LVMH group’s luxury multibrand e-tail site 24S will launch a menswear collectionin January 2020. The collection will feature labels like Balenciaga, Fendi, Gucci, Off-White and Acne Studios, as well as exclusive items by Dior and Celine, two labels also owned by Bernard Arnault's luxury goods giant.

Introducing menswear was a part of the group’s strategic plan ever since it launched its operations. The brand will offer an unrivalled product range and service, by showcasing the best in fashion to its customers from all over the world. 24S, which changed name last May, dropping 24 Sèvres, the name it started with, isn’t the only luxury multi brand e-tailer to introduce menswear. Last March, My theres a hired Australian manager Chris Kyvetos, making him its first purchasing director for menswear

H&M is backing greener commercial transport initiatives in a bid to become more environment-friendly.

The Swedish fashion conglomerate has a collaboration with the transport giant Maersk to champion its new, carbon-neutral ocean product -- a biofuel-blend that incorporates fuels such as wasted cooking oil that has been tested to propel vessels, showing promising results in reducing the emissions from ocean shipping.

H&M aims at achieving a fossil-free commercial heavy transportation system by 2050. Its ambition to become climate positive by 2040 requires cooperation and engagement from all parties in the supply chain. The group wants to use its size to be a force for good and enable scaling innovative solutions, such as the carbon neutral ocean product, for a greener commercial transport.

Luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren plans to set science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2020 and 100 per cent renewable energy targets by the end of this year. In May PVH, the parent company behind Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, unveil Forward Fashion, the evolution of its corporate responsibility strategy that aims at reducing its negative impacts to zero, focusing on eliminating carbon emissions by using more renewable energy sources and cutting waste to zero by avoiding landfill solutions.

The Indian textile industry has hit roadblocks on exports. The most likely reason for this may be the industry’s focus on select markets/zones — where it has been unable to compete on the price front with FTA countries — rising manufacturing cost, inability to compete with low-cost destinations, or limited exposure to blended apparels.

This pressure on the price front has pushed the apparel sector to concentrate on retaining business rather than on growth or exploring new markets. The country’s textile and apparel sector has found it difficult to compete with Vietnam and China, as manmade fiber is expensive in India and the industry is ill-equipped to shift to blends and still relies on cotton.

Growth in the apparel sector’s exports will solve India’s twin challenges of job creation and greater participation of women in the textile industry. A fiber-neutral policy, single lower GST rate for all textile products, a scheme to promote large-scale apparel manufacture, providing more support to small and medium exporters, and speeding up India’s foreign trade agreements would go a long way in boosting apparel exports. Also highlighting the concept of the green process (zero-liquid discharge in processing) and green factories across the country would help in branding. A Cotton Technology Mission would help curb the volatility of cotton prices, which are currently at the highest level.

India has unveiled a special package for the domestic apparel sector. The aim is to encourage the domestic apparel sector to compete with multinational brands. Additional incentives will be provided under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund. Section 80JJAA of the Income Tax Act will be relaxed. Fixed term employment will be introduced for the apparel sector. State and central taxes/levies embedded in manufacturing will be rebated.

India’s traditional textile and synthetic materials cater to different domestic market segments. Traditional textiles and fabrics are primarily cotton-focused and cater to niche markets. In India, import of synthetic fabric is approximately 30 per cent of domestic production of traditional textiles. The share of imported apparel with respect to the domestic apparel market in India is nearly 1.4 per cent.

There have been challenges for the export sector over a period of time and one big challenge is credit. There has been a sharp decline in credit to the export sector. To reduce transaction costs for exporters, there may be multi-modal transport, which will help enhance efficiency in the logistics sector. Each logistics company will be rated by a regulatory organisation, which will be created by the industry. A e-wallet mechanism may be introduced to effectively address the woes of exporters who have been complaining of delays in refund of taxes under the GST regime.

Rivatex East Africa was a sick textile factory. The Indian company was awarded the contract for supply, installation, testing and commissioning of plant, machinery and equipment. In less than three years of signing the line of credit agreement, Rivatex has been upgraded to post an almost tenfold increase in its capacity.

Once fully operational, the factory is expected to revive Kenya''s textile industry -- by generating direct employment as well as helping increase incomes of cotton growers in 22 counties, along with strengthening of forward and backward linkages.

India and Kenya have bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors such as education, health, industrial and infrastructural development, culture and others. Lakshmi Machine Works provides spinning technology to Indian textile mills. The company is a leading textile machinery manufacturer and has brought out various innovative products during the year and worked towards its three pillars – automation, digitisation and sustainability – with a greater focus on after sales and service. The after sales and parts and components business have grown significantly during the year. Exports to markets like Bangladesh, Kenya and Vietnam have doubled. Currently exports sales contribute to more than 40 per cent of the total revenue.

Brother’s GTX direct-to-garment printer can print bigger and bolder designsthan previous models on a multitude of fabric types.

It has unmatched vibrant print quality and impressively fast printing speed that guarantees more output which leads to better business. It’s low maintenance, thanks to its automatic wet capping station and white ink circulation system that minimizes clogged nozzles. It’s also environment-friendly as its new formulated inks are water-based, Okeo-Tex Eco-Passport certified, and CPSIA compliant, which make it safe to print on children’s clothing. The GTX’s innovative replaceable ink pouches make use of less plastic, allowing users to reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Brother’s Luminaire Innov-ís XP1 is the company's flagship sewing, embroidery and quilting machine with exclusive features. Features include Stitch Vision Technology for virtually perfect stitch positioning and more precise previews via an intelligent projection of light – preview, audition and edit designs and stitches directly on the fabric. It also has 65 square inches of workspace, a large embroidery frame with a new spring lever release, powerful surround LED lighting, large touch screen display with capacitive technology, camera detecting buttonhole feature and Enhanced My Design Centre, including a new echo quilting feature. The PE-DESIGN 11 is the latest personal embroidery and sewing digitising software from Brother.

"Marzoli, a Camozzi Group company is offering intelligent spinning systems at ITMA.2019. The company has developed MRM (Marzoli Remote Maintenance In collaboration with Camozzi Digital. This is the first patented software platform in the world that analyses the big data of machinery processes detected as mission critical, to continuously monitor operations. It reduces machine downtime, increase the lifespan of parts and enables effective and prompter maintenance."

Marzoli, a Camozzi Group company is offering intelligent spinning systems at ITMA.2019. The company has developed MRM (Marzoli Remote Maintenance In collaboration with Camozzi Digital. This is the first patented software platform in the world that analyses the big data of machinery processes detected as mission critical, to continuously monitor operations. It reduces machine downtime, increase the lifespan of parts and enables effective and prompter maintenance. Remote control, on the other hand, is made possible by YarNet: a highly innovative software, thanks to which users can easily manage the entire Marzoli spinning process directly from their PC, quickly querying each single machine with ease, a real value-added technology for customers aiming to maximise productivity and profitability.

Other innovative products on show include Brain Box: the new patented Marzoli software with an integrated APP, developed entirely in-house, which significantly improves plant performance. In fact, the data emerging from the tests conducted shows a 5.5 per cent increase in productivity, an 8 per cent increase in efficiency, and 1.5 per cent energy savings. Installation is fast and simple, with just four steps: apply the sensors to the individual machines, connect the sensors to Brain Box, download the APP, and activate the monitoring function for the detection of any issues.

Another main attraction at ITMA is the innovative 24,000 spinning module by Marzoli, whichenables customers to achieve a significant reduction in TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) thanks to a 4 per cent cost savings for conditioning, a 10 per cent reduction in investments in the square footage of production sites and a 9 per cent cost savings for internal logistics.

Mathias Zidda, a master graduate of Institutfür Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University (ITA), won the ITMA Research & Innovation Excellence Award for his 3D braiding machine, which was rebuilt according to the Industry 4.0 standard. During his master thesis Development of a gear-driven 3D rotational braiding machine and its control concept, Mathias Zidda was supervised by ITA doctorate candidate Martin Kolloch.

Fritz P. Mayer, President of CEMATEX and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), handed over the prize money of EUR 10,000 with certificate to the lucky winner at ITMA 2019 in Barcelona, Spain.

The 3D braiding machine consists of an existing conventional mechanical system. It has now been digitised and rebuilt according to Industry 4.0 standard. With the help of the digital control, for xample, 3D reinforced ceramic turbine components can be manufactured as prototypes and subsequently produced in series. Together with the company ark industrie, from Aachen, and 2C-Composites, from Heinsberg, the control system was completely redesigned so that the machine can be monitored and operated from anywhere.

The ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award was created by CEMATEX to recognise the joint efforts of the global textiles industry to promote corporate sustainability through innovative solutions and outstanding industry-specific research. The award comprises two categories: Industry Excellence Award for textile and apparel manufacturers, and Research & Innovation Excellence Award open to Master’s students.

More than 30 companies and organisations from Québec’s textile and apparel sectors are participating ITMA 2019, the most important international exhibition for technological innovations in manufacturing that is being held in Barcelona, Spain, from June 20 to 26, 2019. This initiative, led by TechniTextile Québec, the CTT Group, the Fashion Cluster mmode and the Workforce Sector Committee in Textile (CSMO Textile), will enable these companies to learn about the latest technological advances.

Dany Charest, General Manager of TechniTextile Québecsays “Many Québec company leaders are preparing to invest heavily in implementing advanced technologies that integrate digitalisation to increase their productivity and meet the growing demand for new technical products. The purchase of high-performance equipment will allow companies to maintain their value-added manufacturing activities here in Québec, and to continue their growth.”

This initiative – being implemented in partnership with the ACCORD initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI) – represents a first concerted action for the industry and its members. “A team of experts from the CTT Group, a technology transfer leader specialised in research, development and analyses of technical textiles and advanced materials, will guide companies to choose equipment and textile materials that enable them to stand out here and internationally,” saysValerio Izquierdo, Vice-President, Textile Laboratories and Expertise, CTT Group.

Marie Eve Proulx, Junior Minister for Regional Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine regions says, “the participating Québec organisations will benefit from this exceptional event in order to strengthen their international competitiveness and establish future partnerships for Québec, firmly focused on Industry 4.0 and new technology trends.”

The industry will benefit from an exclusive and attractiveexhibition stand strategically positioned at the heart of Fira de Barcelona, Gran Via(CTT Groupbooth#UL-D108). This space offers an exceptional platform for holding meetings and collaborations as well as for highlighting the know-how and expertise of Québec companies.

CSMO Textile, the organisation responsible for the development of labour skills, is also accompanying the delegation to gather intelligence about the technologies thatwill enable it to identify the skills of the future and adjust its tailor-made training curriculum.

The Québec textile industry, comprising 420 companies, specialises in the manufacture of textile, textile-based apparel and knitwear products. The industry, which produces more than 50 per cent of Canada’s textile, stands out because of the wide range of its capabilities. It has been one of the key sectors of Québec’s economy for more than 150 years and continues to excel through the remarkable advances it has achieved in the development of value-added technical materials. The textile industry employs more than 12,000 people.

ITMA 2019, which opened its gates on June 20, 2019 in Barcelona, willprovide a first-hand look at the technology proposals of roughly 360 Italian machinery manufacturers. Italian exhibitors will occupynearly 30,000 sq. metersof the total space at the exhibition.

Alessandro Zucchi, President of ACIMIT, stated, “Italy’s textile machinery industry will play a leading role, with a large number of participants at the largest international showcase for textile machinery products. This confirms the vitality of our industry, especially with regards to the qualitative and technological levels that Italy knows how to express.”

Italian textile machinery and digitalisation

The digitalisation of textile production processes is an indispensable response to new trends in the requiring faster time-to-market and just-in-time production.

Zucchi states, “Our manufacturers aim to provide a suitable response to clients who are facing difficult challenges in developing new production processes and business models within the textile industry. Our products ranges are increasingly compliant with 4.0 technologies.”

There are numerous examples of such types of technologies in Italian machinery at ITMA. Among these include the intelligent management platforms, on-board machine sensors for data acquisition allowing the monitoring of both the machine and products, predictive maintenance, for a reduction in costs obtained through less downtime, and augmented reality applications supporting the operator in the various production phases.

Government support

The Italian textile machinery sector is supported by the Italian Government, through the Ministry of Economic Development and Italian Trade Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalisation of Italian companies.

Roberto Luongo, General Director of Italian Trade Agency states, “This year’s ITMA trade fair exhibit in Barcelona is once again an essential international showcase for Italy’s textile machinery industry. Textile machinery represents the excellence of Made in Italy industrial technology, with an acute propensity for internationalisation in its entrepreneurial fabric, requiring innovative, global and high level outlets to consolidate its business. For this reason, we have lent our support to the entire textile machinery chain with a significant investment in the promotional program and, in collaboration with ACIMIT, supporting all companies exhibiting at the trade fair with a structured activity plan, aimed at enhancing the keywords of the 2019 edition: sustainability, digitalisation and technology.”

Among the various initiatives supporting the participation of Italian textile machinery manufacturers at ITMA is a communication campaign in industry specific magazines and portals, as well as the organisation of a press conference during the fair.