Fast Retailing, the Japanese operator of the casual clothing chain Uniqlo, has narrowed the gap against Zara, the global apparel leader in market value, as investors applaud the company's major presence in China.

While apparel sales are down sharply in the U.S. and Europe, Zara's main markets, as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll, the decline is relatively mild in Asia where Fast Retailing is focused on. Their share prices appear to be factoring in this reality.

Fast Retailing had a market capitalization of 6.53 trillion yen ($60.9 billion) last week, data from QUICK FactSet show. This compares with Inditex's market cap of around 9.17 trillion yen.

The market capitalization of Zara parent Inditex was once roughly 300 per cent larger than that of Fast Retailing as recently as summer 2017. Now the gap is about 40 per cent.

Tortona Design & Fashion has launched a new website for the textile and apparel sector. Called Ready to show online, the website has built a buyer/user base over the years via 40 sessions of IntertexMilano and the Ready to Show events in Milan, Italy since 2001. In addition, this list includes 30,000 contacts of prospective buyers worldwide.

The Ready to Show website will also include extensive webinars and events with international speakers and prestigious sponsors are programmed from July 2020. Each participating country will have its own page and all relevant national fashion boards and associations will be involved.

For example, Focus on Italy section will be not only considering Italian fashion brands currently selling globally but will also show the worldwide production partners for Italian Fashion. In the section AREA ITALIA, it will also show made in Italy production partners both for Italian brands and for all top end private labels willing to collaborate with Italian makers for medium-high target of clients, tailoring, MTM, Be-spoke, etc.

The services section will include, Q.C., forwarders, links to special NGOs working on sustainability, innovative tech companies as well as free-lance designers or fashion schools

Completely user-friendly, the site will allow all countries, even the smallest in the fashion business, to have visibility within a dignified presentation not always available during traditional trade shows. Buyers will have the ability to work with ease and without fighting crowds devoting time to searches and exhibitors.

The demand of textile value chain, including yarn, fabric and apparels is likely to contract by 25-35 per cent in the financial year 2021 due to ongoing economic slowdown following lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, finds a study by India Ratings and Research.

The demand of yarn, fabric and apparels is set to remain muted throughout first half of the financial year 2020-21. The FY21 demand growth would typically depend on discretionary spending, and thus a gradual recovery in household income over the second half of the current financial year between October 2020 and March 2021.

Normalcy in revenue across the textile value chain may return by the second half of the financial year 2022, on the back of reopening of the retail space, a normal monsoon, the festive and wedding season. The demand revival will also depend on government measure to incentivise exports, the study forecasts.

Weak demand of value added products like yarn, fabric and apparel is bound to impact raw material prices. The study forecasts a correction in cotton prices over 2QFY21 from the levels of Rs 95 per kg as of May 2020 due to a low demand and high holding levels at Cotton Corporation of India. However, holding stocks could only provide a short-term relief. Some of the inventory is expected to be exported, given the advantage of lower prices and rupee depreciation.

Shein expanded its range with a new collection called Shein Premium. The fashion e-commerce store intends to move upmarket with this collection. Made up of close to 175 items, the collection is designed as an ‘essentials’ line featuring solid colours and neat tailoring.

The retailer launched in 2008 and is known for its low prices, charging on average between €5 and €25 for garments from its main collection. For its new range, prices will range from €20 to €50. Shein says the collection uses “quality materials and refined tailoring”. Product descriptions of the ‘Premium’ products show that polyester is widely used and several garments are made of cotton.

With a strong social media presence, Shein’s target audience is women aged between 16 and 35 and the brand also caters to men and children. The brand follows the main current fashion trends, inspired by fashion shows and international brands.

Manny Chirico, chairman and chief executive officer of PVH Corp said the company is well-positioned to face the future. The company prides itself on its inclusivity and views its more than 40,000 associates as its PVH family. It does everything it can to drive the connectivity of its associate base, especially in a backdrop like this that can feel so isolating.

He explained that the purpose of the corporation is to drive fashion forward for good, and one of the best ways to do that to fight for racial equality within the walls of the company, throughout the industry and in society at large.

For the last several months, PVH has felt the devastating effects of the coronavirus across its business, in every region of the world, said Chirico. The company immediately responded with an action plan that prioritized the health, safety and well-being of its associates across its offices, stores and warehouses. It also implemented measures to protect the health and financial wherewithal of the company, from securing new financing to cutting every expense possible, proactively managing its inventory levels and re-directing resources to its digital channels.

Supima, the non-profit trade association that owns the Supima trademark and promotes 100 percent U.S.-grown American Pima cotton, has become an implementing partner with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) for the upcoming 2020/2021 harvest season.

In partnership with BCI, Supima will help to establish a greater footprint in the market for BCI-licensed Supima cotton, with the goal of attaining BCI licensing for all Supima cotton growers. This initiative will also act as a bridge for the American Pima industry to meet the demand from brands and retailers for Supima cotton with a verified third-party sustainability license.

Supima and BCI both support the U.S. cotton industry’s development of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol program and look forward to an alignment of programs for a unified sustainability platform based on data, impact and authenticity.

Supima president and CEO Marc Lewkowitz said the company continues to strive to lead in the premium natural fibers segment through responsible and authentic efforts such as origin verification for all Supima cotton utilizing forensic sciences with Oritain and support of sustainability efforts through the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and the Better Cotton Initiative.

Manny Chirico, chairman and chief executive officer of PVH Corp said the company is well-positioned to face the future. The company prides itself on its inclusivity and views its more than 40,000 associates as its PVH family. It does everything it can to drive the connectivity of its associate base, especially in a backdrop like this that can feel so isolating.

He explained that the purpose of the corporation is to drive fashion forward for good, and one of the best ways to do that to fight for racial equality within the walls of the company, throughout the industry and in society at large.

For the last several months, PVH has felt the devastating effects of the coronavirus across its business, in every region of the world, said Chirico. The company immediately responded with an action plan that prioritized the health, safety and well-being of its associates across its offices, stores and warehouses. It also implemented measures to protect the health and financial wherewithal of the company, from securing new financing to cutting every expense possible, proactively managing its inventory levels and re-directing resources to its digital channels.

As lockdowns ease globally, LVMH’s Louis Vuitton is preparing to open its first men's flagship store in Tokyo.

The modernistic flagship itself covers two storeys and in line with the need for flexibility and experiences in modern luxury retail, as much as a third of the entrance floor is a pop-up space. The brand will use this area as a place to hold exhibitions and other special events.

The new store offers the entire Louis Vuitton men's line-up as well as special collections across accessories, footwear and fashion. It will also include jewellery, and items that are exclusive to the store.

It will be interesting to see what sort of visitor traffic the new location enjoys in its early months. Tokyo should, at this point, have been buzzing, not only with its usual stream of Chinese tourists and those from further afield, but also with people visiting for the Tokyo Olympics. These were scheduled to take place in late July and in August but this mega event has now been postponed until next year.

Lavie, a premium lifestyle brand launched in 2010,s set to create new benchmarks in functional fashion with the launch of Lavie Sport.

Aimed at the style-conscious millennial, the range will feature a unisex catalogue of 102 everyday backpacks, duffels, and carryalls. Dynamically blending fashion with function, this new range is set to redefine the category and complement any outfit, with a wide selection of colours and hues to choose from. Each piece will have an array of features, with utilitarian details such as front quick access pockets, anti-theft zippers, mesh back padding and multiple spacious compartments found throughout the collection. With the best of designs for both men and women, functional fashion has found a new home.

Lavie first established itself as one of India’s leading handbag brands with the launch of its inaugural collection in 2010. A stylish footwear collection under the brand name Fé Lavie was launched shortly thereafter. In the years since it has grown rapidly, and expanded into a wide array of segments. As the nation’s number one handbag brand, Lavie products are presently sold in 14 states across India.

Fortum and Metsa have collaborated with Business Finland to create a R&D programme with pulp fibre from renewable and sustainable sources as its node. The four-year programme, called ExpandFibre, aims to develop ground-breaking technologies and smart business concepts required to convert straw and wood pulp fibre into novel bioproducts, like textile fibres.

The R&D programme has been granted €20 million from Business Finland. ExpandFibre will be part of a global innovation ecosystem. The ExpandFibre partners Fortum and Metsä want to encourage members of the ecosystem to significantly accelerate their efforts within the circular bioeconomy. Members of the ecosystem can apply for financing from Business Finland or from the EU, according to a press release by Metsa.

ExpandFibre is a unique collaboration scheme to be launched during the summer of 2020 and extending until August 2024. The programme focuses on seven research themes which include textiles, biocomposites, packaging materials, other new fibre products, hemicellulose, lignin, and sourcing and fractionation of straw.

The value chains of interest to the ExpandFibre programme are all based on renewable and sustainable raw materials, namely straw and Northern wood. Importantly, ExpandFibre is challenging other actors of related value chains to accelerate their efforts in building a world-leading innovation ecosystem together and, subsequently, enabling new bioproducts and green businesses to reach commercial maturity.

The second iteration of Kingpins24 set for June 23-24, will provide the denim industry with a fresh set of digital content to help navigate—and establish—the new normal.

The digital trade show, presented by The NPD Group, just announced its program and lineup of speakers, which will include “Godfather of Denim” Adriano Goldschmied, Kingpins founder Andrew Olah, and United Nations Office for Partnerships chief of office Lucie Brigham, among others representing different aspects of the denim industry.

Highlights include “Circularity in Design,” an expert panel scheduled for June 23 at 10:00 a.m. EDT with Conscious Fashion Campaign founder Kerry Bannigan, Calik Denim product development engineer Cem Ozan Sari, Orta Anadolu sustainability specialist Sebla Onder, and denim designer and consultant Malin Ekengren.

Another expert panel will look at the future of Cradle to Cradle fabrics, and feature Artistic Milliners CEO Omer Ahmed, G-Star Raw sustainability expert Adriana Galijasevic, Cradle to Cradle vice president for strategy and development Christina Raab, and Rivet editor Angela Velasquez, on June 23. The Kingpins24 event will also feature interviews with designers, including Trinidad Garcia III of Trinidad3 Jeans and Rivet on June 24.

On June 25, Denim Dudes’ Amy Leverton will present the complete Fall/Winter 2021 Kingpins Denim Trend Forecast.