Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics

Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics remains industry’s leading business platform

Taking place in September for the first time, the earlier date of the 2018 Autumn Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics was well received by both exhibitors and buyers. Strong business results and visitor flow, following on from recent editions, once again proved the fair’s leading position in the industry as an effective sourcing platform. In total, around 78,000 trade buyers from some 110 countries and regions visited the fair, (2017: 77,883, 102 countries and regions), sourcing from 4,480 exhibitors from 33 countries and regions (2017: 4,538, 32 countries and regions).

Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, commented at the conclusion of the fair, “The diversity and internationality of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics once again came to the fore, as exhibitors and buyers were widely satisfied in meeting their participation objectives. This was aided by the earlier date which more closely aligned the fair with the industry’s earlier autumn / winter sourcing season, and was appreciated by both exhibitors and buyers. There were many exhibitor success stories this edition throughout all the fair’s product categories, while those focusing either on meeting their existing customers or new buyers were able to find their targets. Those focused on China reported the continued strength of this market, while exhibitors targeting international markets were pleased with the buyer diversity and international brands in attendance. For buyers, the unrivalled range of quality products covering the entire apparel fabrics and accessories industry stood out the most for many of them.”

On the international exhibitors side this edition, strong growth was registered in the Functional Lab with the number of exhibitors increasing by 92 per cent, while participation in Premium Wool Zone grew by 30 per cent. In Accessories Vision, the number of overseas exhibitors increased by 25 per cent. Meanwhile, nearly all of the fair’s Group Pavilions, from the likes of Hyosung, INVISTA, DuPont and OEKO-TEX, were larger this edition, while new pavilions from Birla, mm, ECOCERT + GOTS, the Indian Chamber of Commerce and the Korea Outdoor & Sports Industry Association expanded the sourcing options for buyers.

The international halls experienced high visitor footfall

While there was much business interaction occurring in these areas, many buyers also found the time to gain inspiration for the next season in the fair’s many trend areas for A/W 19-20, including the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum, four Chinese trend forums, as well as trend areas in the Japan, Taiwan and Korea Pavilions. Adding more inspiration to the fringe programme this edition was the new video display ‘Future Cast: The State of the Consumer’. Developed by The Doneger Group, this presentation helped the apparel industry to gain a wider perspective of the consumer market by delving into the main sociocultural and innovation developments taking place today and their repercussions on business, design, creative and marketing opportunities.

High demand for international premium suppliers

The Premium Wool Zone, where suppliers from France, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, Peru and the UK showcased premium wool products to cater to the rapidly growing demand in the Chinese and global markets, from fine and fashionable wool to luxury worsted wool for men’s suits and jackets. With suppliers that have complete oversee of the fabric manufacturing process, from sheep to product, and brands with centuries of experience, the quality of these luxury fabrics is unrivalled.

Suppliers included Holland & Sherry from the UK, featured their exclusive HS 1842 Argento fabric collection; 13.5 micron merino wool encapsulated with a nano silver finish, effectively combining sustainable wool with anti-bacterial and anti-static properties. Beijing Vitality Textiles Co. Ltd. featured as China’s supplier of Scabal’s fine fabrics, which weave precious gems and metals with high-quality natural fibres. Other international premium suppliers includedDormeuil from France, Stylbiella from Italy and Huddersfield Fine Worsteds from the UK.

Premium Wool Zone

Also there was theSalonEurope, which returned as the fair’s hub for premier fabric suppliers from France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK. The product highlightedincluded high-quality suiting, wool, lace and embroidery, silk and jacquard fabrics, accessories and many more. Sustainable European products to watch out for included cotton fabrics from Alumo AG and Weba from Switzerland, Cervo Tessile SpA from Italy, and Liberty Fabrics from the UK, as well as lace and embroidery products from Ricamificio Paolo of Italy.

Over 130 denim exhibitors to gather at Beyond Denim

Beyond Denim, housed the industry’s leading knit denim, woven denim, denim yarn and other high quality products. International and domestic denim exhibitors, included denim producers, designers & ready-to-wear garment manufacturers featured, as well as cutting-edge denim technologies & fashion trend previews.

Three key themes, Eco-Revolution, Vintage Edition and New World carefully developed by New York’s Doneger Creative Services, featured in the zone and invited visitors to join the conversation of sustainability and encounter pieces that combine innovative technology with retro aesthetics.

Exhibitors brought sustainable products to the zone include Soorty of Pakistan, who recently collaborated with Bestseller’s ONLY brand and Lenzing to create Forever Black, using the EU Ecolabel certified fibres that offer an energy and water reduction of up to 50 per cent, as well as a carbon footprint reduction of 60 per cent. Taiwan’s GLOWTEX showcased their textile dyeing and finishing process technologies, which included their Milagro denim dyeing eco-solutions. With so many exhibitors meeting global industry trends and demands, buyers found what they were looking for at this Autumn Edition. This year’s fair became a significant hub of business potential for the industry’s progression over the upcoming season.

Exhibitor feedback

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Salon Europ
James Tang, Marketing Manager, Südwolle Group, China (German brand)

“This is our first time exhibiting here, and both we and our knitting partners have met a lot of potential customers. We target both brands and end-users, and the fair does attract quality Chinese fashion brands as well as garment knitters and weavers. Our products are quite expensive, so we target the high-end market, and many visitors are from this sector. Victoria’s Secret saw our product in the Trend Forum and came to our booth. We’ve also had buyers from Icebreaker and other luxury brands visit us. Chinese buyers are looking for innovation from overseas brands, so we do attract more attention being an international company.”

Japan Pavilion
Norihisa Fujiwara, Section Manager, Textile & Apparel Business Dept., Teijin Frontier Co. Ltd, Japan

“The China market pays more attention to the quality and functionality of products nowadays, which provides great potential for us. Dickies used our SOLOTEX® fibre last season in China and had great success with it, so we see a lot of potential in this market. We have seen so many buyers in this fair, including textile producers and wholesalers, but also brands such as H&M, Lacoste and Fila, and Chinese brands like Youngor, Li-Ning, Bosideng and Nanshan Group.”

Premium Wool Zone
William Halstead, Sales Director, Taylor& Lodge, UK

“We are satisfied with the result this time. We always meet new contacts at this fair, and the number of buyers in the Premium Wool Zone this time has increased. It’s important we are in this zone because of the growing made-to-measure business in China. The zone is very established in this market, and many people know this is where to find high-quality wool. In Intertextile, although our main focus is on China, we’ve also seen customers from Singapore, India and the US.”

Functional Lab

Yong Hwan Shin, Marketing Manager, Taekwang Industry Co. Ltd., Korea

“We exhibit here to promote our brand to Chinese consumers and brands, and Intertextile Shanghai gives us a lot of exposure in the market. In addition to many Chinese buyers, we’ve also met a lot of international visitors from the US, Europe, India and Bangladesh. The visitor flow has been excellent so far, and we’ve already distributed around 4,500 brochures to interested buyers.”

Anchuan Tang, Design Promotion Manager, Esquel Ent. Ltd, Hong Kong

“Our target here is the Chinese market, in particular high-end brands, and the buyer quality at Intertextile is very good. Septwolves and other well-known domestic brands have visited our booth, while we have also met some high-quality customers with stores on Alibaba, Tmall and Yanxuan. Online shopping is a big trend in China, and the number of ecommerce apparel brands is growing very fast. In addition to these new contacts, we can also meet many of our existing customers here.”

About Sustainability All

Leon Xu, Sales Manager, Hemp Fortex Industries (Rushan) Ltd, China

“This edition we moved to the All About Sustainability area, and because of this we have met more high-quality customers who are interested in our sustainable products. Environmental protection is a big trend in China now, and Intertextile is a good platform for us to meet domestic buyers, while we can also meet some of our overseas customers here. This is a first-class business platform, where we cannot only meet our existing customers, but also discover new ones.”

Verve for Design

Kyle Naughtrip, VP, Operation and Sales, Nikki Martinkovic, USA

“Yesterday (day one) was super busy, and today is fairly busy as well. Many people have checked out our prints and returned with their boss to purchase them. I can say we have had a good show. I think the Chinese market values the US trends and designs. They are willing to pay a higher price for prints from the studios that are here.”

Accessories Vision

Sean Pan, Sales Manager, 3M Intl. Trading (SHA) Co Ltd, China

“As one of the largest textile exhibitions in the world, we can not only meet many of our existing customers here, but also find new potential customers. The number of people in our booth at any one time is always high. Moreover, the quality of customers here is generally good, which, when it comes to doing business, is a unique feature of Intertextile when compared to similar exhibitions.”

Buyer impressions

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Markus Göldi, General Manager, Global Trend GmbH, Switzerland

“This exhibition represents the whole textile industry, we can find everything we need! Nowhere else in the world can you find this, only here in China. One place, three days, you can find everything you need, including fabrics, trims and all the accessories, and you can find new suppliers to work with.”

Kuldeep Raswant, Golden Unicorn (HK) Ltd, Hong Kong

“I found this fair amazingly well laid out, and it has everything we are looking for. We are able to do 90 per cent of the sourcing we need to be here. Intertextile also gives us insights into what are the new things coming out. It is a great experience to be here.”

Zhen Wang, Product Engineering Manager, Textile Dyeing (Suzhou) Co Ltd, China

“We are looking for high-quality raw material suppliers, and the quality of the exhibitors this edition is very good. Our customers are brands such as Nike, adidas, New Balance, Columbia Sportswear, Decathlon, Li-Ning and Anta, so Intertextile Shanghai is an important platform for us to find quality products which can meet the needs of our clients.”