California Apparel News

NEW YORK—As fast-fashion retailers such as H&M, Mango and Zara hit U.S. shores, the speed-to-market maxim is taking on new meaning, encouraging manufacturers, retailers and importers to speed up their supply chains, said exhibitors showing at the Material World New York fabrics and sourcing expo, held Sept. 26–28 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

The show puts fabric suppliers, factories and technology vendors together under one roof. The recent influx of fast-fashion retailers has only added to the sense of urgency show goers feel to keep up with the competition.

Technology is one means to achieve that goal, said show organizers and industry executives speaking at the keynote conference, which featured DKNY, A/X Armani Exchange and QVC, among others.

“What ties it all together is technology,” said Tim von Gal, president of show producer Urban Expositions.

Whether for fabrics or sourcing, technology is becoming more of a common denominator.

“Just about every apparel executive I have spoken to recently is seriously evaluating technology for their businesses,” said Kevin M. Burke, president of the Washington D.C.–based American Apparel & Footwear Association.

At Material World, the technology factor was strong even at the textiles level, with buyers attracted to both organic fabrics, free of chemicals and pesticides, and technical fabrics, treated with chemicals and other agents that provide performance characteristics. Covington, Ga.–based FiberVisions Inc. debuted its CoolVisions yarns and gained a steady clientele throughout the show. “We’ve been slammed since 30 minutes after the doors opened,” said Maureen Campbell, a textile engineer with the company.

CoolVisions is a dyeable polypropylene fiber, as opposed to pigmented, for the ready-to-wear market. It has less density than traditional polypropylene fibers and offers wrinkle- and stain-resistant characteristics. “We see interest coming from sportswear makers as well as the children’s market and military,” Campbell said.

Growing interest in organic fabrics led buyers to the Eclat Textiles booth, which showed in the Taiwan Textile Federation pavilion. The company highlighted organic cottons and bamboo fabrics.

Company sales executive Stefan Novak said the spike in oil and gasoline prices has raised awareness of eco-friendly products, which he said accounts for part of the interest in organics. He noted that some clients, including Vista, Calif.–based outdoor and yoga retailer Prana, are switching to organic yarns for all of their apparel production. The only potential problem, said Novak, is that a spike in demand for organic cotton could lead to a major shortage by 2008.

Chris Wynne-Potts, director of Cool Ideas, an African sourcing agent, hopes that will lead more U.S. companies to Africa. “We are organic by default,” he said. “African countries are growing lots of cotton, but they can’t afford to invest in the pesticides and other agents, so we hope to accommodate the marketplace.”

Potts was part of a large contingent from African nations showing at Material World. “There are a tremendous variety of manufacturers that offer a lot of value,” he said. “We are seeing lots of retailers that want to do business with Africa, but they don’t know how to do it. That’s why we’re here.”

Lawrence Serbin of Los Angeles– based Hemp Traders said he is also feeling the impact on the eco-movement. “We’ve experienced growth every year,” he said. “Hemp is stronger than cotton but doesn’t have as much stretch. It’s more like linen, so it helps us sell into the apparel and home furnishings markets.”

Serbin had been lobbying the state of California to adopt a recent bill, Assembly Bill 1147, which would have legalized the use of industrial hemp, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill on Sept. 30. The company is currently using Asian resources for its hemp supply.

“Buyers want something new,” said Vahe Tashdjian, president of Glendale, Calif.–based Novatex International, which has gained lots of hits for its “poodle”-textured fabric.

“The market isn’t growing, so you have to try new items, new lines.”

Mukesh Agrawai of India-based resource Fabco agreed. “You can’t predict anything in this market,” he said. “We are concentrating on quality and design, and that’s how we are doing well.”

The company highlighted hand-embellished silks for the fashion and home furnishings industry at the show.

PLM key for tech vendors

IT vendors showing in the Technology Solutions section of the show continued to focus on emerging product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, which help companies streamline their product development process through the Internet and online collaboration with trading partners and others along the supply chain.

While PLM has proved to be successful in other industries, it still has to pass some tests in the apparel industry, said Bud Staples of Tolland, Conn.–based Gerber Technology Inc. “It takes months to build an airplane. You have to bring that concept down to a few weeks in the apparel industry,” he said.

Staples said Gerber hopes to make PLM more viable in the apparel industry with the company’s new FLM (Fashion Lifecycle Management) application, an extension of its popular WebPDM product.

Fred Isenberg of Miami Lakes, Fla.–based NGC said PLM will be vital to apparel operations going forward. “It’s not a trend. It’s a requirement,” he said.

Citing research data, Isenberg said PLM can trim production lead times from 10 to 15 percent and noted that some companies, including Armani/Exchange, have realized 25 percent improvement in the product development cycle.

“You have to shrink the development cycle,” added David Graham of Infor, formerly Geac. “Some companies are on their second generation of PLM.”

While many of the IT vendors reported slow-to-moderate interest at the show, they said the industry is warming up to PLM and other systems. Many companies targeted more small- to mid-sized companies.

“It seems like the investment activity in software is active,” said Michael Piombindo of Chadds Ford, Penn.–based ERP provider FrogFish Solutions. “We’re marketing an on-demand model. A lot of the really small companies could not afford the infrastructure, and on-demand is a great option.”

On the design front, Lectra previewed its new Kaledo design package, which combines the best of its existing U4ia and PrimaVision textile design applications into a modular system that can be integrated into the supply chain. It will officially launch early next year, said Lectra spokesperson Melissa Gass. “It will also integrate with our PLM,” she said.

PAD System Technologies Inc. released a new version of its Haute Couture 3D design software, now available in a Mac format. The company is seeing interest in 3D and CAD growing in the interior markets. “We’re gaining clients in the Midwest, where a lot of the Levi’s factories shut down,” said Vice President Kristine Gloviak.

The company is also participating in Chicago Fashion Week to help create awareness of the technology available to designers.

And DesignerSampleRoom.com brought its quick-turn sample-making service to the show for the first time. The U.S.-based company produces samples for the better women’s market in El Salvador with maximum 10-day turnarounds.

“We’ve had a good show and made lots of contacts,” said principal Herb Yussim. “We’re finding that a lot of companies are trying to do the samples with their factories and it’s not working out so well. A lot of our clients are going through rapid growth and need more help. There aren’t a lot of companies around that know how to construct beautiful samples.”

Companies shopping the show included New Balance, Disney and numerous design businesses. Diane Maielli of Chicago-based Effects by Design was on the hunt for the latest in stretch fabrics. Stephane Stone of Duluth, Minn.–based Aero Design Manufacturing Inc. was searching for trimmings for performance outerwear.

Show producer Urban Expositions did not release attendance figures for the show but did note that international growth climbed from 40 exhibitors at last year’s inaugural show to 236 this year. “We were pleased with the turnout,” said Von Gal.

The show will move to a twice-a-year format in 2008. Von Gal and officials from TC2, the AAFA and the Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas Association also announced that the next SPESA Show—showcasing fabrics, technology and machinery—will take place May 8–10 in Miami and will feature combined seminars across all categories and a new “future technology” exhibit.