Children’s wear fair Pitti Bimbo will be held in Florence, Italy from January 11 to 13, 2022. The event will offer an extensive panorama of this highly diverse industry, with about 170 leading brands exhibiting, of which 81 will be coming from outside Italy. Among them, will be established and niche brands alike, providing a comprehensive international overview of children’s products, from essentials to sportswear, from directional fashion to everyday wear, from footwear to accessories. In parallel, several adult fashion labels will be presenting their children’s wear lines in their own stands at Pitti Uomo, which is being held simultaneously.

Pitti Bimbo’s exhibition area has been extended to include multiple pavilions, and the layout is different from the June session. The 100 per cent Bambino section will showcase leading and long-established children’s labels, offering a wide range of wardrobe choices for all ages, from babies to teenagers: luxury and tailored items, sportswear and urban wear. The Pitti Bimbo section is dedicated to avant-garde children’s wear and children’s lifestyle products, showcasing young, pioneering brands distinctive for their constant search for innovation, their materials and style.

Both visitor and exhibitor numbers will be up, compared to the last edition, thanks to targeted promotional initiatives to attract major international retailers as well as new, emerging e-tailers.

Techtextil North America and Texprocess will be held in Atlanta from May 17 to 19, 2022. These shows are the largest united platform for technical textiles, nonwovens, machinery, sewn products and equipment. Visitors can gain access to a vast array of products, technologies and solutions across verticals including fashion and apparel, interior design and upholstery, military/protective products, automotive and aerospace, medical and more.

With a diverse group of exhibitors serving the 12 major end-use sectors for technical textiles and nonwovens, Techtextil represents the entire spectrum of applications for technical textiles and nonwovens. The highly technical sessions will be led by experts in the fields of fibers and polymers, nonwovens, nanotechnology, biomedical engineering and more, and will provide a deeper look into the research driving textile innovation and product development for various industries.

Texprocess is the largest B2B platform in the Americas for sewn products, equipment, and software for the clothing and textiles processing industry. For three days, suppliers will come together with leading manufacturers, business owners and industry professionals from all over the world to explore new prospects and discuss the latest innovations. A symposium will provide expert-led panel discussions examining all levels of the supply chain. These topic-specific deep-dives will address the challenges, trends and technologies affecting the sewn products industry, and provide insights into the future of sewn products manufacturing.

American department store chains delivered strong results for the fiscal third quarter. Even though they are grappling with surging costs and snarled supply chains heading into the holiday shopping season they’re rerouting shipping to less congested ports to get goods onto shelves and are paying higher wages and expanding benefits for its workers amid a tight labor market.

Sales at Macy’s stores rose 35.6 per cent. The company booked strong sales of home goods, fragrances, jewelry, watches and sleepwear. Categories like dresses, men's tailored clothing and luggage continue to recover. Macy’s added 4.4 million new customers, a 28 per cent increase over 2019. Macy’s was able to increase inventory 19.4 per cent compared with last year's third quarter and will launch a third-party marketplace that will expand its assortment of product categories and brands.

For Kohl’s sales rose 15.5 per cent. The launch of Sephora shops at Kohl’s is getting a good response so far, with 25 per cent of those customers new to the retailer. They are also younger and more diverse. Overall inventory is down 25 per cent compared to 2019; women’s inventory is down even more. The company’s activewear is enjoying strong sales. Both companies have raised their annual financial outlooks.

Prada’s sales for the third quarter grew 18 per cent, this marks an acceleration from the eight per cent growth rate of first half year. Prada is aiming at a 40 per cent revenue growth. The Italian luxury group will do this by boosting online business and profitability of physical stores.

The family-owned group, which in recent months has been reaping the fruits of a strategic revamp, targets an operating profit of 20 per cent of total sales, more than twice the 2019 level. It also aims to double the proportion of online sales to 15 per cent of retail revenues over that timeframe. The group's strategy focuses on direct distribution to increase store productivity and online penetration. It had close to zero debt at the end of the third quarter, and profitability had further improved over the period. Last year, due to shop closures and lack of tourism, Prada’s sales fell to €2.4 billion. The global health emergency last year interrupted two years of sales recovery at Prada, the result of a revamp plan focused on boosting e-commerce and sticking to full-price sales. Like the rest of the luxury sector, the group started to see the first signs of a rebound last summer.

The United States is looking to increase its cotton exports to Bangladesh. To strengthen US foothold in Bangladesh's market, US exporters and their representatives put an emphasis on resolving issues, such as the obligation to fumigate US cotton after imports, not being able to send cotton-laden ships directly to Bangladesh in the absence of a deep seaport, a hike in shipping costs and other logistics costs. A three-member delegation from Cotton Council International (CCI), a non-profit trade platform that promotes US cotton, is currently visiting Bangladesh as part of the country's effort to further increase the US cotton export to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is the world’s second largest importer of cotton, a key clothing raw material. The country would like US-cotton made garments to be given duty-free access to Bangladesh’s markets. US exporters have been asked to send cotton directly from transshipment ports, such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Singapore, so that shipments can reach within 30 days.

Bangladesh’s spinning industry is heavily dependent on imported cotton. Many factories are now making new investments in setting up spinning facilities because of growing demand for yarns in Bangladesh, leading to the inclusion of about two million new spindles to the existing production capacity in the next two years. So the country will have to import an additional two million bales of cotton. Mills and manufacturers in Bangladesh trust US cotton because of its quality, sustainability, transparency, innovation and value. Meanwhile, as per BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon, they have unofficially demanded that US-cotton made garments be given duty-free access to the country's market.

Pitti Uomo will be held in Milan from January 11 to 13, 2022. The menswear show expects 600 exhibitors and buyers from the world’s leading multibrand retailers and department stores are expected. The organisers have opted for prudence and will feature again the streamlined concept tested last season when Pitti Uomo staged a comeback to physical session after being on hold for a year due to the pandemic. They are also planning to adopt the same health protection measures which were in place at the end of June, with six stations offering Covid testing and strict monitoring of all access, which will be possible only for Covid-pass holders.

Pitti Uomo believes the 101st edition can mark a new departure, and has chosen as seasonal theme and slogan ‘Pitti Reflections’, playing on the twin meaning of the verb to reflect both mirroring and thinking. The focus will be on how the traditional men’s wardrobe has evolved, with its most classic items, suitably reinterpreted, making a remarkable comeback in-store. Futuro Maschile will be part of the Fantastic Classic section, dedicated to formal wear, placed alongside two other key areas of Pitti Uomo: Dynamic Attitude, showcasing sportswear brands, and Superstyling, which will host emerging labels, with a specific sub-section called sustainable style dedicated to young designers big on sustainability.

VF Corporation has published its third Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (Idea) annual profile. Covering the company’s fiscal year 2021, the report defines the key strategic pillars that serve as the drivers and benchmarks for VF’s Idea goals.

By 2030, VF Corp intends to achieve gender parity at the director level and above globally, and 25 per cent BIPOC (black, indigenous and other people of color) representation in the US at the director level and above. During fiscal year 2021, VF saw growth against both goals, with those who identify as women comprising 41 per cent of the director and above population globally, and BIPOC associates representing 16 per cent of the director and above population in the US.

VF Corporation is a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories. At the end of fiscal year 2021, the overall representation of women globally across all levels of VF’s workforce was 55 per cent. Similarly, BIPOC associates within the US across all levels, was also at 55 per cent. In addition, during fiscal year 2021, one-third of the company’s board of directors identified as women and 17 per cent identified as a member of the BIPOC community.

Cotton production in India during the current season is projected to reach 362.18 lakh bales, as per estimates of Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption.With an opening stock of 73.20 lakh bales and imports of 10.50 lakh bales, total availability this season is likely to be 445.88 lakh bales as against 485.66 bales the previous season. The demand from textile mills, including small-scale units, is estimated at 322 lakh bales, and exports are pegged at 45 lakh bales. Exports in the 2020-2021 season were almost 73 lakh bales.

Last season’s consumption by textile mills was lower than the estimate due to Covid. Hence, the opening stock for current season may be higher. Cotton position is expected to be comfortable this season. Textile mills may wait for bulk arrivals to pick up and not rush into purchases now. A candy of the Shankar-6 variety of cotton is priced at Rs.66, 200.

Out of India’s total cotton exports, 40 per cent goes to China. Similarly China has a 28 per cent share in India’s yarn exports. In cotton and cotton yarn, Vietnam is the third largest importer for India. India’s cotton exports may witness a temporary slowdown as the spread of coronavirus is likely to curtail demand for the fiber.

Consumers are craving new clothes that bring joy after a year of lockdowns, says Lyst Year in Fashion report. Searches for bright, bold colorful pieces, specifically in hot pink, orange, yellow and green, spiked 191 per cent; demand for bold jewelry, specifically colorful, beaded, rainbow and resin, has soared as much as 545 per cent. Short hems were one of the fastest-rising trends in 2021. Searches for mini skirts and dresses jumped 221 per cent year on year. Global searches for high heels and disco heels have spiked 233 per cent. Influencer events also returned and impacted fashion searches and purchasing behavior.

Another return to near-normality was the migration back to offices worldwide in the second half. Many workers turned to a more relaxed, smart-casual version of the corporate-appropriate uniform. Demand for oversized suits has jumped 109 per cent compared to last year, while wide-leg pants were in high demand, increasing by 87 per cent.

Among the most wanted products are Levi’s loose fit jeans, the Rolex Submariner watch, Bottega Veneta’s mini Jodie bag, Birkenstock Boston clogs, the Thom Browne black pleated skirt, Nensi Dojaka’s asymmetric mini dress, the Prada crochet bag, the Jacquemus La Maille Pralù cardigan and the Pangaia hoodie.

For the third quarter Asics recorded a 29.8 per cent rise in sales. Asics is a Japanese sports apparel and footwear producer. The sports equipment brand’s e-commerce sales during the quarter recorded a 12 per cent rise in North America, 47 per cent in Europe, and 23 per cent in China.

Sales of performance running category grew 38 per cent due to strong sales in all regions and the core performance sports business jumped 29.7 per cent. Sports style sales escalated 19.5 per cent while apparel and equipment sales climbed 18.6 per cent with strong sales in Japan, North America and Europe. Moreover, Onitsuka Tiger’s sales grew 19.5 per cent due to strong sales in China and southeast and south Asia.

Asics along with No New Folk Studio is developing smart running shoes that give runners real time feedbacks on the changes in their foot movement. No New Folk specializes in the design of artificial intelligence applied to sports shoes. Foot movement data, including number of steps /distance, cadence, and angle of ground contact, are collected and together with biomechanics expertise are analyzed to provide runners feedbacks on gait analysis, including step length and foot strike pattern.