#Textiles & Apparel / Garment
Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics attracts more than 65,000 visitors from 98 countries and regions
According to Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager for the organiser, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, the record-breaking trade fair grows in scale every year in terms of participant numbers, internationality and quality. She said: “The strong turn-out of exhibitors and visitors shows that everyone can depend on the show’s high quality products and networking opportunities to further their business objectives. For example, we saw the successful debuts of Milano Unica pavilion and Premium Wool Zone within SalonEurope and the Intertextile Catwalk Show. This marks our determination to further develop the fair as a dynamic exhibition platform for fashion professionals.”
Salon Europe offers several international premium highlights
Within Salon Europe, many European suppliers showcased their premium fabrics and accessories at Milano Unica and the Premium Wool Zone, all wanting to reach China’s luxury market.
Following its successful debut at the Beijing edition of the show earlier this year, the Milano Unica pavilion brought 124 of the most prestigious textile and accessory companies from Italy. During the show an official signing ceremony between the organisers of Intertextile Apparel Fabrics and Milano Unica was held to seal the partnership for the next three years. “Messe Frankfurt is always interested in bringing the right people together to create the world’s best trade fairs and I am especially pleased to see our cooperation with Milano Unica as a first step in a long-term partnership,” said Mr Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board, Messe Frankfurt GmbH.
Mr Lorenzo Bonotto, a representative of Bonotto SpA praised the uniqueness of this area. He commented: “The pavilion offers exclusiveness and a perfect occasion to highlight our ‘made in Italy’ collections. The show itself also provides us with a global vision of the textile market, and a meeting point with all the important textile players.”
With increased consumer purchasing power in China, premium quality fabrics are in great demand. Mr Lim Bean, a representative for the ladieswear brand, Sunvina from China commented: “We believe that sourcing quality fabrics such as those in Milano Unica will provide customers with more long-term value.”
Six top quality wool suppliers from France and the UK formed the Premium Wool Zone, including the British company Hield. “The exhibition has always showcased the highest pedigree of worldwide textile manufacturers which fits into the Hield ethos,” explained Ms Laila Chamsi-Pasha, Hield’s Sales Manager. “I am excited to confirm some business deals with domestic garment brands and private labels.”
Mr Pierre Dupond, Regional Manager Greater China & Southeast Asia for French company Dormeuil added: “The premium area gives a better image for our company as it differentiates us from main stream suppliers. The trend in the Chinese market is moving fast, and people show interest in our fancy colour products.”
Other international highlights include the longstanding German pavilion (23 exhibitors); the UK pavilion renowned for woollen fabrics (11 exhibitors) and making a return appearance after three years, the Portuguese pavilion organised by Associação Selectiva Moda (8 companies).
Mr Manfred Borchers, Head of Marketing and Sales for the German based fibre company, Dralon GmbH promoted their specialty fibres. “I can see the visitor quality is improving. There are more and more decision makers visiting our booth, mainly from apparel and fashion brands. We are having a big success here in China.”
Within the first ever Turkish pavilion organised by Uludag Textile Exporters Association (17 companies), Karsu Tekstil presented their wool mixed silk fabrics. The company’s Fabric Sales and Marketing Manager, Mr Musa Baglar remarked, “the Intertextile brand shows are renowned for sourcing in the global textile industry. We have had such a good response from Chinese, Italian and Japanese buyers. We have been very busy and this tells how productive the show is.”
Sustainability and a strong demand for design
While the luxury market in China enticed top European suppliers, there is also a strong demand for creative design in China. In response to this, the fair organised the Verve for Design Zone with nine companies, featuring international textile designers with inspiring textile and apparel designs. Longina Philips Design from Australia was one of the only exhibitors showing unique digital printing. Ms Lola Philips, the company’s Managing Director said: “We only sell each design once. When a customer buys one, the intellectual property belongs to them. Our participation in this show has been fantastic and educational.”
Sustainability is another major trend in the global fashion industry. Mr Gulshan Kumar, Group Head for Fabric and Trimming of sportswear brand Puma (World Cat Ltd) from Taiwan found good Asian suppliers for eco fabrics from the business-matching services “The show is a key platform for our sourcing needs in Asia. Our company is making a big push for sustainability in the products we source. The business-matching programme was highly effective in meeting this need and we met some fantastic suppliers.” Overall, more than 100 business-matching meetings were arranged for selected buyers and exhibitors.
Mr Robin Anson, Editorial Director of industry publication Textile Intelligence shared the same opinion when we spoke about the sustainable textiles development at the seminar. He commented: “The seminar provided me with a perfect opportunity to offer industry delegates our experience and expertise on some of the sustainability issues which the Chinese textile and clothing industry are facing.”
International pavilions and companies present special fibres and look to expand business
For fibre specialist INVISTA, exhibiting again with a group pavilion, Mr Dan Kotkin, Executive Vice President, Apparel – Eastern Region of INVISTA commented: “We come to present our state-of-the-art fibres to manufacturers who can utilise them to meet the market’s sophisticated demands. We believe China will help shape some of the future fibre breakthroughs. The show keeps providing us and our member suppliers with great business, year after year.”
The fair also featured other special fibre group pavilions, such as Cotton Council International, DuPontTM, Hyosung Group, Grasim Group, Korea Chemical Fibres Association and Lenzing. Together with their partner mills, these groups presented unique fibres and applications.
Japanese exhibitors were also looking to expand their market share in China. Ms Jessica Huang, Representative Textile & Garment Division of Toray International (China) said: “I feel that the values of Chinese customers have changed. We have seen more Chinese buyers who are showing great interest in our expensive ultrafine fibres and suede fabrics. These are our major items and Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics is our key marketing platform.”
Meanwhile, Taiwanese suppliers such as menswear and ladieswear specialist Universal Textile was determined to find business from new markets. “We are working hard to expand our business in major markets like Middle East and Latin America,” said Mr Rock Yao, Universal Textile’s Textured Yarn Department Manager. “We are impressed that around two third of the buyers we met are new customers.”
High end yarn-dyed fabrics and shirtings producer, LuThai Textile Co Ltd targets the overseas market. The company’s Director of R&D Center, Mr Jason Zhang said: “Our main feature is high-end casual wear, tailor-made for the American and European markets. During the show we have engaged in serious discussions with top quality European customers. There is no doubt that we have achieved a great success this year.” Another renowned Chinese supplier, Huafu Top Dyed Melange Yarn Co Ltd, also launched their brand’s new 2013 Autumn / Winter colour trends and coloured spun yarns.
The strong line-up of Asian suppliers at the fair also include pavilions representing India (14 exhibitors), Indonesia (9 exhibitors), Korea (118 exhibitors), Pakistan (16 exhibitors) and Thailand (28 exhibitors).
Acknowledging an increased sourcing need for accessory products, the Accessories Halls have been growing year by year, with 540 exhibitors occupying two halls, including Tiger Button (US), Shimada Shoji (Japan) and Esquel Enterprises. While Framis Italia (Hong Kong) said they were happy to be located in the Accessories Hall, Mr. Aldo Visser, Export Manager commented, “The show gives us a chance to share information about what we do with buyers worldwide. The finished garments that we display help potential clients to visualise what we can do for them.”
Expanded fringe programmes and Intertextile Catwalk Show provide inspiration for a dynamic industry platform
A comprehensive range of fringe events were held this year including the debut Intertextile Catwalk Show, the China International Fabric Design Competition, the signature Intertextile Directions Trend Forum and informative seminars.
Top Hong Kong designer Mr William Tang received much acclaim when he presented his “Night and Day” collection at the Intertextile Catwalk Show. The clothes were designed using fabrics from selected exhibitors. Mr Tang commented: “I cooperated with Messe Frankfurt 20 years ago for Interstoff Asia, and I am glad to do this again for Intertextile Apparel Fabrics Shanghai. It is a good opportunity for showcasing new designs and ideas.” In conjunction with the catwalk show, exhibitors including Danmo, Huaqi, Lenzing, Luthai, Shishi Cloth Association, and Suzhou CINC, also presented design pieces using their own materials.
Held as a separate event, the China International Fabric Design competition is the only one of its kind in China. The winners include the Japanese company Komatsu Seiren, British textile house Abraham Moon & Sons Ltd, denim supplier, Lung Fong Textile Co Ltd, Shaoxing Fengqiang Textile Co Ltd, and Hayshiyo Co Ltd.
Many visitors could be found at the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum which was designed and led by Mr Kai Chow from Doneger Creative Services (USA). Through inspiration displays and introduction tours, forum area revealed the Autumn / Winter 2013 – 14 trends. Ms Valentina Djejora, Manager for Women’s Technical Design at US brand Brooks Brothers, was attracted to the display: “We have been coming to this fair for five years to source for our global operation. At the Trend Forum we saw a great collection of bold colours and prints. This is an excellent sourcing platform for our company.”
Mr Robert Parisi, Director of Burma Bibas came from the US to source new menswear fabrics. “There’s a strong demand for more standout colours in menswear, and I already got some ideas for our next line here. The Shanghai show is great for seeing the big picture in the international market.”
Complementing the show were 38 seminars with topics covering certification and testing, market news as well as legal issues related to the textile industry. Design and Trend seminars were a major highlight of the seminar programmes and were well attended by an audience of 1,528. Mr Luping Zhang, a Fabric Developer for Huamao (Xiamen) Weaving Dyeing & Finishing said: “We now know in detail about the 2013 colour and fabric trends. It really helps my business and I didn’t want to miss any session.”
Equally important was the “Korea Day” event organised by the Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). A line-up of international and domestic experts addressed new opportunities for the Korean textile industry.
Ms Wendy Wen further commented at the end of the show: “The global market range of premium fabrics, eco textiles, sustainable information and fashion accessories on offer reassure that Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics is a comprehensive business platform for international apparel fashion market.“
The next edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics takes place from 21 – 24 October 2013 and is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, the Sub-council of Textile Industry, CCPIT and the China Textile Information Centre.
