Fast fashion giant Zara has partnered Ader Error to be present in the South Korean metaverse Zepeto. Avatars don’t spend their entire lives strutting their stuff in jogging suits and Gucci sneakers. They are entitled to fast fashion outfits too. So users of the app can now buy virtual clothes and makeup for their avatars in the Ader Error X Zara store. The designs reflect the lifestyle of people whose personalities are shaped by their simultaneous experiences in the real world and the virtual one, demonstrating the new persona dreamt up by both brands.

South Korean metaverse Zepeto counts numerous partnerships with players in fashion and cosmetics, including Louboutin, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Nars, and Dior Beauty and with many celebrities such as Selena Gomez and the group Blackpink.

The concept of the metaverse may still be somewhat vague for many men and women around the world, but it's becoming harder to ignore this new world that is finding favor in many sectors, starting with fashion and beauty. The luxury industry is currently dividing its priorities between sustainabie and digital initiatives, and it could soon be a key player in these new worlds. Many brands, including Gucci, Balenciaga and Ralph Lauren, have already experimented with them, creating capsule lines and collections specifically designed for people’s virtual counterparts.

Four leading textile players, Reliance, Welspun, GHCL and Himatsingka, have placed bids for the bankrupt Sintex. While Reliance has teamed up with stressed asset buyer Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise for the Sintex bid, the other three parties have made solo offers.

Sintex is the second company under the Indian bankruptcy code for which Reliance has shown interest. It had previously bought Alok Industries in partnership with JM Financial Asset Reconstruction. Welspun has routed its bid for Sintex through Easygo Textiles. The proposed deal will help Welpsun in its backward integration strategy. GHCL’s move for Sintex comes after it inked a deal to sell its home textile business in Gujarat to Indo Count Industries. Dinesh Kumar Himatsingka has routed the Sintex bid in his personal capacity along with his son Shrikant and Himatsingka Ventures.

Sintex was admitted into the bankruptcy process by the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad, on April 6 this year on a plea by Invesco Asset Management over a Rs 15 crore default in payment of principal and interest of non-convertible bonds in September 2019. Sintex which weaves fabrics for global fashion brands like Armani, Burberry and Diesel, owes about Rs 8000 crores to financial and operational creditors.

Texcare will be held in Germany, November 9 to 13, 2024. This is held every four years and offers manufacturers of laundry and dry cleaning technology to meet with textile care companies. The focus is on innovations in the industry and on networking and exchanges with business partners. Due to the pandemic, the trade fair had to be suspended altogether in 2020-2021. The new date was chosen since it fits well into the international trade fair calendar. Also, it was favored by exhibitors and visitors because it is during the low season for the tourism industry, when most investments are made.

Technology suppliers use Texcare to launch their innovations, which they often develop just in time for the fair. The frequency of the fair therefore also goes hand in hand with the innovation cycle of the manufacturers. The appeal of Texcare for visitors and exhibitors alike lies in the bundling of innovations in one place, real machines and intensive exchanges with business partners. The product range extends from laundry and dry-cleaning technology, detergents and cleaning agents, linen and work wear to IT and logistics. The fair is being organized by Messe Frankfurt and its partners, VDMA Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies and the German Textile Cleaning Association.

South Africa will assist small and medium enterprises in the textile sector to address environmental challenges through sustainable business practices. This will be done by implementing eco-innovation and life-cycle approaches to improve circularity within the textile industry. The Innovative Business Practices and Economic Models in the Textile Value Chain – or InTex – project is being implemented by the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) working with a technical partner, Centre for African Resource Efficiency and Sustainability (CARES). The project is funded by European Union and managed by UNEP in Tunisia, Kenya and South Africa.

During the first phase of the project, a target of 10 companies will be assisted and at the end of the phase five case studies will be developed to share the impact and encourage further uptake of circular economy principles and innovative business practices in the sector. The whole point of this project is to promote innovative business practices and economic models in the textile value chain. The second phase of the project will see the implementation of the project being extended to other textile companies through hosting of training and capacity building workshops.

Small and medium units will benefit from the training workshops by learning about eco-innovation, product environmental footprint and circular business models and gain access to tools and guidelines that can help make their business more sustainable, circular, and resilient. Further, by being part of the project, they will also learn how to calculate and communicate the environmental footprint of their textile product and develop new business strategies and underlying business models by following the eco-innovative approach.

Burberry is branching out into clothing rental. The luxury fashion house has partnered My Wardrobe to offer some of its most iconic pieces, including the famous trench coat, for rent for a minimum of four days, and up to 14 consecutive days. And if the customer doesn’t want to give it up, it’s also possible to buy a given product used, at a more affordable price than buying it new. The choice covers everything from scarves to trench coats, T-shirts, dresses, pants and sneakers.

Rented clothing is gaining popularity among youngsters as this is the only way they can afford to buy high-end designer wear trendy clothes for events such as weddings, theme parties, photo-shoots and film making. Women’s online clothing rental and ethnic wear segments dominate the global market share. Men‘s end user and western clothing style segments are also growing at a robust rate.

Such initiatives help mitigate fashion’s impact on the planet. Whether it’s buying second-hand, recycling, repairing, upcycling or clothing rental, all these alternatives to traditional fashion help significantly reduce the fashion industry’s environmental footprint. Emissions from this rapidly changing sector are expected to reach 2.7 billion tons a year by 2030. Many fashion companies are now tackling the problem head on, offering new approaches to the way fashion is consumed.

MAS Holdings has ventured into adaptive clothing. The vision is to normalize the use of adaptive wear through universal design thinking, specialized garment construction and fastener placement, to unlock everyday clothing solutions for temporary and permanent conditions. To create truly meaningful and inclusive clothing which further enhances ease of dressing and delivers greater comfort to adaptive users, MAS will leverage specialized garment construction to provide sensory-friendly finishes, employ magnetic or auto-aligning or auto-locking fasteners, accessory pouches, wicking fabric for sweat absorption and discrete closures.

MAS plans to develop specially-constructed garments – particularly intimates, swimwear, active wear and recovery wear – facilitating independent dressing for those with varying disabilities. These include amputees, wheelchair users, those with muscular dystrophy or mobility impairments, as well as people undergoing physical rehabilitation or recovery post-injury or surgery.

At present, adaptive wear – clothing incorporating the unique needs of consumers with disabilities into their designs and construction – is offered only by a handful of major brands and retailers. Even the limited designs on offer can lack visual appeal.

MAS is one of South Asia’s pioneers in intimate wear manufacturing. Founded in 1987, it is a fully integrated, sustainable apparel manufacturer, employing over 1,00,000 people across 16 countries. MAS spans 57 manufacturing plants with established design locations placed in key style centers worldwide. MAS provides design-to-delivery solutions to leading global apparel brands.

Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics will take place in China, March 9 to11, 2022. This is aimed at supporting the global textile and apparel industry in business recovery, information exchange and making progress on combating climate change. Intertextile Apparel is the ideal trading platform for global exhibitors to meet with genuine buyers who are looking to place orders. The entire textile supply chain can be found under one roof for buyers to conveniently source the products they are looking for. Exhibitors and visitors will also be able to catch up with the latest industry developments via Intertextile Apparel’s trend forum, seminars, panel discussions and product presentations, which will cover topics on design and trends, market information and business strategies, sustainability Issues, and technology and solutions.

Intertextile fairs have remained a consistent source of business trading for the industry over what has been a challenging couple of years, with both the spring and autumn editions successfully taking place in 2021. The resilience of Intertextile Apparel, the global apparel textile flagship, has been mirrored by the strong recovery of the Chinese market, with the two progressing together in the rapidly changing climate. China’s textile industry has continued to expand and has experienced growth in terms of production, revenue and profit in the first three quarters of 2021.

Lycra has launched an online customer portal that empowers brands, retailers, and garment makers to connect to a global network of mills on a single platform. The company is known for its solutions in the apparel and personal care space. Staying competitive in retail means moving at lightning speed and the portal leverages Lycra’s connectivity across the apparel and personal care value chains and offers a one-stop seamless solution to rapidly move customers’ ideas from concept to launch.

The digital experience allows brands and retailers to connect with mills and manufacturers in a virtual capacity without losing the inherent advantages of an in-person connection. It allows users to source fiber solutions using its digital fabric library, directly connect with mills to begin or expand on business relationships, learn about new capabilities, and virtually peruse product catalogues. Its platform features a knowledge center, where users can access exclusive content such as webinars, white papers, and videos covering new fiber technologies, industry trends, marketing, and sustainability, among other topics.

Customers can scout marketing and merchandising solutions through the portal, inclusive of brand assets and garment hang tags. And requests can be submitted for trademark license agreements and fiber certifications. Lycra’s long-term goal is to get to a fiber made with post-consumer content.

International Sourcing Expo Australia will be held from November 15 to 17, 2022. The event is aimed at helping businesses and industries reinvigorate their global sourcing activities and build sustainable alliances with production partners. The premise is to bring companies together for commerce, connection and education.

The expo is for anyone looking to improve or diversify their supply chain and product offering, compare production capability and costs, produce their own label or start a new sourcing business. International Sourcing Expo will be co-located with Footwear and Leather Show and China Clothing Textiles Accessories Expo. Businesses can connect on an international scale and in a dynamic trade show environment rich with sourcing opportunities and potential production partners, as well as education and industry insights. Thousands of apparel, textile and footwear industry leaders from Australia and the Asia Pacific will converge for the event. The impact of the pandemic has affected and disrupted many businesses and supply chains. The event will be relevant more than ever before to businesses who seek to source and cooperate internationally.

International Sourcing Expo is being organized by the International Exhibition and Conference group, the seminal producer of global sourcing events in Australia. From 2023 the show format will be expanded to include additional dates and product categories.

Save Our Souls Clothing has implemented the Kornit Storm HD6 Lite system for just-in-time production of its alternative custom apparel.

Save Our Souls, based in the UK, offers print services to a community of artists driven by a love of tattoos, music, art, and life, with a growing catalogue of designs applied to a variety of apparel at the time it is ordered, ensuring minimal inventory waste and carbon footprint.Kornit Digital is a worldwide market leader in sustainable, on-demand, digital textile production technologies.

Adding the Kornit Storm HD6 Lite has provided Save Our Souls with consistency, quality, and reliability to print, pack, and ship most orders in a single day, offering customers an exceptional experience that keeps them coming back.Replacing a fleet of smaller, low-capacity digital direct-to-garment (DTG) machines, the Kornit system has enabled the company to scale its business upward with minimal time and labor needs.Kornithas enabled Save Our Souls Clothing to produce higher quantities with a single operator while eliminating pretreatments and heat presses from the routine. This has empowered Save Our Souls to launch the Buy That Merch platform for artists, broadcasters, and musicians to produce and sell their own merchandise directly, without the fees associated with existing online marketplaces.