There was a preference for bespoke or customized clothing in India long before ready-to-wear apparel made inroads in the domestic market. However, the entry and growth of international and domestic fashion brands in the 1990s gave rise to the ready-to-wear clothing culture in the country. Yet, there are many who prefer made-to-order clothes. They demand a better quality and fit in their garments over traditional ready to wear clothes that could often be ill-fitting. This is once again giving rise to the organized custom clothing sector in the country with a wave of new business erupting on high streets across metros.

Memorable shopping experiences for customers

Rather than just a product, these new companies focus on offering a memorable shopping experience. They offer a great alternative to ready-to-wear clothes through their adoption of a technology-focused lean methodology to test products, get user feedback and engage with influencers.

Rapid advancement of fashion technology is also enabling fashion firms to upgrade their supply chains, develop digital channels and increase revenues. The pandemic has compelled these companies to adopt change and technology innovations for more customer enhancement.

AR/VR and online marketplaces emerge

Many of these companies are exploring digitalization in the form of VR/AR configuration, 3D design and graphics, virtual fitting and trial rooms, digital Apparel, AI buyer prediction testing, etc. They are also employing sustainable materials. Others are developing a bespoke clothes online marketplace to help buyers select fabrics, accessories, and styles, as well as designers, tailors, and manufacturers.

Most of these platform use AI and data analytics to scan and analyze millions of data on different social media platforms. This helps fashion marketers estimate customer demand and trends accurately. With the help of data, companies can schedule their product releases. 3D software and apps enable customers try new clothes Buyers can also use the 3D design on the platform to take their photos and post them on the app. These photographs help buyers generate a 3D model to enable customers try on new clothes from their home. They can also use other apps including bespoke apparel design in 3D view, quick order tracking with ERP, confirming orders via WhatsApp using a 3D engine, and a virtual QR textile sample book, etc.

Another is uploading the photo of their preferred clothes from any source and identifying the most appropriate product from the brand’s website with the aid of visual AI, natural language processing, and tailored search engines.

Solutions for contact-free shopping

AR and VR systems can also serve customers for contact-free purchasing in retail stores. They can provide 3D e-commerce experience to help compare products from anywhere. Fashion startups across India are trying to build new technologies either internally or through collaborations. They aim to provide customers a lifetime shopping experience through technologies like 3D modeling and digital body measurement tools.

Some companies are expanding their collections to incorporate buyers’ traits and personal preferences and provide unrestricted customization.

New technologies to boost mass-customization

Despite the emergence of regional and internet players in India’s ready-to-wear apparel market, demand for customized clothing is set to grow. Introduction of new technologies is likely to encourage mass customization and personalized production. This will boost customized clothing trend which is set to growth at steady rate.

One of India's leading manufacturers and exporter of value-added specialty polyester filament yarn (SPFY) and embroidery and laces, Pioneer Embroideries (PEL)can cross turnover of Rs 414 crore by FY 24 from Rs 226 crores in FY22, according to a research report by Profit Mart Securities.

The report said that on the bottom line level, the company is expected to record a PAT of Rs 13 crore in FY22, which is expected to bounce back to Rs 16 crore in FY23 and Rs 21 crores in FY24. Thus on a conservative basis, PEL should record an EPS of Rs 5 for FY22.

PEL has its manufacturing facility for SPFY at Himachal Pradesh and runs three embroidery and laces manufacturing facilities at Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Tamil Nadu. It owns two strong brands, Silkollite in the SPFY segment and Hakoba , a heritage brand, in the retail segment for embroidered fabrics, garments, salwarkameezdupatta (SKDs) and sarees.

ManojPatodia, Chairman, The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL), urged the government to remove Customs duty on raw cotton and include Made ups in the scheme for duty-free imports of specified items that have been introduced in the Union Budget 2022 for textile garments which will lead to significant growth in exports of Made-ups.

Patodia said, India’s exports of cotton textile products such as made-ups ((including home textiles), fabrics and yarns reached $13.95 billion from April 2021 to February 2022, surpassing the Government's target of $ 12.50 billion.

Exports of Cotton textiles have exceeded the target by 102 per ent in 11 months itself .The extension of the RoSCTL scheme for Made-ups and Garments for three years till March 31, 2024, and covering of the entire value chain of textile products under the RODTEP scheme, helped make the sector make competitive, he added,

Knitwear exports from Tirupur grew to $4 billion this financial year, says Raja Shanmugham, President, TirupurExporters Association. Exports from Tirupur contributed one per cent to the total exports worth $400 billion from the country, he adds.

Shanmugham also appreciated Prime Minister NarenderModi for granting rebate on State and Central taxes and levies (RoSCTL) for three years for the garment sector, remission of duties and taxes on export products (RoDTEP) for other industries, additional 10 per cent credit under emergency credit-line guarantee scheme (ECLGS), continuance of interest equalisation scheme with retrospective effect from October last year.

One of the largest apparel manufacturers in the world, SAE-A Trading Co., has implemented Coats Digital’s GSDCost solution in all 41 of its production facilities, across ten countries. The solution will enable the company to establish international standard time benchmarks, based on accurate Standard Minute Values (SMVs), to optimise processes, drive increased efficiency and productivity across its entire workforce, and enable SAE-A to provide increased transparency around its global labour costs to support its own -and its brand partners’ social responsibility goals.

Established in 1986, SAE-A, is one of the world’s largest fashion manufactures, operating in Korea, the USA, Indonesia, Vietnam, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Myanmar, Haiti and Costa Rica, and is headquartered in Seoul. From yarn-production through its fabric mills to retail operations in Korea, SAE-A continues to invest in technology and new innovation to become one of the few apparel manufactures able to capitalise on a complete vertical-integration of its supply chain. With a focus on high standards of quality and a first-in-class workforce, SAE-A is a key supplier to some of the world’s biggest retailers, including: Target, Walmart, Kohl’s, Gap, Mast and Carhartt. SAE-A holds itself to stringent environmental standards and actively supports sustainability, fair wages and educational/medical programmes across the local communities of its global operations.

The government plans to extend the validity of its Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) for the textiles and garment sector beyond March 31, until a new program, is finalized.

Thegovernment is firming up a Rs 16,635-crore program to promote integrated manufacturing facilities and technology adoption in a big way to enable India to regain its lost share in the global market. The new scheme will be called the Textiles Technology Development Scheme (TTDS).

The Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) is supposed to mobilize fresh investments of about Rs 95,000 crore in the textile and apparel sector by FY22 and create 3.5 million new jobs. However, until FY21, it could incentivize projects worth only Rs 46,861 crore, while the subsidy disbursement stood at Rs 3,378 crore.

Under the extant scheme (ATUFS), garments and technical textiles firms are provided a 15 per cent subsidy on capital investments, subject to a ceiling of Rs 30 crore for each investor. The remaining segments, such as weaving, processing, jute, silk and handlooms, get 10 per cent, with a cap of Rs 20 crore.

US’ apparel imports from Ethiopia surged 97.70 per cent to $42.76 million in January 2022 as per the latest OTEXA data. Import of cotton apparels by Ethiopia surged 95.18 per cent Y-o-Y to $27.04 million, while import of MMF apparels grew by 100.57 perb cent to $15.06 million. Kidswear was the topmost product category imported by the US buyers from Ethiopia in January 2022. Imports of kidswear surged 64,39 per cent to $8.04 million while import of women’s slacks surged by 145.45 per cent to $6.64 million.

Exports of men’s cotton trousers also surged by 166.08 per cent to $6 million, despite the US suspended Ethiopia from taking AGOA benefits last year in November. In all, Ethiopia’s garment exports to the US surged by 18 per cent Y-o-Y to $260.73 million in 2021

The value of textiles and apparels imports by the US increased by 28 per cent Y-o-Y in January 2022 to $10.19 billion. As per a CC Group report, volume increased by 38.1 per cent Y-o-Y to 8.59 billion sq m. The value of US’ apparel imports surged 36.6 per cent in January 2022 to $7.54 billion and volume grew 22.5 per cent Y-o-Y to reach 2.614 billion sq m.

The volume of US textile and apparel imports from China surged by 12 per cent Y-o-Y to 3.13 sq m in January 2022 while value surged by 33 per cent Y-o-Y to $2.9 billion. Similarly, the value of US apparel imports from China rose by 47.1 per cent Y-o-Y to $1.91 billion while imports volume surged by 25.3 per cent to 1 billion sq m. The average unit price of US apparel imports was still in a large rise cycle despite seasonal factors causing several ups and downs in some months.

Competition regulator in the UK, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) plans to publish a list naming and shaming greenwashing fashion businesses. A non-ministerial government department in the UK, the CMA strengthens business competition and prevents anti-competitive activities in the UK. Currently, it is investigating claims made by UK’s fashion sector and aims to soon publish the list of its worst offenders.

As per an Apparel Resources report, the CMA had warned companies last year they had time until 2022 to ensure their environmental claims complied with the law. It published the Green Claims Code last October to help businesses communicate their green credentials while reducing the risk of misleading shoppers. The Green Claims Code has been written for all businesses – from fashion giants and supermarket chains to local shops. The Code reveals, up to 40 per cent green claims made online are likely to be misleading and thousands of businesses might be breaking the law and risking their reputation.

Data published by the NPD Group shows, sale of straight-leg jeans are surpassing skinny jeans in the US market. In 2021, straight-leg jeans recorded one-third or $3.3 billion of women’s jeans market revenues. Flare and boot-cut jeans also gained traction as trend for comfort apparels accelerated, says Maria Rugolo, Analyst, NPD Group.

However, the older generations born between 1946 and 1964 are stuck to skinny jeans styles and accounted for 12 per cent of all women’s skinny jeans sold in the US last year, a three-share-point increase from 2019. Though initially millennials protested against the takedown launched by Gez TikTokers of skinny jeans, by August, retail analytics provider Edited noted the highest sellout of mom jeans. Edited’s report indicated baby boomers were partial to skinny and straight styles, while Gen Z counterparts was much more willing to experiment.

The report further showed, denim is a top fixture in the wardrobes of customers across all demography. The post-pandemic urge to return to socializing has further fueled the popularity of the category, the report adds. It estimates overall revenue from sale of women’s jeans increased 9 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019. It attributed the spike to consumers’ return to a more normal schedule, with offices, schools and social venues lowering or eliminating their restrictions.

Brands are launching new collections to offer new fits. The industry’s success has inspired labels like contemporary women’s brand Ulla Johnson and Australian label Emma Mulholland on Holiday to branch out of their standard offerings and introduce their first denim collections.