What goes around comes around… The sixth edition of Denimsandjeans.com Bangladesh (to be held on October 5-6 at Hotel Radisson, Dhaka) with the theme – ‘VINTAGE RECALL – Denim Goes Back To Its Roots’, is a perfect testimony of the same! Lately, there is a strong inclination towards revisiting the past which has numerous brands and manufacturers look for denim characteristics which the jeans had in early 1900s, be it in terms of colour, looks, weave or even the slubs.
Whilst there is a thirst for performance denims, with technical finishes or extra stretch and comfort, there is also a yearning for more authentic vintage denims, in look, weight and colour. Customers are asking for more defined twills with less flat appearance and fabrics with more characters in the warp…, is what Vicunha Textil, one of the oldest and well-known names in denim fabrics, has to maintain about vintage denim. Vicunha’s observation is echoed by Denim Tekstil of Turkey. “Denim fashion is returning to the roots. It has become very trendy to have vintage character like the 1970s blue and marble looks as such we have developed various products including different variations of blues to get in the flavour of vintage…,” the Turkish denim fabric giant underlined. However, Bangladesh-based Jamuna Denims Limited is not very sure if vintage is the flavour of the season. “There is no clear indication as such. We would have to wait further to get to know the actual trend…,” the Bangladesh denim fabric manufacturer maintained.
Notwithstanding the contradictions, there is no denying the fact that the industry is increasingly looking at possibilities of giving the vintage character, which VINTAGE RECALL is all about!
On the eve of the denim extravaganza waiting to unfold in Dhaka, Apparel Online Bangladesh interacted with the participants to get a lowdown on products & innovations (in design and developments) to look out for, as well their strengths that would benefit the clients.
Products to watch out for
Anubha Industries: New shades, special finishes and new weaves, suitable for the vintage theme.
Archroma: Set of new brilliant blues – Ocean Blues (Diresul Pacific, Arctic and Caribbean) along with Earthcolor Denim (Earthcolors are dyestuffs synthesised from redundant biomass).
Denim Tekstil: To present 80% stretch with very low growth, 4-way stretch for maximum comfort and selvedge denim range both in rigid and stretch.
Ha Meem: Differentiated products to enhance wearing comfort and experience like power stretch fabrics (50% & above stretch percentage) in 7.5 to 8 oz category made out of blends like cotton/polyester/modal, which forms the core of Ha Meem’s product pallet. In women’s category, the company is offering soft twist yarns, dual FX, T 400, Siro, etc., while novelty concepts like stay dark, cross hatch, rugged denim, overdyed in super stretches would be pitched for the men’s category.
Jamuna: Products in various washes, both in dry and wet processes.
Malwa: Products with vintage character in terms of the construction and also couple of new shades in line with the authentic and vintage denim.
Officina: RECYCROM (colours to dye recycling 100% textile waste), REMOVER IND/J (substitute of Potassium Permanganate) and NOVAPRET NFC/LT (low temperature bleachable resin).
Prosperity Textile: Bio-Stretch with 30%+ renewably sourced materials and 20% better recovery, C-Blend with multi-fibre blended technology to deliver ultra-soft hand feel (50% softer than 100% cotton) and seal denim comprising overdyed finishing to get a more saturated colour from black-on-black to blue-on-blue.
Reliance: Recron® GreenGold (One of the world’s most eco-friendly fibres with one of the lowest carbon footprints), Recron® EcoD (brand of pre-coloured fibres that removes the need for further dyeing downstream and currently available in around 50 shades), Recron®FeelFresh (Inherent anti-microbial fibres for denims that one can wear for extended periods of time without worrying about bad odour) and Recron®Kooltex (Moisture wicking for enhance comfort).
Siddiqsons: Sustenance (this theme/story presents eco-friendly denims with authentic denim looks and includes one of Siddiqsons’ favourite fabrics that uses hemp to be more sustainable), Femme (this theme is all about femininity and sensuality and the company’s favourite product under this theme is the delicate lycra-beauty, skinny decorated with lace flowers); and lastly, Space Explorer (performance and thermo cool fibres).
Soorty: Various colours and innovations in performance and sustainability.
Xin Gao: Bi-conjugate stretch filaments, i.e. CM800. CM800 conjugate filament is extruded from two polymers with a differential viscosity. When heat is applied to the yarn, the result is a spring like structure. It is available in white, semi dull and dope dyed shades.
Vicunha: ILLIMANI (wide width 170 cm/100% cotton in 14 oz. This is a real authentic heavy weight high ridge twill with a soft handle making it a great option for ladies casual jackets), GROVER (wide width 170 cm/100% cotton in 10 oz – recycled cotton in glorious deep indigo with a ring in the warp which when washed gives great light and dark tones on a strong twill) and IGOR DARK (wide width 170 cm/100% cotton in 10 oz – recycled cotton available in wide width for improved consumption and is also competitively priced).
Product development, the soul of denim
Anubha Industries: As a new company we keep a fresh perspective in our product offering by having a wide array of collections. Looking at the trends and our forecasts we roll out with collections every month. Our PD team works very aggressively on innovation and creating sustainable products.
Archroma: We work exclusively to develop products and effects that combine innovation and sustainability as we understand that one cannot exist without the other. Price being a big factor, we think creativity, innovation and sustainability would gradually gain importance in the near future.
Denim Tekstil: We have developed very high stretch fabrics to achieve maximum comfort. We have also been working on different dobby styles and also since denim is returning to roots, we worked deeply on the vintage story.
Ha Meem: A large portion of our expenditure has been earmarked initiatives such as product differentiation, innovation and re-engineering, all of which act as business navigator at a time when denim has become an integral part of the fashion industry which works on 4 seasons in a year.
Jamuna: Our product development team comprises of some well experienced personnel from home and abroad, the strength of which is the attitude and capability of these people.
Malwa: PD is the soul of any collection and our mill fully acknowledges the importance of the same. As such our PD team apart from its research on trends works very closely with the marketing team who are directly in touch with the key leaders in our apparel industry. We look at PD cost as an investment essential in today’s ever-evolving fashion industry.
Officina: We strongly believe in R&D as fundamental key of our daily activity and strength. We’re investing in developing eco-sustainable products to provide designers the newest technologies possible in the fashion industry.
Prosperity Textile: We regard our PD team as the engine; the team is always looking for multiple possibilities of denim to make new and innovative products. Our strategy is to have some basic items as the quantity business, then we have pre-set budget for new developments, which is all about the right balance.
Reliance: Our PD team comprises people with complementary strengths in various downstream processes and combined knowledge base to effectively innovate and deploy new products in market.
Siddiqsons: Our PD team stems from Siddiqsons’ dedicated fabric and garment R&D and design department that follow the worldwide trends meticulously to come up with the best of developments.
Grandtex: The strength of our PD team is to challenge itself to continue coming up with new developments keeping with the trend and market demands.
Square Denims Limited (SDL): SDL puts a lot of emphasis R&D and as such has hired world-renowned technician from overseas alongside talented young professionals locally. In fact SDL is one amongst the handful mills of Bangladesh who depend on their own development rather than customer-driven development, a common practice in Bangladesh.
Vicunha: We have a very strong product development team because as a global entity we deliver the true global overview of the up and coming in trends.
Biggest Strength
Anubha Industries: Our biggest strength is to service our clients with the premium rope dyed fabric at the best price, at the right time. We offer one-stop solution for all fabric requirements with denim, linen, polyester and cotton shirting.
Archroma: We focus completely on innovation and sustainability, but not as separated factors but as parts of the same development idea. Doing so, we intend to inspire the designers and product creators, providing them with new tools and a ‘thinking beyond’ perspective.
Denim Tekstil: We believe in today’s market; most important point is to not only to make the right product, but ensure timely delivery so that we always keep ready stocks of our collection to give faster service to our business partners.
Ha Meem: Highly committed employer with sound financial stability and committed top management has made Ha Meem Denim grow consistently. Ease of availability of real time data from ERP, progressive business approach, efficient customer services, conflict management abilities, and innovative & cost-competitive products have made our business sustainable.
Jamuna: In-house backward and forward linkages are our biggest strength; we’ve world class spinning capacity, garments and one of the best garments washing department.
Malwa: Extensive research & product development combined with efficient infrastructure and the team to convert ideas into bulk in the most efficient manner as per customer’s expectation and quality standards.
Vicunha: Over the years we have invested in sustainability and this allows us to remain competitive and consistent in an otherwise volatile market. We have invested so much that we are now the world’s largest individual consumer of BCI cotton and can boast of most magnificent recycling system in which we create NO WASTE!
Officina: We strongly believe in service and support to the customers as policy of our daily job while continuous Research and Developments on new process and technology is our mission.
Prosperity Textile: Great price and performance denim fabric to clients all around the world with our local service and in-time delivery backed by our production sites in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam (to come up by end of 2017).
Reliance: Through innovations at the raw material, we make it easier for denim manufacturers to create specialty denims through cost-effective methods.
Siddiqsons: Our biggest strength lies in our people and our teams because we believe bringing together the right human resources shows in our products.
Soorty: Vertical integration from raw fibres to finished garment and global presence are our biggest strengths.
All the participants held high opinion about Denimsandjeans.com, which they feel contributed a lot in their growth and development. Such initiatives in Europe and USA have been promoting the industry since long. As far as Asia is concerned, Denim&jeans is doing a very good job in promoting the denim sector, underlined Soorty, while Ha Meem stated: “Such business promotional initiatives are essential as it creates conducive business environment and weaves a seamless fabric between manufacturers and the brands.
