"The fifth edition of Galleria Intima, one of the biggest shows for India’s intimate apparel industry concluded in New Delhi with a massive participation of 200 visitors and more than 500 exhibitors. Organised by Intimate Apparel Association of India, the event covered diverse aspects of the intimate apparel industry, including fabric, laces, fibre, machinery, packaging methodology, design trends, creativity, innovation and accessories. "

The fifth edition of Galleria Intima, one of the biggest shows for India’s intimate apparel industry concluded in New Delhi recently with a massive participation of 200 visitors and more than 500 exhibitors. Organised by Intimate Apparel Association of India (IAAI), the event covered diverse aspects of the intimate apparel industry, including fabric, laces, fibre, machinery, packaging methodology, design trends, creativity, innovation and accessories. The 2016 edition was marked by the presence of government officials, industry professionals, brands, vendors, allied industry players under one roof.

Global players boost industry 

IInaugurated by Rashmi Verma, Secretary (Textiles), the Galleria Intima 2016 received a warm response from participants. Verma reiterated the government’s support for the event and lauded the efforts of the IAAI. While welcoming the visitors and exhibitors she explained the idea behind the recent booster offered to the textiles and apparel industry and invited more international participation.  Verma stressed upon the growing opportunity for the industry especially in newer markets like the US and Europe. She also focused on the government’s Rs 6,000 crores package for the apparel and textiles industry and upcoming labour reforms and TUF schemes.

Rakesh Grover, President of the IAAI, discussed the problems and concerns ailing the intimate clothing industry and submitted a memorandum asking for the intimate clothing industry to be included in the list of merit goods under the GST bill. Pointing out the role of the association in promoting and expanding the industry he said “This year, we have more than 80 participants from more than 10 countries. This exhibition has more of a Southeast Asian participation. That’s because Southeast Asian countries including China are supplying to the world. In five years, we want to bring the industry to Rs 48,000 crores. Now it’s Rs 24,000 crores. We are working on manufacturing, branding, technology and retail.” 

Creativity, innovation the major highlights

Besides bringing forth the latest trends in the industry, the event also addressed the challenges being faced by the intimate clothing industry. It emerged as a key platform for collaboration of talent, skill, business and ideas in the industry. Creativity and innovation were major highlights in the ‘Trends Pavilion’ managed by Professor Monica Gupta and her team from NIFT.

Explaining the event’s growth over the years, Dhiraj Makhija, Makhija Intimates explains, “The show has been growing from strength to strength year on year. The inclusion of new companies from India and abroad, and an array of unique products under one roof are some of the USPs of this show. We get to meet our fellow companies and understand latest trends from the seminars and panel discussions. Going ahead, we would like to see more participation from Indian companies as well as from distributors of companies based overseas to harness better business deals.”