21th August 2021, Mumbai:

Despite partial shutdown blues in the nation and COVID-19 uncertainties in global markets, India's clothing exports picked up in 2021, according to government statistics.

According to India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the country's clothing exports brought in US $ 7.48 billion in the first half of this year, up 36% year on year. The increase was attributed to a robust rebound in traditional markets such as the United States and the United Arab Emirates, while exports to the United Kingdom also improved. 

Apparel exports to the United States were $2.08 billion, up 37.11 percent year on year. The UAE imported the US $ 1.13 billion worth of clothes from India in the first half of this year, an increase of 87.33 percent year on year. The rebound in woven clothing shipments to the UAE market is particularly intriguing.

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It's been clear over the past year and a half that woven apparel isn't creating much demand, and customers are favoring knits. However, India's woven apparel exports to the UAE increased by 130.20 percent year on year, compared to 54.06 percent for knitted items.

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• In July, apparel sales in India were at 63 percent of pre-pandemic levels

17th August 2021, Mumbai:

European high street brand Jack & Jones, is present in India for over a decade with a retail footprint in over 60 cities. Known for its trends-driven offerings in denim, the brand created a strong recall value amongst consumers within a short span of time. Jack & Jones continuously strives to bring the best international fashion across all menswear categories. The brand recently launched the Jack &Jones Junior range to offer a similar set of high on fashion styles and denims to younger age group.

Spotlight on individual personalities in A/W ’21

The A/W’21 collection offers four different ranges under their sub-brand. Named Core- Off Grid, Vintage-The Lone Ranger, Originals-90’s Love and Premium- Gangster in LA, these collections highlight the distinct personalities of consumers. They embrace the concept of individualism by innovating with details and shapes in the garments. Their verbose prints and concealed patterns give the garments an outdoor and technical look. Their earth-inspired colors explore unexpected shades that give them a futuristic look.

Product Innovations

The bran launched a sustainable denim range made with responsibly sourced cotton through Better Cotton Initiative. The denim range washed in recycled water has zero fresh water usage. The garments are mostly made from cotton blends and recycled polyester while undergarments are made from modal fabrics. Their colors range from autumn hues like burnt orange, amber, grey and black to different shades of blue, etc.

The brand adopted a smooth ‘phygital’ retail model that incorporates various technological concepts like virtual catalogues, AI enabled smart mirrors and convergence of offline and online channels. These concepts help consumers virtually browse through various products offerings, minimum personal contact and choosing their preferred mode of shopping.

A pioneer in street style garments and denim in India, Jack & Jones offers latest denim trends that provide a perfect mix of comfort, fashion and individuality. The brand also offers other products such as accessories, shirt, T-shirt, pants, shorts, winter wear, trousers, blazers, suits, accessories, footwear and lounge wear/ inner wear. The target consumers vary between teenagers and young adults. The brand recently launched the Jack & Jones Junior range for young boys aged 4 to14 years.

Retail Footprint

Jack & Jones has a retail space of over 2 lakh sq. ft. across India and is present in over 60 cities including Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Surat and Ludhiana. Their retail network spans 74 stores and 525 shop-in-shops across the country. The brand is also available on www.jackjones.in and with leading online partners.

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18th August 2021, Mumbai:

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI) opines, opening up retail will accelerate business recovery in India. Retail sales across India reached 72 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels of July 2019 during the same month this year. 

Businesses hope, the upcoming festival season will further boost sales with South India sales reaching 82 percent of the pre-pandemic levels.

However, sales in West India are likely to remain subdued at 57 per cent of pre-pandemic levels of July 2019. Sales here are likely to be hampered by prolonged curbs in Maharashtra that have disrupted the smooth functioning of modern retail in the state, adds Rajagopalan.

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG9I0KZTNmM

In July 2021, quick service restaurants emerged as the best recovering category with 97 per cent of pre-pandemic sales. Beauty and wellness including salons recovered to 50 per cent of their pre-pandemic sales while apparel recovered to 63 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels.

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16th August 2021, Mumbai:

Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) is scheduled to host the second digital edition of the India Couture Week 2021 from August 23-29, 2021. 

The event will be launched by designer Manish Malhotra with his couture presentation. Archana Aggarwal Timeless Jewellery will be the jewellery partner this year.

The 14th edition of India Couture Week 2021 will be attended by India’s top 19 couturiers including Amit Aggarwal, Amit GT, Anamika Khanna, Anju Modi, Ashima Leena, Dolly J, Falguni Shane Peacock, Gaurav Gupta, Kunal Rawal, Manish Malhotra, Pankaj & Nidhi, Rahul Mishra, Reynu Taandon, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna, Shantanu & Nikhil, Siddartha Tytler, Suneet Varma, Tarun Tahiliani and Varun Bahl.

The fashion films of these designers will be streamed on all the FDCI's digital platforms -Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and FDCI website. The show will end with a presentation by couturier Rahul Mishra.

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• The anti-dumping tariff on viscose staple fibers (VSF) has been removed by India
• The extension of RoSCTL till 31 March 2024 widely hailed

19th August 2021, Mumbai:

Tracing its origins from the Sanskrit word Devi, Shree offers well-priced, comfortable, everyday ethnic wear for woman. The brand from New Delhi-based ethnic wear manufacturer and distributor SHR Lifestyle is offering ‘Khuski ke 100 bahane’, their latest A/W’21 collection. Sandeep Kapoor, Chairman and Managing Director, elaborates on the brand’s upcoming collection and future plans.

What is your new collection?

Titled ‘Khuski ke 100 bahane’, our A/W’21 collection is the festive collection from Shree celebrates life’s happy moments amid uncertain times. It offers a mix of handmade pre-festive, semi-festive and festive ranges. Inspired by togetherness, nature and hope, the collection reflects the positivity created by increased vaccinations in consumers’ minds. The silhouettes are a mix of plain and festive outfits with minimal embellishments like Kanchan and Philauri ranges. The Kantha Katha range popularizes popular stitches of the fashion industry.

What are your product categories?

We offer kurtis and kurtas, ethnic sets, salwar kameez dupatta sets, tunics, dresses and bottoms. We plan to venture into the ready-to-stitch category.

What are the key fabric trends for the season?

We primarily focus on skin-friendly and comfortable fabrics. The most preferred fabric is cotton. However, we also offer outfits in rayon, blends of cotton and polyester, blends of polyester and silk, etc. The prints on these fabrics are a fusion of geometric with floral, ornamental and geometric designs. We also merge ornamental motifs with geometric prints. Our color palette is pastel, white and subtle hues.

Elaborate on your retail network.

We are primarily operational in Northern Indian cities like New Delhi and Punjab. Our first store opened in New Delhi, in 2015. Currently, we have 95 stores spanning 50,000 sq ft pan India. We aim to take our store count to 200 in the next two years. We also have a strong online presence through our web portal www.shreelifestyle.com

We aggressively promote this website on all offline channels. It is not only user-friendly but also easily accessible, and responsive.

Are you planning any changes in your business model post COVID?

The pandemic has significantly altered consumers’ behavior. There is greater inclination towards online shopping. To cater to changing requirements, we are exploring e-commerce platforms, store-to-door deliveries, kiosks, and WhatsApp shopping.

Is your brand working on value engineering to be more realistic in present times?

Since inception, we have offer complete value for money options to our consumers. The minor details in our garments such as pockets, side locks and safety stitches, help maximize their value. Most of our garments are made with natural, breathable fabrics like LIVA, cotton, rayon, etc, making them easy to wear and versatile. These garments are low to maintain and can be easily washed at home.

What are your future plans?

We aim to expand into the Tier III, IV and V cities towns of India

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17th august 2021, Mumbai:

Footwear brand Happenstance.com is launching a new National Campaign to highlight the launch of its new collection Super Trios in the following months. The campaign will emphasize on the new style categories, on Happenstance.com. It will celebrate the novel technology as well as comfortable footwear offered by the brand that helps consumers make incredible statements to the area of fashion.

Within two years of its launch, Happenstnce.com has grabbed national wide attention with its unique technology and styling. In the new campaign, Bollywood actors Sushmita Sen and Radhika Apte will endorse women's shoes, sandals and ballet flats while actor Rajkumar Rao will endorse men’s styles. With the new National campaign, Happenstance will also launch an exclusive range of flats, casual shoes and formals for their latest category.

With the international technology and the perfection in making, Happenstance is building as a National Brand competing with international brands like Skechers, Crocs, Birkenstock, Aldo, etc. The chief objective of brand is to merge the gap between the Indian footwear and international technologies.

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16th August 2021, Mumbai:

Ethnic women’s wear brand Soch has been offering fashionable wear at affordable rates for over a decade. The Bengaluru-based brand has 137 stores across 53 cities and is increasing its footprint in Tier II and III cities besides expanding in Tier I cities. Manohar Chatlani, Managing Director, talks about the brand’s offerings, new collections and retail spread.

Tell us about your collection for the upcoming season.

We aim to capture evolving fashion trends to celebrate festivities. Our new launches include clothes that make a fashion statement through their timeless appeal, elegant charm and beautiful colors. They include everything from saris, to salwar suits to lehengas and kurtas to satisfy a women’s changing fashion needs. Soch launches multiple themes for every occasion in every season. The product range encompasses casual, evening and occasion wear for a complete wardrobe solution.

What are your latest product innovations?

Comfort and elegance go hand in hand at Soch. We use soft and breathable fabrics to enhance our customers’ body shapes and camouflage their pain areas. The neck styles and side slits in garments are designed to enhance comfort. The color palette is tweaked to suit Indian skin tone and make one look fresh and elegant.

Is your brand working on value engineering to be more realistic in present times?

We aim to offer affordable and timeless fashion to reflect evolving trends. Currently, we are focusing on light and comfortable fabrics in bright colors. We have launched an entire range of super stretch pants in our work from home category. These have been engineered to provide extreme comfort with least maintenance and enhanced fashion quotient.

What are the key fabric trends for the season?

Our collection comprises multiple fabrics ranging from cotton to georgette to muslin to soft silks, linen chanderi etc. The prints and embroideries in this collection have been selected on the basis of silhouette and occasion. We refrain from using bold prints. The prints and embroideries used in this collection highlight the elegance of designs and colors. Our range includes elegant hand embroideries made with rare embroidery techniques like pearls embedded in zardozi loops and knot and sequence work.

TOP 5:

• 'Independence Day' Sales a positive surprise
• Go Fashion (India), a womenswear business, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO)
• A start-up from Tamil Nadu, India, has won an award for innovation in textile waste management
• India's clothing will assist the country meet its $400 billion export goal: Chairman of the AEPC
• Label Makers, a Bangladeshi company, would spend $1.14 million in the Dhaka EPZ