French brands are entering the US retail market. They see North America as a safe bet compared to the increasingly unstable European and Asian markets.

Mid-range and fast-fashion retailers like River Island and Mango are expanding their US footprints. French department store chain Printemps will open its first US store in spring 2024. Luxury leather goods brand Polène opened its first international store in North America in September, after only selling online internationally and in its Paris store for six years. The store is an extension of the brand’s visual identity, with minimalist interiors reflecting the product design. The company is focused on creating a desirable destination for potential customers outside of Paris.Along with the retail expansion, the brand plans to expand its product assortment to jewelry and footwear in 2023. It also plans to introduce an in-store upcycling initiative. Among the customer-facing innovations Polène has planned is a semi-robotized workshop that has been engineered to cut and sculpt small leather goods. Visitors will be invited to engage in each step of manufacturing by creating a product using leather scraps from a wide choice of patterns. This is expected to build on customer knowledge and intimacy with the brand as well as all aspects of manufacturing and production.

India is now the fastest growing market for Bangladesh. In the first quarter of the current financial year, exports to neighboring India grew by more than 66 percent.

Bangladesh exports more than 70 percent of its apparel to the US and EU countries. Bangladesh’s readymade export growth to Canada was 17 percent, Japan was 16 percent, Australia was 14 percent, Europe was 12 percent, and the US was five per cent.

Bangladesh’s garment exports to India have grown by about 70 percent in the last financial year. In the first two months of the financial year (July-August), the growth was 99 percent and in the last July to September quarter, the growth was 66 percent. Bangladesh has gradually started to come out from traditional export destinations. The main markets for garment exports from Bangladesh have been mainly western countries.

Exporting to India has many advantages for Bangladesh. One is the size of the Indian market. The population of India is massive and if Bangladesh can tap into this market and sell products a lot of its losses will be covered.Trade with India as a neighboring country has lower transport costs.

Fashion brands are on the cusp of a great opportunity but are often overwhelmed by complexity; especially along lengthy supply chains. So says Bain.

The consumer shift to products and labels that are embracing sustainability has created both opportunities and challenges for global fashion brands. At present, only 15 per cent of consumers consistently make buying decisions to lower their environmental impact.

Concern for the environment is running ahead of current shopper behaviour and that’s often because shopping sustainably can be hard.Sustainable shopping is an inevitable change. Concern for sustainability is strong among younger generations – and growing overall. Hence fashion brands need to embrace the sustainability conversation and make sustainable purchasing easier for all consumers.Brands that proactively design sustainability into their strategy and operations are expected to cement their relevance and capture a windfall of unmet demand, now and into the future. The industry’s practices are responsible for many damaging impacts to nature that put the sector’s survival at risk. The time is now for brands to take action on sustainability – they'll not only benefit from enhanced resilience but will have incredible opportunity to build brand loyalty with increasingly conscious consumers.

Despite being among the top six purchase drivers for most global fashion customers, sustainability is an explicitly lower priority than other, more tangible factors, such as product quality and durability.

From January 2022 to August 2022 Bangladesh’s denim exports to the United States rose by 46 per cent compared to the same period of 2021.

In 2021, Bangladesh became the top denim exporter to the US for the second consecutive year and currently holds a 22 per cent share in the US denim market. Bangladesh’s denim is the biggest brand in the US market and US buyers consider it an elite product of high quality.Bangladesh is maintaining its growth in exporting denim apparel to the US as the top supplier, despite the slowdown in the US due to falling consumer demand caused by global economic challenges.

Denim imports from Mexico to the US increased 20 per cent in the first eight months of 2022. Mexico has a share of 16 per cent in the US denim market. Imports from Pakistan soared by 41 per cent. Pakistan has a 11 per cent share. Imports from Vietnam grew by 28 per cent. Vietnam has a ten per cent share. Denim shipments from China to the US were up 13 per cent. China has a nine per cent share.

Bangladesh is doing well due to efficiency, strong backward linkage, quality products and many more reasons. Orders shifting from China and Vietnam are also a factor.

For the third quarter Adidas’ currency-neutral revenues grew four per cent. Currency-neutral sales in Greater China declined at a strong double-digit rate reflecting the continued widespread Covid-19-related restrictions as well as significant inventory take backs.

Excluding Greater China, currency-neutral revenues in the company’s other markets combined continued to grow at a double-digit rate during the quarter. In euro terms, the company’s sales increased 11 per cent. The gross margin declined one percentage point to a level of 49 per cent and operating margin reached eight per cent. Non-recurring costs related to accelerated cash pooling in high inflationary countries, a recently settled legal dispute as well as higher provisions for customs-related risks also had an adverse effect on the company’s gross profit, operating overheads as well as financial and tax expenses in the quarter.

Adidas now expects currency-neutral revenues for the total company to grow at a mid-single-digit rate in 2022, reflecting double-digit revenue growth during the fourth quarter. This growth will be driven by Adidas’ strong product pipeline, support from the Fifa world cup 2022 as well as easier prior year comparables. The company’s gross margin is now expected to be around 47 per cent in 2022. Consequently, the operating margin is now forecasted to be around four per cent.

Diversity and inclusion have been steering the international fashion industry for a few years now and sooner than later, men too are now included in the lingerie category. From boxers and briefs to lacey, sexy thongs, garter belts and satin robes, the category has drawn mixed reactions.

Gender-neutral clothing is gaining traction as diversity and inclusivity sits strong with millennials and Gen Z. Whereas men’s lingerie is evolving as a new category, it goes beyond, is not just a part of gender neutral clothing.

Women’s lingerie brands take the plunge

Previously, certain reputable women’s lingerie brands did include a miniscule collection but it was more to do with boosting their image rather than serious business. Recently, the abrupt growth in men’s lingerie has caused some brands to see the category in a new light and other brands to reassess their relationship with men’s innerwear. “We were super surprised,” Christiane Pendarvis, co-president and chief merchandising and design officer for Savage x Fenty, told WWD at this summer’s Femmy Awards, regarding the unexpected interest in Savage’s men’s business. “When we launched our men’s capsule collection for our fashion show in 2020, we thought, ‘OK, we’ll see how it does. It’s a novel idea, something fun to do for the show.’ And men [then] showed up and bought it and bought it for themselves.”Savage x Fenty sells a selection of men’s innerwear. ABG-owned lingerie brand Frederick’s of Hollywood reintroduced a men’s capsule collection in 2020.

Cosabella launched a men’s lingerie collection the following year. Cosabella and boutique lingerie business Journelle — both of which are operated by Guido Campello and his wife SapnaPalep — hired Roman Sipe as creative director of the men’s division for both Cosabella and Journelle in early 2022.

Not to be left out, lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret launched gender-neutral tween brand Happy Nation in April. The same month, Victoria’s Secret’s Pink named Darren Barnet the brand’s first male ambassador and debuted a gender-neutral collection.“But, I’m a pretty open-minded person,” Barnet said. “If I saw something and it looked comfortable, you know, and I thought it was cool, and then yeah….clothes are clothes. And what you’re told to wear is definitely a construct of your environment and what you grow up with, and, you know, I think you should just wear what makes you comfortable.”

Not everyone is amused with the idea of men’s lingerie

The concept of men’s lingerie seems to hit a nerve with some women. Sapna Palep of Cosabella said, ““I was a little shocked by some of the negative responses from women. Some women were just not having it, men in lace and whatnot. But that’s going to be like that with anything that’s a new concept, in bringing it to the public eye. You have to process it. But we do want our world to go toward inclusivity. We don’t want to go backward. We knew we were going to be pioneering this area. And we knew there was going to be some kickback on it. But the kickback is slowing down and [the men’s lingerie category] is starting to gain momentum”.

Whilst men’s lingerie may not have exactly been top of mind, certain brands saw it coming, took the plunge, shook the market and now men’s lingerie is a thing.

Polyester yarns already make up nearly half the world’s clothing and even this figure is set to increase, as the athleisure, activewear and performance wear clothing trend becomes even more popular with consumers looking for stretchable and resistant garments.

This would mean good news for the casual wear segment, if only polyester was a more sustainable and environment-friendly textile option. Being made from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), which is the most common type of plastic in the world, it remains an environmentally harmful plastic that will eventually become waste and increase the global microplastic problem.

As the most versatile, cheapest, and most functional material in the garment industry, extensive research is now being carried out about the environmental damage of polyester yarns while still using it wisely in the apparel manufacturing process. Since the extraction of synthetic fabrics is an energy-intensive process that requires a lot of crude oil and releases emissions, the manufacturing units are an environmental hazard.

“In the air, there are volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gases such as hydrogen chloride, which cause respiratory diseases. Monomers, solvents and other by products of polyester production are emitted into wastewater from manufacturing facilities," explains the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose mission is to protect human health and the environment.

With the textile recycling industry still in its nascent stage, while blend mixes such as cotton-polyester remain unable to be separated in large quantities to cover manufacturing costs, the environmental pollution issue rears its ugly head time and again. With no significant fiber-to-fiber recycling in the manufacturing process or an umbrella organization of textile recyclers, the sustainability issue is an unsolved one. Testing phases for replacement fibers Many apparel manufacturing companies are now carrying out research work for replacing polyester using various methods. While some are working on biobased base materials where a pilot using corn instead of petroleum is the focus, others are implementing commercial systems in which textile waste is reused as new raw materials. Some organizations such as Accelerating Circularity Europe are currently studying how exactly fibers behave and how often they can be recycled in a circular economy action plan.

Currently, the first testing phase for post-consumer and post-industrial polyester textiles as sources of mechanically and chemically recycled virgin fibers is underway in their labs under the direction of Petra Schweiger and industry experts are hoping that they find a better sustainability approach.

Swiss giant Hugo Boss has currently developed an algae-based continuous filament yarn made from cellulose that is expected to replace man-made fibers over some years. "In our estimation, this product is the most convincing in terms of its versatility, quality, and recyclability, and we believe it can provide a sustainable solution to the polyester problem in the long term. In the long term, we want to replace this polyester fiber completely, because we see the resource-intensive raw material extraction and, of course, the microplastic and residual waste problem," points out CSR manager Andreas Streubig.

All polyester yarns are not harmful though as the typical polyester fabrics used in rain jackets, backpacks and sneakers emit negligible microplastic but knits and fleeces emit fiber particles as soon as they are worn. Stretchy sportswear doesn’t wash well although using natural cotton fibers is not an alternative here. So it is a complex fiber which needs to be developed further. Although recycled polyester as a sustainable solution is currently just a greenwashing misleading solution, research is making sure that the day is not far off when this becomes a reality.

The denim market is growing at six per cent a year. Rise in disposable income levels is escalating the growth of the denim market.

Other major factors are the rise in urbanization and the trend of denim shirts. The growing popularity of stretchable denim jeans by blending cotton with synthetic material is further anticipated to propel the growth of the denim market. Moreover, initiatives to improve product manufacturing are further estimated to cushion the growth of the denim market.

In addition, the easy accessibility of raw material and the growing advances in denim wear will further provide potential opportunities for the growth of the denim market in the coming years. Manufacturing garments from denim is a profitable business.

However, variation in the price of raw materials and changing fashion and consumer preferences might further challenge the growth of the denim market in the near future. The rise in the prevalence of cheap woollen wear may impede the growth of the denim market.

Denim is a cloth made of cotton that is rough and thick in nature. Denim was originally created for use in work clothes and slowly gained its significance as a material that is utilized in other types of apparel.Currently, denim is a vital and fashionable item in every wardrobe.

Vietnam is benefiting from the shift of production away from China. Disbursement of foreign direct investment in Vietnam in the first nine months of 2022 was up 16 per cent, marking a record high.

Technology, textiles and garments are shifting away from China to Vietnam. Vietnam has received increasing attention from global producers as many of them are searching for alternative supply chains in the face of China’s zero Covid policy. Two giant brands in the global footwear industry, Nike and Adidas, have chosen Vietnam as their main production base. Nike has more than 100 suppliers in Vietnam, with 96 factories concentrated in the southern region.

Vietnam is third top apparel exporter .Last year, Vietnam surpassed Bangladesh for a quarter to take the world’s second position in terms of textile and garment export market share position, behind China. Despite the difficulties of the post-Covid economy, as of mid-July 2022, garment-textile was one of the four sectors posting the highest export revenue for Vietnam, up nearly 20 per cent year-on-year.

Vietnam has approximately 6000 garment and textile manufacturing companies employing 2.5 million people, and its top export destinations are leading consumer markets – the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea. As a major player in the global supply chain, Vietnam’s textile and garment industry is taking steps to become a more sustainable destination.

Over 60 per cent of consumers in the US will cut down on non-essential categories like apparel, footwear, jewellery, and accessories if they are forced to reduce their holiday shopping budget. So says International Business Machines (IBM).

Nearly half of consumers will spend less if inflation continues to drive price increases. As Covid pandemic concerns abate for many consumers, worries are shifting towards uncertain economic and supply chain conditions this holiday season. Moreover, 2022 shopping budgets are up eight per cent over 2021. However factors including inflation and price increases have made economic concerns top of mind this holiday season. While 59 per cent of consumers will be less concerned about Covid, two in three say they will be more concerned about the economy. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents worry more about supply chain disruptions that could make holiday shopping harder or more expensive. In 2022, consumers are hoping to re-embrace holiday traditions they've had to alter for the past two years. They’re starting their shopping and travel planning earlier but also want to hedge their bets with options like free returns or cancellations. Uncertainty around inflation, gas prices, and supply chain is driving consumer plans. To adapt to these changes in consumer behaviour, retailers will need better visibility and traceability across product inventory, fulfilment, and returns.