In the subdued market environment, Product Development (PD) is one of the best tools to get business and there are some companies having a dedicated focus on PD. And it further helps Indian apparel manufacturers, brands to have more options for their buyers. One such reputed company is Vardhman Textiles. With continuous thrust on PD, the company recently organised its biannual event Textrum in Gurugram and highlighted a large collection of fabric for A/W ’24-25. Along with menswear and kidswear, the highlights of the collection were womenswear and sustainable innovations and both are the strengths of Indian exporters. So exporters and buying houses, liaison offices were upbeat about the display.
“It is our continuous endeavour to keep exciting the market with innovation and new designs. In addition there is a lot of focus on sustainable products, performance and comfort. We always have had a lot of support from our customers and suppliers working jointly in all of these areas. Textrum has become a solid platform for us to launch new products and seasonal collections,” said Mukesh Bansal, EVP, Marketing, Vardhman Textiles Ltd.
Vardhman is very strong in bottom width fabrics. The same was reflected at Textrum but at the same time, efforts on highlighting topwear as a strength were also quite visible for developing newness in various blends.
The presentation of the collections was also impressive as the fabrics were showcased with garments on dummies, categorised with ample space for the visitors to spend quality time exploring the collection. The industry was able to have a complete feel of fabrics in terms of appearance and fall.
Along with 100 per cent cotton, waste fibre colour flecks, high-twist, space-dye and fringed yarns, Mélange donegal tweeds, wool, acrylic, recycled cotton, recycled poly, slub yarns, linen, hemp, texture yarn, natural linen, ramie, undyed fibre slubs, bamboo, seacell, viscose-tencel/linen, refibra, circulose (renewcell) were used in the collection. Ultra-fine denier polyester and nylon having voile-like lightness were also a part of the collection.
“We have a deep association with all major fibre companies and work closely with them for our collections which include MMF bases like nylon filament and poly filament and acrylic blends. Nylon stretch is picking up in the market,” said Ravi Chauhan, Head Innovation and Design and shared that now more and more apparel companies are increasing their thrust on product development as they have realised that PD is a major tool for survival and growth.
As Textrum was organised at Gurugram, many leading apparel exporters, brands of Delhi-NCR and buying houses and liaison offices were there.
Manisha Sood, Director, Merchandising and Country Leader and Prashant Ghiya, Director Raw Material and R&D, MGF Sourcing Far East Limited were content to see the blends like viscose nylon which for them were very much apt for the season. Keen interest was shown for nylon spandex which is also coming up in a big way while viscose spandex was also being asked for by many buyers. The collections were more product segment-centric rather than being customer-centric.
MGF office in India is almost two years old and it has achieved a level of US $ 100 million in sourcing and for the team, sustainability was also an interesting part of the overall display.
Anubhav Johri, Head of Designs, Radnik Exports, Noida was fascinated with the way the stories were explained along with the fabrics. “Each story is quite justified and it helped designers like me to connect with the product. I am hopeful that the fabrics I selected here, will generate good business for our company,” he stated. Anubhav also liked tri-blend fabric with viscose, cotton and elastin twill and very heavy twill.
| “I am hopeful that fabrics I selected here, will generate good business for our company.” Anubhav Johri, Head of Designs, Radnik Exports |
Anubhav Johri Head of Designs Radnik ExportsTeam of Designers Point, Noida having good reach in export as well as domestic market (Shapes brand) were happy to see the R&D, thrust on sustainability and innovation highlighted in the collection. “Cotton spandex and dobbies were impressive but on a larger perspective, I must say that Vardhman’s tilt towards sustainability in the collection has motivated us to have more focus on sustainable products and hopefully it shall create more business also for us,” Ashwani Anand, Director of the company shared.
Apart from industry representatives from Delhi-NCR, Textrum also had a good number of visitors from other parts of the country. And nearly all of them paid a lot of attention to exploring the collection.
Team Vardhman was content as their efforts were appreciated by the industry. “All three days have very good footfall. We are quite content with the response of the industry and the number of fabrics selected by them in Textrum,” said Gulshan Kumar, SVP, Marketing, Vardhman Textiles.
| Key colours for A/W ’2024/25 collection include Intense Rust, Midnight Plum, Sustained Grey, Apricot Crush and Cool Matcha.
Sudarsan Mallick, Chief Designer, Vardhman Textiles shared that by focusing on deep research, Team Vardhman built the collection around four major themes: Future Classic (formal, workleisure, workwear); Think Beyond (festive, outdoor); Explore The Unexpected (Gen Z, Metaverse, Streetwear); and Eco Bond (cost of living, overall sustainability). With regard to finishes or treatments, the collection had easy-care, mechanical stretch, antibacterial, eco teflon finishes, raising/Bbrushing, wrinkle-free/MXl, wrinkle-free zero formaldehyde, LA+ calendar, fluorine-free, bio-based finishes, quick dry, eco stretch, all climate proof finishes and anti-static. Along with other concepts, digital look, flexible, 3-D sculpted textiles, biophilic pattern, abstract Jacquards, faded checks and stripes, time-travelled casuals, quilt, patina, glitch and glowing print were also highlighted in the collection. |
