He added, “Taiwan is a country that is known for producing textiles. But, the high cost of labour has forced the garment industry to move offshore. India, with its large population, is a booming market and the country has a strong garment-manufacturing base.”
Mr Huang also highlighted in an interesting manner the changing market and demand trends especially in the US where a total of US $260 billion was spent last year on textiles alone. Of this, 57 per cent were purchased by women, 38 per cent by men and the remaining five per cent by children. The increase in volume of retail sales as a result of purchases by women was 5.6 per cent in terms of volume and 4.10 per cent in terms of price; whereas for men it was 1.20 per cent in volume and 3.10 per cent in price. This showed that purchases by men got better revenues.
Trends seminar
The second seminar, Colour Fabrics and fashion Inspiration for Autumn/Winter 06/07, was highly appreciated for bringing the forthcoming trends to India, through an interesting audio-visual presentation, sleek fan decks and trends publications. Through a spectrum of colours, weaves, fashion and fabrics, Mr Stephen Higginson, steered delegates through a journey from winter into spring and summer.
“Sportswear,” said Mr Higginson, “was a fast growing segment, with populations desiring to be healthy.” The trend, he said, was to use sports apparel for everyday use. In Europe, around 33.1 per cent of sports apparelbuyers used it exclusively for sports, 32.5 per cent for sports and as every day wear and 32.5 per cent used sports apparel exclusively for every day wear. “By simply wearing it, you feel fit. You don't need to go to a gym to feel fit.” “About the future of fabrics and fashion one can see many innovations,” said Mr Higginson.
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