Survey: 70% see seasonless fashion as key promotional strategy

HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau said: "CENTRESTAGE, the premier annual event in the Asian fashion industry, is the first and largest fashion event staged in Hong Kong since the pandemic began. The fair helped industry participants exchange the latest fashion information and develop their businesses. I am pleased to see talented designers launching their latest fashion collections and apparel, showing an endless stream of creativity and vitality. The show was fully open to public visitors for the first time, attracting fashionistas and members of the public who follow fashion trends. The atmosphere in the fairground was positive and it was a special experience for everyone."

53% say fashion sales will increase in 2022 - significantly higher than 2019 survey

The HKTDC conducted a survey during the show to gauge future product trends and the outlook for the fashion industry, interviewing more than 290 exhibitors and buyers. On sales prospects and the market outlook for 2022, 53% of respondents believed that overall sales would increase in the coming year - a significant increase on the 31% who expressed the same sentiment at the 2019 CENTRESTAGE - while 33% expected things to remain steady. Fifty-four per cent expected production or sourcing costs to increase while 40% expected they would remain unchanged. When asked how the pandemic has impacted the fashion business, respondents stated that a drop in sales/revenue (64%), rising sourcing and production costs (27%) and a decrease in the number of physical shops (26%) were the main consequences.

On fashion trends, 45% of those surveyed expected casual wear and city wear to be the most popular in 2022, followed by fashion accessories (24%) and sportswear (14%). Regarding their promotional strategies in the coming year, 70% either agreed or completely agreed that "seasonless" collections would be the most prevalent trend in the fashion industry next year, while 62% expected the "see now, buy now" model would also be popular.

The sixth CENTRESTAGE ran with "Chapter Infinity" as its central theme, encouraging those in the fashion industry to take creative approaches and reignite their design inspiration in the pandemic era, exploring the countless opportunities that lie ahead. ITOCHU Textile Prominent, the Hong Kong subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate ITOCHU, joined CENTRESTAGE for the first time. Celia Lo, Manager of ITOCHU Textile Prominent, said she identified two local designer brands for developing the company's women's casual wear business and will place orders averaging 1,000 pieces for each style.

CHEMRO, which operates fashion shops in Korea, also sourced at CENTRESTAGE. Danny Chau, Director of CHEMRO, said most of their customers are young people looking for new fashion styles. He said he found four new designer brands from Italy, Hong Kong and Mainland China, and expected that his company would place trial orders involving 1,000 pieces of each men's, women's and children's style per colour.