IHGF was held in New Delhi from February 18 to 22, 2019. This is the world’s largest congregation of handicrafts producers. The fair provides exporters a world class marketing platform to showcase their creativity and craftsmanship to the international buying community.

Indian handicrafts exhibitors showcased designs and styles of home, lifestyle, fashion, furniture and textiles under one roof. Among the exhibits were houseware, table, kitchen and hotelware, fashion jewelry and accessories, furniture, home accessories, home textiles, furnishing and floor coverings, lamp lighting and accessories and decorative and festive décor.

Buyers came from the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, the UAE, China, Canada, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey and Hong Kong. Buyers from new countries like Albania, Togo and Barbados were added this year. IHGF witnessed various activities during the five day extravaganza such as brain storming seminars, fashion shows and awards distribution.

Among the brands at the show were Trendsbee, Nicobar, Gemporia, FabnRugs, Tommy Hilfiger, Sleepwell, Raymonds, Godrej, FabIndia, DLF Brands, Goodearth, Westside, Purple Turtle, Oberoi Hotels, Pepperfry, Paytm and India Bazar. During 2018-19 Indian exports of handicrafts grew 13.26 per cent. The country’s earnings from handicrafts exports have grown from Rs 387 crores in 1986-87 to Rs 23,029.36 crores in 2017-18.

Premiere Vision was held in France, February 12 to 14, 2019. The highlighted the strength of its leadership and influence on the global creative fashion industry. This season, the show once again fulfilled its role as a catalyst for the creative fashion sector. The event presented by 1,782 exhibitors. Highly acclaimed fashion information for spring/summer 2020 was on show. Developed by the Première Vision fashion team, the fashion forums along with the trend tasting seminars were all well attended.

This edition hosted, 53,156 visitors from 127 countries. This is a 2.3 per cent decrease in attendance caused chiefly by a net decline in the number of UK visitors. The show recorded an 8 per cent increase in the number of Asian visitors, and also a 6 per cent increase in visitors from the US, while French presence was relatively stable at +1 per cent. The number of visitors from Turkey instead declined by 6 per cent, a downturn linked to the instability of the country's political and economic situation. Despite a dip in attendance from the UK, the country remains third in number of visitors. The show’s high-tech and technical sections as well as its Wearable Lab and the forum dedicated to sportswear materials attracted a fair number of visitors. On display were innovations in materials – yarns, fibers, fabrics, leathers, textile designs, accessories – and manufacturing solutions tailored to the development of their spring/summer 2020 collection.

There was also an enthusiastic response to the Première Vision marketplace, now being adopted by industry professionals as a complementary tool to enhance their sales development and communications. The physical implementation of the marketplace deployed at the show was a resounding success. Buyers from major international brands and exhibitors clearly expressed their excitement. Launched last September with the weavers’ collections, the digital platform integrated tanners in February.

The Italian fashion sector has been having an average annual sales growth of 6.6 per cent. The sector accounts for 1.3 per cent of the economy. In the past five years, aggregate turnover and employment at the sector rose by 28.9 per cent and 19.7 per cent respectively.

Exports continue to gain in importance for the sector, accounting for 63 per cent of its turnover. Apparel is the most important segment, accounting for 40.5 per cent of total revenues, followed by leather wear (20.9 per cent) and eyewear (16.2 per cent). The fastest growing segment is jewelry, with an annual average growth rate of 13.3 per cent.

Fifteen out of the 43 European fashion giants are Italian. Luxottica and Prada stand out in particular, ranking seventh and fourteenth respectively in European rankings by total sales. The distance between the top 15 and the rest of the pack is narrowing, leading to a roughly equal distribution between leaders and followers in terms of net profits.

Leading names in Italian fashion have long made sustainable development a rallying cry. In 2016, the first guidelines for eco-toxic standards to be complied with in manufacturing were issued. Italy first addressed the issue of sustainable fashion in 2012 when a development manifesto of Italian fashion was published.

Indonesia has issued formal notification for correction of Indonesia-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) by offering immediate market access for 20 products of Pakistan’s prime interest. The priority products include mangoes, broken rice, ethanol, tobacco, yarn and fabric, home textile, terry towel, apparel and knitwear.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to amend the PTA between the two countries was signed during the visit of President of Indonesia in January 2018. The balance of trade is highly tilted in favour of Indonesia. At the time of the signing of the PTA, total volume of bilateral trade was $ 1.6 billion, which reached to $ 2.8 billion in 2017-18. All the growth in bilateral trade was due to increase in Indonesia’s exports to Pakistan, which were at $ 1,720 million in 2013-14 and have increased to $ 2,530 million in 2017-18.

This way of selling apparel to shoppers in Canada will benefit Indian retailers who otherwise would not have been able to enter international commerce. Fashion portal Myntra has been seeking new markets. This collaboration expands the product reach, creating a global marketplace for Indian sellers and contributing to exports from India.

Indians in Canada do not get ethnic wear easily. Most such apparel has relatively cheap textile quality and unskilled work. Apart from being highly expensive, prominently because of the ethnic tag, size is also an issue.

Working across platforms, Walmart and Myntra will look to meet the needs of customers looking for authentic Indian wear. To start with, the American retailer is looking to rekindle the magic of Bollywood with the Indian diaspora in Canada. It is set to offer a broader assortment of Myntra products for customers, such as the All About You line from Deepika Padukone. On the anvil are other celebrity labels such as HRX by Hrithik Roshan, and the House of Pataudi by Saif Ali Khan.

The launch allows Walmart to test the global response to Myntra’s apparels, and comes close on the heels of a trial run done in October 2018, where a small range of Myntra clothing was retailed at Walmart outlets in Canada.

The second edition of the Australian Circular Fashion will focus on introducing a national clothing take-back scheme that would avoid severe disruption to the fashion industry caused by mandatory regulations. The potential country-wide clothing and textile take-back scheme in Australia will be launched in three phases.

The two-day event, will be held from March 21-22, 2019 in Melbourne and attract speakers from around the world to give the event a distinctly international flavor. The conference will provide a new opportunity to tackle the issue of fashion and textile waste head on, with input and support from leading international and Australian brands by the likes of Mara Hoffman, Eileen Fisher, Filippa K, Australia Post and Kathmandu.

The take-back plan will not be the only topic of discussion at the event. Day one also features conversation on CSR values, best practise and end-of-life repossessing. Day two has a ‘hackathon’ challenge, which involves teams being tasked to innovate significant challenges within the circular supply chain.

The 2nd Bangladesh Fashionology Summit 2019 will be held at the International Convention City Bashundhara, Dhaka on May 2, 2019. Its aimed at consolidating Bangladesh place in the $130 billion smart clothing market by 2025. Bangladesh is currently the second largest apparel exporting country in the world with exports worth $32.92 billion last year. The lion’s share of this export comprises of five basics items i.e. shirt, T-shirt, trouser, denim and sweater.

The second Bangladesh Fashionology Summit aims to inspire the apparel industry of Bangladesh to step into the future of fashion by bringing fashion tech leaders from across the world. The summit has already set the stage for the discussion through its first edition held on February 12, 2018 which focused on concepts like factory of future, virtual prototyping, fashion tech & sustainable innovation, mass customisation & on demand manufacturing. The theme of this edition is: ‘Digitalisation – The Next Destination’.

Some of the world's most famous fashion houses are adopting similar looking logos as a part of new "blanding" trend. Iconic labels including Burberry, Balmain, Saint Laurent, Rimowa and Diane Von Furstenberg have ditched their ornately designed typography logos and replaced them with simple, clean-line lettering instead.

Burberry has changed its typography logo font for the first time in a century. While some experts view the minimalist trend as a sign that fashion brands may be losing their creative flair as they become more corporate, others see it as a sign that there has been a radical shift in what consumers expect from luxury goods.

According to Sarah Hyndman, a London designer and author of Why Fonts Matter, fancy script treatments might suggest the sophistication of a Bordeaux wine label, but in a fashion context they come across as pretentious. To many, this is seen as ‘simply trying too hard.’

Ananta Apparels, a concern of Ananta Group, has sought Bangladesh Bank’s approval to take $8 million to Ethiopia to set up an apparel factory in the African country. The company recently submitted its proposal with the central bank claiming it initiated the move to set up the garment factory in Ethiopia to enjoy tax benefits there along with duty-free access to the United States of America. It would invest $8 million in Ethiopia from its own fund and if any additional fund was required this would be taken from other multinational financial institutions like International Finance Corporation. Bangladesh Bank, however, has expressed its doubts that establishing apparel industry in Ethiopia would be viable.

Ananta’s is the latest among overseas investment proposals by local companies when Bangladesh itself is getting meagre foreign direct investment and the country’s unemployment rate still remains high because of quality job creation. Seven companies have so far got government approval to invest abroad including the highest approval for $20 million to Akij Jute Mills, a concern of Akij Group, for procuring two Malaysian companies — Robin Resources Malaysia SDN BHD and its subsidiary Robina Flooring SDN BHD. Among the rest six, three from the health sector, have invested $9.1 million in six countries between 2013 and March 2016.

"A recent Transparency Market Research (TMR) report predicts vendors of the global luxury apparels market may witness remarkable growth opportunities due to the presence of a number of companies in the market. The competitive market landscape is fragmented as various companies are offering numerous growth opportunities either in product or research and development strategies. As per the TMR report, global luxury apparel market is estimated to be worth US$60.7 billion by the end of 2024."

A recent Transparency Market Research (TMR) report predicts vendors of the global luxury apparels market may witness remarkable growth opportunities due to the presence of a number of companies in the market. The competitive market landscape is fragmented as various companies are offering numerous growth opportunities either in product or research and development strategies.

As per the TMR report, global luxury apparel market is estimated to be worth US$60.7 billion by the end of 2024. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 13.2 per cent within the forecast period 2016 to 2024. The market is dominated by cotton which accounts for 35.87 per cent of the total share. In terms of geographical segmentation, Asia Pacific contributes more number of shares with a CAGR of 14.75 per cent by the end of the forecast period.

Rising incomes increases purchasing power

The global market for luxury apparels is rising due to an increase in disposable incomes of people further leading to a rise in the purchasing capacity of consumers. Moreover, the trend of luxury apparels amongst the young generation is propelling the market for luxury apparels.

Another factor boosting demand is the emergence of online shopping services. It is easier to shop online instead of going to stores and trying out various outfits. The facility of easy returns has further boosted the online market, attracting more consumers. Digital marketing too has no left stone unturned in advertising the benefits of online shopping and increasing a classy taste of fashion amongst people.

Asia Pacific to witness rapid growth

The Asia Pacific market is presumed to witness rapid growth due to rise in disposable incomes, along with the change in lifestyles of people and their improvised standard of living especially in its emerging nations of China, and India in the coming years. Europe, on the other hand, has already attained maturity because of the presence of many luxury brands that have been doing business for the past few decades. 

Investment needs hamper growth

However, establishing and running a luxury apparels business requires huge investments. This hinders the overall market growth. Apart from this, major vendors are investing more in innovation and research to outstand other players. Thus, new entrants are finding it difficult to enter the market to compete with such high level set players. This is also projected to hamper the growth of the luxury apparels market in the years to come.