, excluding Heydude, it expects revenues to grow by 20 percent compared to 2021. Meanwhile, its full year pro forma revenues for Heydude are expected to be approximately $700 to $750 million.

Last year, Crocs revealed a five-year growth framework to achieve revenues of $5 billion by 2026, including a focus on digital expansion, growth in the Asia market, innovation in product and more.