FW
The 49th Hong Kong Fashion Week Fall/Winter opened doors today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The show organized by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is being held from January 15 to 18 with 1,397 exhibitors from 13 countries and regions participating. They are showcasing latest fashion designs, global brand collections, garments, fashion accessories, fabrics and clothing accessories. The participating countries are: China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan with group pavilions. France, Bangladesh, Korea, Hong Kong , Taiwan , Thailand and the USA are the other participating countries; Malaysia joins as the new country participating in this edition of fashion week.
The theme for this edition is: ‘New-World Explorers’. Two new zones are debuting under this theme viz, ‘Corporate Fashion and Uniforms’ and the ‘World of Fashion Accessories’. The other major product zones are: Clothing Accessories, Emporium de Mode, Fashion Gallery, Fashionable Sportswear, International Fashion Designers’ Showcase, and Fabrics & Yarn among others.
Hong Kong exhibitor Innee-Sedona International will showcase a range of fashion accessory from Céline Dion brand. The brand’s 2018 F/W collection will make its world debut at Hong Kong Fashion Week with a range of products including handbags, luggage and small leather accessories. The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) and the Institute of Textiles and Clothing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University will also showcase their newly developed textile products featuring temperature-control functions, suitable for both general apparel and specialised medical applications. Ningbo Seduno Group from Chinese Mainland is the biggest exhibitor.
More than 20 exciting events including fashion parades and presentations, seminars, as well as a buyer forum and networking reception will be staged. Fair highlights include: Fashionally Presentation, launched for the first time by the Hong Kong fashion website Fashionally.com. Unlike conventional catwalk shows, the parade will showcase 2018 FW works of local fashion designers Derek Chan, Aries Sin and Mim Mak, in a storytelling format set in a theatre-like stage, presenting a unique experience for buyers.
Hong Kong an important trade center in global textile and clothing and accessories space, clocked in business worth $13.2 billion in Jan-Nov 2017, recording a drop of 7.7 per cent over previous year during the same period and imported worth $11.3 billion during the same reflecting a drop of 5.7 per cent in the same period previous year.
The 49th Hong Kong Fashion Week Fall/Winter opened doors today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The show organized by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is being held from January 15 to 18 with 1,397 exhibitors from 13 countries and regions participating. They are showcasing latest fashion designs, global brand collections, garments, fashion accessories, fabrics and clothing accessories. The participating countries are: China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan with group pavilions. France, Bangladesh, Korea, Hong Kong , Taiwan , Thailand and the USA are the other participating countries; Malaysia joins as the new country participating in this edition of fashion week.
The theme for this edition is: ‘New-World Explorers’. Two new zones are debuting under this theme viz, ‘Corporate Fashion and Uniforms’ and the ‘World of Fashion Accessories’. The other major product zones are: Clothing Accessories, Emporium de Mode, Fashion Gallery, Fashionable Sportswear, International Fashion Designers’ Showcase, and Fabrics & Yarn among others.
Hong Kong exhibitor Innee-Sedona International will showcase a range of fashion accessory from Céline Dion brand. The brand’s 2018 F/W collection will make its world debut at Hong Kong Fashion Week with a range of products including handbags, luggage and small leather accessories. The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) and the Institute of Textiles and Clothing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University will also showcase their newly developed textile products featuring temperature-control functions, suitable for both general apparel and specialised medical applications. Ningbo Seduno Group from Chinese Mainland is the biggest exhibitor.
More than 20 exciting events including fashion parades and presentations, seminars, as well as a buyer forum and networking reception will be staged. Fair highlights include: Fashionally Presentation, launched for the first time by the Hong Kong fashion website Fashionally.com. Unlike conventional catwalk shows, the parade will showcase 2018 FW works of local fashion designers Derek Chan, Aries Sin and Mim Mak, in a storytelling format set in a theatre-like stage, presenting a unique experience for buyers.
Hong Kong an important trade center in global textile and clothing and accessories space, clocked in business worth $13.2 billion in Jan-Nov 2017, recording a drop of 7.7 per cent over previous year during the same period and imported worth $11.3 billion during the same reflecting a drop of 5.7 per cent in the same period previous year.
The Cotton Egypt Association (CEA) has launched a new brand identity and digital platform to re-enforce Egyptian cotton’s quality worldwide. The fresh, modern look, revealed this week at Heimtextil in Frankfurt, is designed to convey the superior quality and natural beauty of Egyptian cotton while luring consumers, retailers and manufacturers with its heritage and values.
Developed with UK-based brand specialist Salesworxs, the new strategy places the consumer at the centre of the Egyptian cotton experience, with a key emphasis on how the luxury hand-picked fabric feels against the skin. Khaled Schuman, Executive Director of CEA, said, “We believe that everybody should experience the luxuriously soft touch of Egyptian Cotton. We want people of all ages, worldwide, to seek out its strength, softness and durability. It’s all about the personal human touch. Our sales and marketing partner, Salesworxs, created a powerful brand identity which reflects the brand’s heritage whilst educating our audience as to our core values.”
Salesworxs’ MD, Richard Newman, said: “We know that a brand is a story that is always being told. It’s what people say about you when you’re not around. Egyptian Cotton is without question the world’s finest cotton. Our job is to ensure our global audience recognizes this when making purchasing decisions on relevant products such as home textiles and clothing.”
The rebranding is designed to increase consumer demand and retailer confidence and will support the CEAs drive to eliminate the supply chain of falsely labelled Egyptian Cotton goods. The CEA has appealed to all its manufacturers to become accredited. “This is a simple process that ensures transparency and traceability,” the site notes. “By using the latest scientific technology, we can identify the genomic fingerprint of the cotton, conduct DNA tests and confirm that 100 per cent of the fibre is genuine.”
Many foreign companies operating in China have come under fire for listing Taiwan and Hong Kong as countries. As per a statement on the regulator’s WeChat account, The Shanghai office of the Cyberspace Administration of China reprimanded Spanish fast fashion retailer Zara and American medical device maker Medtronic for mentioning Taiwan as an independent country.
Both companies were ordered to apologies by Friday night, carry out “self-inspection” of their websites and apps and turn in rectification reports. “Shanghai Cyberspace Administration will further assess the situation depending on the rectification result,” the statement added. Both companies apologised and updated their websites. Medtronic posted a statement on the microblog platform Weibo, “Medtronic fully understands China’s stance on its territorial issues and we sincerely apologise for causing misunderstanding among the Chinese public.”
American hospitality chain Marriott came under fire for mentioning Tibet, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan as separate countries in a customer questionnaire earlier this month and liking a Twitter post supporting Tibetan independence.
Despite Marriott’s apology reassuring the Chinese that the company doesn’t “support anyone who subverts the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China,” the Shanghai government demanded that Marriott close down its Chinese website and app for a week.
The Shanghai cyberspace administration’s statement also welcomed netizens to report such issues to safeguard a healthy online environment. Similar mistakes were noticed on the websites of companies, including Delta Air Lines and H&M. A Delta spokesperson informed that the company had updated its site. The series of public relations disasters has triggered an uproar on Chinese social media, with netizens calling for a boycott of foreign brands. “You first earned Chinese people’s money, and then hurt our feelings. I would like to ask you to leave China,” wrote one angry net user on Weibo.
Only two years since its launch, the ground-breaking Uster Tester 6 is making a significant impact in Bangladesh. Ambitious and quality-conscious spinners are keen to participate in the rapid growth in export sales by the country’s textile producers. Uster Tester 6 is more than the ultimate evenness tester, it is also the entry to wider potential benefits for mills, integrating data from other Uster quality measurement sources to create a real Total Testing Centre.
Bangladeshi mills have been seeing the advantages and correspondingly several Uster Tester 6 units are already in operation in the country and in the rest of South East Asia, following its global launch at the Milan ITMA in 2015.
The upcoming DTG exhibition may stimulate even greater interest among visitors to the Uster booth. At the 15th Dhaka International Textile and Garment Machinery Exhibition, to be held in city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre from February 8-11, Uster experts will provide visitors with first-hand information on the Uster Tester 6.
The sheer speed of the Uster Tester 6 – without compromise on quality – is hailed by all the spinners. The test speed of 800 m/min also provides highly reliable and extremely accurate results, due to the new Capacitive and Optical Sensors.
Abdul Latif, Deputy General Manager of Divine Spinning Mills says hairiness testing at high-speeds of 800 m/min, also now including Hairiness Length Classification, requires relatively much less time for testing.” Companies also report increased efficiency in quality management, with feature such as the graphical presentation of ‘timeline’ reports – analysing the product with a long-term perspective and providing quality data over a pre-defined time. Khorshed Ali, Senior Manager Quality Control at Pahartali Textile & Hosiery Mills noted, “We are able to analyse the product at a single glance.”
Morocco’s Ministry of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy has decided to end the exemption on some Turkish textile products despite the 2006 Free Trade Agreement (FTA), between the Turkey and Morocco. Effective January 9, Morocco’s decision aims to protect the domestic textile industry, facing the rise of Turkish products on the national market in recent years.
Several Turkish brands, including LC Waikiki, Defacto and Koton have decided to expand the national market by opening stores in major cities of the kingdom of Morocco including Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Tangier, Fez and Agadir. This decision is post a study conducted by the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing Industries (AMITH) whose aim was to show up some Turkish operators who strategically sold at a loss to flood the national market with their products. In fact, imports of Turkish textile products registered a significant increase of 175 per cent between 2013 and 2017.
The Ministry's decision mainly concerns Article 17 of the FTA on transitional adjustment measures, over a period of one year, to ensure a balance in favour of domestic products. Rakiya Eddarhem, Secretary of State for the Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, in charge of foreign trade, said imports of certain Turkish textile products will be increased to 90 per cent under common law. These include man-made filaments, man-made staple fibres, carpets and other textile floor coverings, special fabrics, tufted textile surfaces, lace, tapestries, trimmings, embroidery, knitted fabrics clothing and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted or made up, made-up articles, second-hand clothes and rags. Eddarhem also disclosed that the national textile sector is the third largest contributor to the Kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP) with a 7 per cent share.
In addition, the FTA makes it clear that tariffs under these measures cannot exceed 25 per cent ad valorem and must retain an element of preference for products originating in the other Party. The total value of imports of products subject to these measures may not exceed 15 per cent of the total value of industrial products imported from the other Party during the last year for which statistics are available. The flooding of the national textile market by Turkish products has contributed to a loss of 20,000 jobs per year over the last five years.
The United States’ cotton sector is keeping a close watch on China to see if its imports are on the rise. Addressing a gathering in Lubbock’s Bayer Museum of Agriculture, John Robinson, Professor and extension economist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, noted, sometime in next few years, hopes are high that China’s overall import levels may rise and may even be back to 16 million bales. Low micronaire has been an issue this season following lack of maturity due to cold and cloudy weather in August. Commenting on this, Steve Verett, Producer and Executive Vice President of PCG stated, “Definitely below average micronaire for our area and not what we strive to produce.”
As for current market situation, there is demand for cotton. With economy recovering slowly, consumer will start spending and so nonessential commodity buying will start to rise. Observing the recent export sales figures, Robinson noted if exports follow the current trend, cotton exports from the US may be above the USDA’s estimate of 14.8 million bales (489 lbs. each). He expects USDA cold raise their estimate by about half a million bales.
There is still hope for enhanced imports by China in the next few years. According to John Robinson, demand will be a positive influence and the need for newer stock as China’s reserves are around 6 years old. When Chinese import improves, it will be a game changer, he added.
Performance Days, a leading platform for functional sports and work wear fabrics, announced the launch of the US Functional Fabric Fair spearheaded by Performance Days, in partnership with Reed Exhibitions. The sourcing event for high performance functional fabrics and accessories will be held during the New York Market Week from July 23rd and 24th, and co-located with multiple fashion market events at the Javits Center.
Steve McCullough of Reed Exhibitions informs, “Following the successful launch of a performance and sports textile sourcing program within the PGA Merchandise Show and through considerable industry research, a need for a US-based functional fabric fair has become apparent. The biannual Performance Days Functional Fabric Fair in Germany is the gold standard of the industry and we are especially pleased to organise the US event in cooperation, maximising their breadth of proven expertise to deliver a fair where tomorrow’s textile trends are on display today,” he added.
Marco Weichert, GM of Design & Development GmbH Textile Consult averred, fashion and function inspire each other more and more in our industry. This inaugural US Functional Fabric Fair powered by Performance Days is the first of its kind during New York’s Market Week to provide an opportune sourcing platform for performance materials and technical textiles in fashion, sportswear and athleisure collections.
The Fair will display the latest trends in fabric development for the functional textiles industry and provide an opportune marketplace in the US for the sourcing of high performance functional fabrics and accessories. The event will include exhibits, workshops, industry presentations, professional networking and matchmaking programmes.
Textiles manufacturers, suppliers and service providers will present their functional fabrics, membranes plus treatments, laminates, paddings, finishes, and accessories such as yarns, tapes, prints, buttons and zippers. Industry giants who are expected to attend include sports fashion designers, product managers, purchasing agents and textile decision makers representing active clothing and functional wear manufacturers.
Marks & Spencer clothing sales fall again after the retailer‘s director of clothing and beauty left last month. This slide comes after the director of clothing and beauty, Jo Jenkins, resigned to join White Stuff. The British retail giant reported like-for-like sales fell 2.8 per cent in its clothing wing over the 13 weeks to December 30 in a ‘mixed‘ quarter for the group.
Steve Rowe, Chief Executive of M&S, noted, “M&S had a mixed quarter with better Christmas trading in both businesses going some way to offset a weak clothing market in October and on-going under-performance in our food like-for-like sales.” M&S said its food halls also reported “on-going under-performance” with like-for-like sales down 0.4 per cent in the quarter. In October 2017, director of women’s wear, lingerie & beauty, Jenkins, left her post ‘disappointed‘ to have not been selected for the role of MD for Clothing, Home & Beauty.
In November, it was revealed that Marks & Spencer attempted to speed up the closure of 100 stores or departments selling clothes and home products. This measure was undertaken as part of a methodology to cut costs, shut underperforming outlets and encourage a move to shopping online. M&S is also planning to slow down the opening of new Simply Food outlets and offer more value products post analysis that families are finding it hard to pay premium prices. M&S disclosed that profits in the first half of the financial year dropped by 5.3 per cent to £219.1 million.
Post L’Oréal, it is now LVMH's turn to partner Station F. Together, the French luxury goods giant and Parisian start-up incubator have set up a new luxury and high-tech program, featuring 23 start-ups from all over the world working on innovative solutions for the luxury market.
This news was discovered in a tweet by Station F — the world's largest business incubator — based in a former Parisian rail freight depot known Halle Freyssinet. The project's start and other details will be revealed in spring.
The program is reportedly designed to support emerging companies developing high-tech solutions for the luxury industry, tapping the expertise of LVMH which has recently opened an academy of leather goods and jewellery craftsmanship in Florence. The luxury group is following in the footsteps of L’Oréal, which picked Station F to monitor promising digital beauty start-ups, becoming the latest partner of the incubator founded by Xavier Niel.
