The first edition of Tex-Trends was introduced with a big bang, having a strong presence from the textile chain and the entire industry was thrilled that this show would mature in terms of participation and product categories with each successive year. However, the very second edition would fetch such a disappointing outcome from textile companies, nobody envisaged with less than half the participation from last time.
The fabric section this year was predominately represented by Texprocil, SRTEPEC, Pedexcil, and HEPC (which was predominantly home textiles made-ups). A few big companies like RSWM, Welspun, Zucchi Textiles Limited, Mafatlal Denim, Siyaram Silk Mills Limited, Raymond India, Nandan Exim did make a presence, however the majority of the players were from the handloom and powerloom sector. The saving grace was that the fact the big mills did showcase their newer developments which were quite interesting. The predominant category was suitings, both in PV and PW and other innovative blends followed by yarn dyed shirting and denim.
Denim Developments
A lot of new finishes and constructions were showcased. The show-stopper in denim category was the range of handloom denim, converted into garments by Denim Club with ‘Handloom Mark’ which authenticates its purity. Fashion Designer, Samant Chauhan, known for ethical and sustainable fashion creation has associated with Denim Club for developing the exclusive range of garments made out of the newly developed handloom denim. Many innovations are on to make this denim fashion current and one such is developing stretch handloom denim.
Blue indigo, classical blue shade, derivates of blue were being showcased by Mumbai based Mafatlal Denim. The company was also showcasing its new collection with different Matrix shade applied in different technique. Mafatlal Denim has over 250 different varieties of specialty denims, which include ring and open end products, mercerized and stretch denims, specialty coated fabrics, deep indigo denim, varieties of specialty sulphur top and bottom dyed denims and organic denims. Its “Upper Crest” collection that has soft hand feel and is very comfortable to wear is targeted for high-end segment. “To lead the fashion trends, we always introduce innovative concepts in the market by means of special fibre, application technique, etc. in the denim. Application of colour by foam coating, matrix shade, wax hand touch by coating application are highlight of the season,” says Subrata Ghosh, Vice-President, PD, R&D, Mafatlal Denim Ltd.
Mafatlal Denim’s capacity increased from 10 million metres per annum to 20 million metres per annum in 2008. Mafatlal Denim has been accredited with ISO 9001, ISO-14000, GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), OE (Organic Exchange), and Oeko-Tex Certification, making them reliable supply-chain partners for Global and Indian brands.
Ahmedabad based Nandan Exim Limited was displaying its innovative products in light weight fabric with refined look, cotton’s with subtle slub and dark shades, new shades with different combination on topping and bottoming of indigo with other dyes, clean look satin stretches along with power stretch in different texture. “For Tex-Trends the main innovation has been done in fabric structure, shade and finishes (flatness). The shade depth has been increased so that the washing width of the fabric is more for garment. With latest trend of more flat look fabric, it has been done both in cotton as well as cotton-spandex,” informs Nishant Giri, DGM-Exports, Nandan Exim Ltd. Currently the company has a capacity of 60 million metres/annum and is still expanding. RSWM also showed its latest range in denim with new construction, coating, finishes and colours.
Suitings & Shirtings
Raymond exhibited its wool blends for suitings for its Spring/Summer 2012 collection that included 100% wool, wool modals, wool/linen, wool/cotton and wool/silk, which are mostly targeted to luxury blazers. The company also exhibited its very innovative product UV pro plus in which wool poly fibre is treated to keep the body cool. This fabric has been developed with Clariant International which has given its technical know-how. The unique fabric has properties like effective heat control and UV rays protection; assures protection of skin from UV and sun rays; reduces the heating of body and excessive sweating; guarantees minimum UPF 30; and works effectively on medium and dark colours.
Siyaram Silk Mills exhibited its yarn dyed shirting fabrics in PC, CVC and Fila-Fil. In suitings, it has displayed a range in PV, PV Lycra, PV Linen, PV Wool and polywool. “For the first time we have come up with ‘TR’ finish with silky touch which so far only China has been doing and our fabric’s quality and pricing are both at par to the Chinese products,” claims Vinayak Srivastava, Area Sales Manager, Siyaram Silk Mills. Presently, the company is making 10 lakh metres/month in yarn dyes and now with its expansion, the capacity would go up by 16 lakh metres/month from March 2012 onwards. In suitings, it is producing 35 lakh metres/month and with capacity enhancement it will produce 50 lakh metres/month. Now the company is also going to enter into 100% cotton yarn dyed shirting fabric.
OCM India Ltd. in its Spring/Summer 12 collection showed its latest development in PV Filament with weight reductions. Explaining about the product, Naveen Sahni, Deputy GM (International Marketing) says, “At the finishing process the polyester is dissolved to make finer counts. This fabric is apt for bottom wear.” The other interesting product for women is the fancy double cloth-one side check and one side plain in 100% wool. The company is exporting its fabrics to 47 countries like Jordan, Kuwait, Japan, Europe, Russia, Middle East and the US to mention a few. The company is now going for expansion; from its present capacity of 8.4 million metres/annum it will touch 9 plus million metres per annum.
The highlights at Dinesh Mills booth are worsted fabrics, all wool, poly wool blends. The most fascinating development is its poly/wool/lycra blended fabric. “We have received quite an encouraging response for this product,” shares Sudhir Purohit, Vice President, Shri Dinesh Mills Ltd. Presently the company is producing 2½ million metres of fabrics/annum and is exporting to countries like the US, Canada, Middle East, Australia and Far East.
[bleft]The big mills showcased their newer developments which were quite interesting. The predominant category was suitings, both in PV and PW and other innovative blends followed by yarn dyed shirting and denim. While the denim focus was in its new finishes and constructions, the suiting and shirting range were more about different fibre blends [/bleft]
RSWM showcased its exclusive range of Mayur Suitings, Quick Wash and Orgaton made from organic cotton. In its latest LNJ Denim range, the company displayed flame retardant, antimicrobial, anti static, breathable, water repellant/resistant fabric in various new shades. “We believe in introducing new fabrics for every season for which constant R&D is required and we have a very strong team to do that,” says SK Babbar, General Manager, Corporate Communications. RSWM Limited, the flagship company of Rs. 5,000 crore LNJ Bhilwara Group, is one of the largest textile manufacturers in the country, primarily producing synthetic, blended, mélange, cotton & specialty yarn, fabric and denim.
Mumbai based Banbury Exports, a manufacturer of all types of textile fabric and also a certified ISO 9001 company, was exhibiting its light finish fabrics, stain resistant fabrics and fabrics with mechanically raised designs, etc. “The application is menswear but some special techniques are involved to make micro light finish, stain resistance and mechanically raised designs,” avers Arun Rathi, Sr. Manager Export (Wool Division). The company with a production capacity of 15 lakh metres per month in narrow and wide widths is primarily dealing in blended suiting fabrics in PV, PW, 100% wool along with shirting fabrics in PV, PC, 100% cotton, CVC and linen blends.
Ramkrishna (Jhanwar) Group of Ichalkaranji showcased its recently introduced qualities in yarn dyed shirting in modal, excel along with cotton linen. It also showcased its 50% cotton and 50% viscose in solids. “The yarn dyed shirting in modal and excel is fetching us good response,” shares Kailash Chandak, GM Sales. The company has recently expanded its capacity in sizing with an investment of Rs. 5 crore. Now the company is looking at almost doubling its capacity from 55,000 metres/day to 1,20,000 metres/day. The main exporting markets for the company are the US, Mexico and Dubai.
A relatively smaller player, Mumbai based Atlas Exports showcased its range of suitings, shirtings and printed fabrics at Tex-Trends. “We believe in developing new products each time which appeals to the international buyers. Exclusivity is what we believe in,” states Sanjay Kamdar, Owner of the company. The company was founded in 1975 and has been successfully growing its exports by expanding into new markets with innovative quality products with each successive year.
[bleft]In silk and velvet, prints and embroidery were speaking loud along with digital prints both in apparel and furnishing fabrics[/bleft]
Salem based Lambiwala Textile Mills showed its various yarn dyed fabric both powerloom and autoloom in various counts and weights. The company specializes in yarn dyed fabrics and is catering to the demands of garment exporters at Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and Chennai since 1980.
Another Salem-based company, Conika Fabrics exhibited its 100% yarn dyed fabrics for shirting. The company’s new development was its yarn dyed indigo checks in selvedge chambray, seersucker and dobby. Earlier only the mill sector was producing indigo yarn dyes; Conika now claims to be the pioneer in powerloom sector for this product.
Silk & Velvets
In this category the players showcased their fashion garments and furnishing fabrics with a lot of value additions. Prints were speaking loud on these fabrics including the digital ones. Mumbai based Shailesh Velvet, manufacturer of woven pile velvet fabric, showcased solid 100% viscose dyed velvet, solid polyester, long/short crush dyed 100% cotton velvet and multi printed velvet (floral, ombre, etc.). There was also a range of gold metallic printed fabric, brasso (with allover and border designs), nylon/viscose brasso (single and with gold lurex) along with velvet grey in different grams and embossed velvet. “We have our factories at Bhiwandi and Vasai with complete in-house weaving and processing facility,” shares Shailesh Shorewala, Owner of the company. The company produces fabrics both for home furnishings and garments and can develop any designs/colour as per the specification given by the buyers.
R C Export House from Bangalore showed their winter 2012-13 collection in silk fabrics for apparels and home furnishings. The eye-catching products were digitally printed silk fabrics for high fashion ladies garments in bright colours. “We have our own weaving setup, but however we are outsourcing processing. We are capable to produce customized designs as per buyer’s specifications and can take even a minimum order of 50 metres,” states K Ravi Chandran, Owner of the company. The digital prints price range starts from US $ 18 to US $ 24 and the basic fabric from US $ 5 to US $ 15.
