Tag: news

AW16 Collection From Vicunha , Brazil

Brazil , as we mentioned before , lives in a world of its own. It has a huge domestic market for denim and other apparel and has developed its own unique fashion sense . The fashion in Brazil â€“ though influenced by international developments – follows its own course . The companies â€“ mills, laundries , garment factories â€“ all follow the unique pattern of demand that is created in the market.

Vicunha is the largest denim companyÂ in terms of actual production , not only in Brazil but around the world , and it does have a sizeable influence on the consumers â€“ often creating trends for their domestic market. On the occasion of the launch of their AW16 collection, I visited Sao Paolo to get a feel of their products, the trends and Brazilian market in general. The launch had all the glam ingredients including a catwalk by some great looking Brazilian models, presentations by specially invited denim guru Adriano Goldschmied and also by Giovanni Petrin of Martelli , presence of international consultants , washing experts and of course visitations by most important Brazilian buyers â€“ estimated to be over 2000 over a 3 day period ! . The whole atmosphere was electric â€“ flowing with the energy of denim aficionados.

We bring in this article, some looks from the show , the products, the presentations â€“ to give a feel of the event.

Some Catwalk Images

May 15, 2015
Rajby Women’s Collection SS`16

RajbyÂ , Pakistan, brings out their latest womenâ€™s denim looks for SSâ€™16. Concentrating on new colors, coatings and deep indigos, the product development team gives a brief idea of some of their main products in this collection in their own words.

SUPER SOFT ICE INDIGO : â€œIce indigo is the latest summer color using special indigo dyeing technology toÂ provide that bright , sunny and vivacious looks on our cotton stretch denims for those women looking for a combination of a very youthful color , super soft hand feel and great stretch. â€

BURBERRY COATINGÂ : â€œThrough Burbery coatings we aim to bring a new leather look dimension to our multi fiber stretch fabrics . With high stretchability and recovery features, the fabric provides the right mix of performance and high fashion. The fabric is available in three cool colors – Cobalt Blue, Maroon & Black .â€

REVERSE COATINGÂ Â Â : â€œ Is our new Cotton Stretch UNISEX (Ladies & Men) fabric Range . Catering to the hot trend of boyfriend jeans , the 10 colors in the collection are providing our consumers a cool summer range for their turnup jeans !

Rajby Deep IndigoÂ Â Â Â : It is always a challenge to go deeper into indigo dyeing and we at Rajby make a continuous effort to provide our consumers the next level of depth. The current look is on cotton and multi fiber/poly stretch indigo series with a high depth outcome to enable our buyers to play around a bit on their washes !

Super Soft Ice Indigo

Burberry Coatings

Rajby Deep Indigos’

Reverse Coatings

Contact Rajby for more info on their latest products here

May 7, 2015
A Visual History Of Wrangler

Wrangler is one of the most important denim brand and which has left its profound impact on the world denim industry. Having its origins in late 1890s, the brand grew from strength to strength as it spread from a small factory in North Carolina to a multi national corporation. We take a brief pictorial look at its history and see how it evolved over years. Its a trip down the denim memory lane !

1897

20-year-old C.C. Hudson leaves Spring Hill Farm in Williamson county, Tennessee, and makes his way to North Carolina, seeking his fortune in the emerging textile industry. He finds work in a factory making overalls, where he earns 25 cents a day sewing on buttons…

1904

Hudson’s workplace closes. He and a few others buy several of the sewing machines, lease space above a downtown grocery store and incorporate as the Hudson Overall Company. Legend has it that a group of railroad workers who bought overalls at the Hudson store gave C.C. Hudson a bell, and after spending time in the factory, the bell â€“ like everything else â€“ became covered in blue denim dust, hence â€œBlue Bellâ€.

1910

Job advt. for Blue Bell seeks to align with First world war efforts .

1919

The business builds its first factory on the corner of South Elm Street and changes its name to Blue Bell Overall Company.

Note carefully â€“ 8oz denim were sold during those times as â€˜heavy, extra ruggedâ€™ .

1936

Blue Bell launches Super Big Ben Overalls, made out of 100% Sanforized Fabric that reduces shrinkage after washing to less than 1%. This sets a new standard for the industry.

1943

Blue Bell acquires Casey Jones Company, a manufacturer of work-clothing, and, with it, the rights to Casey Jonesâ€™ rarely used brand name â€“ Wrangler. Thus , is born the â€˜ Wranglerâ€™ jeans !

1947

Wrangler authentic western jeans, designed by celebrity tailor Rodeo Ben, are introduced to the American consumer. Professional rodeo cowboys Jim Shoulders, Bill Linderman and Freckles Brown wear-test the 13MWZ and endorse the Wrangler name for durability, quality and authenticity.

1948

Jim Shoulders, World Champion Cowboy, signs on as an official endorsee of Wrangler. He goes on to win a total of 16 world championships, including five All-Around, seven Bull Riding and four Bareback Riding World Titles.

Some advertisements from Wrangler during the â€˜40s and â€˜50s.

Surprisingly, still we can see the highest ounce being used as 13.75.

Overalls and Wool lined denim jackets

Precursor to super stretch jeans ?? Well, it seems the ladies in those times could be as comfortable in 100% cotton as they need 80% stretches to be inÂ today !

1962

Blue Bell opens a plant in Belgium and the Wrangler brand is successfully launched in Europe. This brings Wrangler to Europe which it conquers successfully.

1963

Newsweek magazine coins the word “teenager” and features a Wranglerâ€“clad girl on the cover. This is quite interesting. It is believed by many that Newsweek coined the word â€˜teenagerâ€™ in 1963 to describe the adolescents between 13 and 19 years of age. The image shown shows a girl in Wrangler on the cover.

Some advertisements from Wrangler (around the globe) the late 70sÂ .

Flared jeans in 1979 !! Promising to be back again ??

Cords from Wrangler in 1980s.

Ladies pinup shorts in early 80s .

Wrangler gives 12 reasons why their jeans are super tough ! One of them â€“ it being 14oz.

1986

(Image credits â€“ Wrangler.com and Wrangler.com.au)

Blue Bell mergers with VF Corporation of Pennsylvania, making VF one of the two largest jeans makers in the world, with 25% of the , then,Â $6 billion market. The market has since grown more than 10 times with denim spreading its wings around the world and no brand in a position now to have such a large share of the market.

Notice the triple denim attire of the models ! Its denim hands full ! A trend that we lately see emerging â€“ but of course with better combination of colors and styles.

Sponsored Link:

May 1, 2015
Diesel Black Gold Fall Winter 2015 Runway Collection | Milan, Italy

Diesel Black Gold is the contemporary collection from Diesel, offering edgy rock chic to a sophisticated international clientele. The line takes its parent brand’s irreverent attitude and innovative techniques to new heights of quality and refinement.

For its AW15/16 collection, DBG tries to create art out of distressing using patches, zippers , multiple washes , moto styles . Many of them are a treat to watch â€“ though how long such jeans will survive after such treatment is a question ! .

images credit by vogue

April 27, 2015
G-Star Fall Winter 2015 Men’s Lookbook

G-Star has prepped up their Fall Winter 15-16 collection with a modern grunge aesthetic. It maintains essential menswear staples of washed , bleached and acid wash denims which are cut in baggy or moto styles complemented with varsity and military jackets in dark palettes of navy , olive and other winter colors . Distressed looks appear on few jeans but overall washes are subdued and strive to bring the natural look of the fabric.

Here are some closer looks at some of the washes.

Sponsored Link:

April 24, 2015
69 Worldwide AW15 Collection

90s maternity denim has been reinvented as unisex uniform by 69 worldwide. LaunchedÂ alongwith the DIS magazine. 69 is a self proclaimed non-gender, non-demographic clothing line. All products and garments are manufactured in Los Angeles, California. .

90s maternity denim, re-appropriated into a unisex uniform for the downtown crowd.Self-proclaimed â€œNo-gender, No-demographicâ€ denim label 69 Worldwide teamed up with DIS magazine to present their AW15 collection in an all-white gallery space. The presented their AW15 collection in an all white gallery. The idea of rejecting conformity was not only applied to their collection but also to the show itself adding a measure of informality to the show. The brandâ€™s fabric of choice â€“ denim – took the form of draping halter-necks, super-sized shirts, loose denim pajamas and swamping bucket hats. The pairing of super torn lose pajamas with a super lose shirt was one of most unconventional combination seen in denim.

Image credits: 69Worldwide , DazedDigital.com

April 22, 2015
Denim Fabric Imports Into US Fall 20% In 2014

It is no secret that the imports of denim fabrics into US has been constantly falling over the last 2 decades. There was a fillip to imports when the premium denim boom came up in mid 2000s . But that also peaked out in 2005-07 period. Now there is hardly any strong reason for the imports to pick up for US , unless the production of local denim fabrics falls further.

Details 2013 (Jan-Nov) 2014 (Jan-Nov) Difference %

Quantities (million sq mtrs) 26.4 21.03 -20.4%

Av. Price $3.21 $3.46 +8%

The imported quantities decreased by about 20% from 26.4 million sq mtrs to about 21 million sq mtrs. This is a sizeable decrease in a year and does not portend well for the local jeans manufacturing at US. However, we also see an increase in average price of the imported fabrics at about 8% despite decreased quantities. This is also indicative that the imports of premium denim fabrics seem to be sustaining better over lower priced denims.

February 6, 2015
$1 Billion Losses |Target to shut all 133 Canadian stores and sack 17,600 employees

After only two years operating in the Canadian market, Target has announced that it is shutting up shop after enduring financial losses of almost a billion dollars a year.More than 17,600 employees will eventually lose their jobs when the U.S. discount retailer closes its 133 Canadian stores.Target Corp. Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said on Thursday that the company didn’t see a realistic way for the chain to become profitable before at least 2021. Cornell said on Target’s corporate blog that its Canadian arm was losing money every day.

Target entered Canada in 2013. While operations there improved before the holiday season due to changes in pricing and product assortment, Target still wasn’t satisfied with its performance.Target faced problems from the get go when it entered Canada. There were costly regulations, a slow economy and increasing competition. Cornell said on the blog that when Target Canada first opened the company knew that many Canadian consumers already shopped at its U.S. stores and liked the brand.

‘But, we missed the mark from the beginning by taking on too much too fast,’ he said. Target expanded into Canada in 2013 and has been plagued by problems ever since. Canadian shoppers were greeted with empty shelves during Target’s first few weeks of operation in the Great White North as the chain couldnâ€™t keep up with demand. Shoppers also complained that prices at the big-box store were too high.

Target Corp. Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said on Thursday that the company didn’t see a realistic way for the chain to become profitable before at least 2021

Cornell said Canadian stores struggled with inventory and pricing problems and ‘delivered an experience that didn’t meet our guests’ expectations, or our own.’

Target is , however, not the only retailer to have this experience in Canada.Â Big Lots Inc. and Best Buy Co. have shuttered stores there and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has seen its sales in Canada weaken.Target said on Thursday that it expects about $5.4 billion in fourth-quarter losses from discontinued operations in Canada. It foresees about $275 million of losses on discontinued operations in fiscal 2015.

Target Corp. currently has 17,600 employees at its 133 Canadian stores. It has 1,801 stores in the U.S.

Sponsored link

January 16, 2015
James Long Patchwork Fall 2015 Menswear Lookbook | Patchworked!

James Long trained at the Royal College of Art, graduating with a Masterâ€™s degree in Menswear and Accessories. He was recently awarded the Fashion Forward Sponsorship by the British Fashion Council and is known among fashion press and buyers as â€œone of Londonâ€™s promising menswear designers.â€ His work represents a strong, directional man, incorporating elements like leather and knits in neutral colors to highlights this aesthetic.

James Long has fast become one of the most sought after design talents in London. Recently James won the Fashion Forward Award, a British Fashion Council initiative set up to promote emerging design talent and provide funding to talented British designers. It is his instantly recognizable use of leather, print and denim that is key to the James Long aesthetic. Whilst working closely with stylist Luke Day, James Long has become one of the hottest designers at London Fashion Week.

We give below some looks from his AWâ€™15 collection which extensively uses patched denim , denim leather combinations, embroideries and embellishmentsÂ and even denim+non-denim combinations. But patchwork seems to stand out as the prime theme of his collection . We have been looking at increased usage of patches by designers in bringing out that non-conformist look in their collections and which is being increasingly been taken up by brands (though at not so elaborate a scale) . Perhaps , again denim is looking for a break away from traditional looks to appeal to consumers.

January 15, 2015
Mustang AW’15 Lookbook

Bogner Jeans

MUSTANG has acquired the production and distribution franchise for Bogner Jeans, thereby reinforcing the expertise of this denim specialist from KÃ¼nzelsau in the high-price premium market. Characterised by its passion for luxurious, authentic denim looks and glamorous lifestyles and with prices in the range of Euro 150-200, the collection from Bogner Jeans is an expression of contemporary life in a dynamic world. The repertoire of styles stretches from nonchalant casuals to luxurious jeanswear with perfect fit and optimal materials.

Bottoms

The Slim Fit continues to be the dominating silhouette for women’s jeans.The Bogner Jeans Fall/Winter 2015/16 Collection presents a very versatile range of pants in a wide range of washes and prints. In addition to the classic blue jeans,additions to the collection include all-over coatings with snake print in denim look and jeans with modern color-grading effects. Gray jeans are upgraded with ornamentation, like for example metal sequins on the front pockets.New options are available with the introduction of the innovative new Italian fabrics from Candiani, which cater to the growing demand for sustainability in denim production and processing. The recently developed â€œIndigo Juiceâ€ technique represents an innovative method in this respect, achieving remarkable wash effects with minimal environmental impact thanks to easy fading indigo. New technologies have also been applied in the pants segment, like positioned laser printing or the new sweat-denim fabrics, which feature an authentic denim look. In general, very smooth and soft qualities are processed.

Tops

For the men, T-shirts and sweats are dyed in indigo, with some featuring decorative prints. The sweatshirts are given an impressing look here too, using an interesting material mix of jersey and nylon. The highlights in the shirt segment are created by denim shirts in lightweight fabrics in various washes and piquÃ©-jersey weaves in indigo and double-faced check in soft washes.

Colors & Graphics

The central color of the collection is indigo. Jeans are washed in a wide array of blue shades, but are also presented in darker black denim or varying shades of gray in this season. This color range is complemented for the tops, using rich reds and soft pastel hues like rosÃ©, powder blue and pale yellow, but also with earthy colors like khaki. Patterns, like snake and mermaid prints on pants or cloud-like and lattice prints on tops, are used throughout the entire collection.

MUSTANG Men Collection

Key Pieces

Tapered and skinny fits continue to dominate the coming MUSTANG Men winter collection as far as pants are concerned, creating a generally narrow yet casual silhouette. This seasonâ€™s ultimate key pieces consist of a small capsule collection of denims in sustainable fabrics from the Italian company Candiani. Also featuring are new worker chinos along with the innovative RealX jeans, an unusual sweat denim in surprisingly authentic washes. Slim, figure-hugging fits are similarly dominant when it comes to tops, particularly among the jackets, including the new denim jackets. The sweats and T-shirts are designed with a diagonal raglan sleeve in many guises, in combination with various indigo-inspired fabric qualities.Shirts and denim shirts in authentic heritage-look fabrics complete the key looks of the menâ€™s FW2015 collection.

Looks

This seasonâ€™s denims are cast in vivid new shades of blue, from â€œSeaportâ€ to â€œBlue Moonâ€, complemented by various nuances of petrol, black and gray. The strong emphasis on the authenticity of each treatment remains, although the washes are subtler by comparison with last spring and summer.Â Jeans with strong destroy effects make an important statement, but are only one of the collectionâ€™s fashion highlights. The recently developed â€œIndigo Juiceâ€ technique represents an innovative method in this respect, achieving remarkable wash effects with minimal environmental impact thanks to easy-fading indigo.

MUSTANG Women Collection

Key Pieces

Ultra-close-fitting skinny and jegging styles provide the key look in the coming MUSTANG women fall/winter collection. Even the boyfriend jeans are notable for their casually narrow leg silhouette, which is also echoed in a tomboy fit newly launched by the denim specialists from KÃ¼nzelsau.All slim fits are combined with oversized-look tops to balance out the proportions in fashionable style. Plain new shapes and fabulous textures are trumps among the knitwear, while T-shirts and sweats are elaborately decorated and embroidered for a bohemian look.

Looks

The denims become darker in fall and winter, with black and gray shades dominating among the pants, supplemented by delicate lilac and deep petrol shades. Destroy effects and completely clean finishes go to complete this seasonâ€™s look.The glossy leather-look denims, now with a new-style coating, are surprisingly soft and comfortable, with modern laser technology lending additional innovative finishes to the material.Nuancing wash effects and elaborate 3D treatments in black-blue and black also create exceptional optical depth.New possibilities are opened up by the newly introduced Italian fabrics from Candiani,which cater to the growing demand for sustainability in denim production and processing.

Colors & Prints

The MUSTANG Women fall/winter collection is dominated by every shade of blue,combined with subtle aqua and turquoise hues, powdery rosÃ© and gray and black. Deep claret and rich burgundy colors are also prominent, joined by a stunning petrol shade in winter.

Sansibar Denim AWâ€™15

In July the MUSTANG Group and famous Sansibar restaurant on the island of Sylt signed a licence agreement for the joint jeans collection, Sansibar Denim. Two months later, MUSTANG presented the first high-end vintage washes produced completely water-free, which are made by using special treatments by hand. This totally new procedure was developed by MUSTANG and is called “Waterfree”.

Looks

For Fall / Winter 2015/16 Zanzibar Denim relies on the usual Tapered Styles and Skinny-Silhouettes .
The price ranges betweenÂ â‚¬ 169.95 andÂ â‚¬ 200.

Womenâ€™s Sansibar Denim Awâ€™15

Sponsored link:

January 8, 2015
Arvind Denim SS`16 Collection

Arvind DenimÂ launched their SSâ€™16 collection at Denim by PV , Barcelona , bringing some interesting products from their stable. Their product development team shared with us the details of their latest SSâ€™16 collection. We bring below some of the information on the new collection shared with us.

Performance Stretches

Womenâ€™s power stretches for high performance andÂ comfort made in dual-core Dynamo Denim and dual-FxÂ® technology by LycraÂ® brand. Denim fabrics with dual-FXÂ® technology by LYCRAÂ® brand have high stretchability but have a high degree of dimensional stability so that jeans retain their shape and fit over time. These super-stretch jeans are supposed to provideÂ comfortable and free-movement and yet have the look and feel of natural denim.

Soft & Easy Stretches

These include aÂ brew of both basic core and easy soft-stretch denims. They are hard wearing and make a great durable pair of denims to stay for long. Classic yet trendy they are now being offered in all new rousing textures, shades, wash-down casts and weights.

Mutant Jeans

A combination of construction methods to achieve a denim effect using dobby structures. Almost identical to woven denim in terms of appearance, it has the desirable comfort properties of natural stretch and air permeability.

Menâ€™s Classics

Stretch denims with improvedÂ recovery and with property to retainÂ the look of non-stretch rigid denim . This is a product with a poly-spandex and cotton combination with clear twills giving a clear texture and can be stoned, bleached or distressed.

Neo Denim

The deep dark denims about which the PD team at Arvind saysÂ :

â€œâ€¦These areÂ real dark blue denim that hides a lot more below the surface to be discovered and excite you! An answer to a true denim fanâ€™s desire. Truly deep dark blue denims which wash down gradually offering great contrasts at every level giving jeans a luxurious and super rich look. Jacquards, prints, soft stretches, core, neo dying here sets a new character for all…â€

Linen Denim

Linen Denim is made out of non-elastic flax yarn and is synonymous to its properties of exceptional comfort, luxury, durability and its unique cooling attribute in hot and humid weather. It can be identified with a high natural luster and a thick and thin character with a crisp and textured feel to it.

Denim Gabardine

CLean and subtle, this is theÂ category of productsÂ for a tailored look.
The Arvind team feels that “:

â€œ It is the most premium category of fabrics with fine slubs giving a clean and bespoke look. Constructed in mid to heavy weights this category of denim offers highly durable, rich in color and lustrous denims.â€

Boomerang Denim

It is high-stretch denim with extra softness andÂ shape retention quality. This denim savors slim body curving silhouette with perfection making it easily one of the hottest denim trends on todayâ€™s denim landscape. The significant snapback and extra pliability makes it bounce back to its shape after every wear making it a perfect choice for super skinny jeans; hence fulfilling the desire for comfort and fit paired with fashion trend.

Spice Denim

As per Arvind team, Spice Denim has intelligence built into the fabric that gives it the property to be dyed in garment form. It dyes to a natural texture of denim in an eco-friendly process. Spice gives denim a newer dimension making it capable to be seasonally played and experimented with, in terms of colors, textures and wash downs. The weft is not dyed and the surface gets wash dimensions like denim.

Denim Shirts

Deep dyed andÂ light-weight denims for shirtings and other tops.Â In Over-dyed, Neo or Chambray versions to enable multiple washed looks .

Neo Bubble ultra light denims

For these light weight denims, meant for ladies dresses and tops , Arvind team enthusiastically mentions:

â€œFeathery and airy, light-weight Denims for women’s tops, dresses and menâ€™s summer shirts. This is a collection of young statement dobbies and prints on Ultra-Light Neo Denims. Stories are created with alluringly exotic inspirations for Spring/Summer 2016. Bohemian, grungy yet feminine, it celebrates summer with vintage floral prints and patterns with a vibrant color palette ..â€

December 24, 2014

Bangladesh Targets $50 Billion RMG Exports by 2021

A 3 day apparel summit was recently organized byÂ BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association)Â â€“â€˜Bangladesh RMG 2021- 50 billion USD in 50 yearsâ€™- with Alliance, American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), German Development Council and others to chalk out a sustainable road map for the ready made garment industry to reach this ambitious target by 2021 when Bangladesh would be celebrating its 50^th anniversary . Garment exports have been the mainstay of Bangladesh’s exports for last many years and have been rapidly growing and forming the major part of the exports from the country. The following table brings out figures of exports of apparel from Bangladesh in the last over 2 decades. From a 32% share in exports from Bangladesh in 1989, the RMG exports now constitutes over 80% of all exports . All the figures have been taken from the data published in an article by the BGMEA President â€“ Mr Md Atiqul Islam- during the apparel summit.

RMG Exports from Bangladesh 1989 to 2014

Year	Export of RMG	Total Export from BD	% of RMG Export to Total	Number of Garment factories	Employment in Millions
1989-90	624	1,923	32.45	759	0.34
1994-95	2,228	3,472	64.17	2182	1.20
1999-00	4,349	5,752	75.61	3200	1.60
2004-05	6,417	8,654	74.15	4107	2.00
2009-11	12,496	16,204	77.12	5063	3.60
2010-11	17,914	22,924	78.15	5150	3.60
2011-12	19,089	24,287	78.60	5400	4.00
2012-13	21,515	27,018	79.63	5400	4.00
2013-14	24,492	30,186	81.13	4536*	4.00**

All figures in US$ millions
* A number of least compliant factories have closed down after the incidents in last 2 years.
** Latest figures to be updated

During its growth over last 2 decade and more, the RMG exports from the country has grown well over 15% and has overcome (and is overcoming) many of the challenges that are coming in the way including child labour, MFA phase-out , social compliance etc. The tragic incidents in the last 2 years has further provided the impetus to overcome major challenges that come up as a part of growth in most developing economies. Despite adverse publicity after the Rana Plaza incident, the RMG exports growth during 2013 was about 13.8%.
The report published by BGMEA sites a number of important reports published byÂ international organizations bringing out the positive sentiment on sourcing fromÂ Bangladesh.

MckinseyForecast , Summer 2014
McKinsey & Co. surveyed 29 chief procurement officers in 2013 at leading apparel companies responsible for a combined purchase of Euro 29 billion. They found that Bangladesh remains at top of the list of apparel â€“sourcing markets expected to grow in importance in the next few years.

US Fashion Industry Association Forecast, June 2014
The â€˜Benchmarking Studyâ€™ published by the US fashion industry in June 2014 mentions that 60% of the respondents say they expect to somewhat increase sourcing from Bangladesh in the next two years .

HSBC Trade Confidence Index , Sept 2014

The trade confidence index rose sharply from 103 in 2013 to 141 in H1 2014 as per HSBC . This index is second highest in a sample of 23 countries. The authorities are introducing more safety regulations to the garments sector and this appears to have provided an additional boost to confidence.

The China Factor

Gradual reduction of bulk apparel production by China as rising costs, socio-economic and livelihood uplifts, shift to high tech industries has made large apparel buyers concerned to shift their sourcing from China to other countries . Bangladesh has become the biggest beneficiary of this outcome. China occupied (as per WTO) a 37.35% share in global clothing exports in 2011 whereas Bangladesh occupied about 4.83% (which has increased slightly now). This huge gap is also reflecting on a huge opportunity for Bangladesh as it strengthens its position as second largest exporter and positions itself to take a large part of the â€˜ China apparel export cakeâ€™.

New Markets

It is interesting to note that Bangladesh is also exploring new markets and diversifying its exports and going beyond the traditional exports to EU and US. The share of apparel exports to markets other than EU and North America was 6.88% in 2008-09 and increased to 14.71% in 2013-14. The new markets include Japan, China, India, South Korea, South Africa, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Chile. The duty free access and preferential market access by countries like India, China, Korea and Malaysia have helped this process.

Export Components

The product wiseÂ exports from Bangladesh given below â€“ indicating that the highest share is occupied byÂ Trousers , followed by T-shirts and Jackets while sweaters and shirts follow. Over the last 5 years , however, the highest growth has been in the exports of shirts and jackets. In the period of about 4 years from 2009-10 to 2013-14 , jacket exports increased by over 120% whereas exports of shirts increased by about 118%. Trouser exports increased by about 87% .

Product-wise Exports from Bangladesh

Year	Shirts	Trousers	Jackets	T-Shirt	Sweater
2009-10	993.41	3035.35	1350.43	3145.52	1795.39
2010-11	1566.42	4164.16	1887.50	4696.57	2488.19
2011-12	1733.54	4686.39	2231.16	4713.11	2340.34
2012-13	1972.89	5185.48	2634.28	5143.22	2620.73
2013-14	2173.73	5690.78	2973.16	5863.81	2932.94

Note:Figures in US$ million

Challenges

To achieve the target of $50 billion, there will be significant challenges which Bangladesh will have to overcome , specially related to infrastructure. Lets see how it stands among other Asian countries in Global Competitiveness . The â€˜Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15 (World Economic Forum) evaluates important apparel exporting countries on their Infrastructure quality.

Comparison of Infrastructure Quality : 2014-15

Country /Region	Country Ranking	Overall Infrastructure Score	Electricity	Roads	Railroads	Port
Bangladesh	109	2.8	2.5	2.9	2.4	3.7
India	71	3.7	3.4	3.8	4.2	4.0
China	28	4.4	5.2	4.6	4.8	4.6
Cambodia	95	3.4	3.0	3.4	1.6	3.6
Myanmar	134	2.3	2.8	2.4	1.8	2.6
Pakistan	129	3.3	2.1	3.8	2.5	4.4
Sri Lanka	73	5.0	4.8	5.1	3.7	4.2
Thailand	31	4.1	5.1	4.5	2.4	4.5

The above table shows the areas where Bangladesh still needs to work in relation to infrastructure improvements especially Roads and Electricity . Besides, availability of skilled work force would be another important aspect which would be very important for growth. Investment in education and training would be paramount to raise a large and skilled work force.

The target of $50 billion is veryÂ ambitious but still not entirely unachievable if one sees the growth achieved in last 5 years as exports doubled from $12 billion to $24 billion. However, the country needs to work really hard in improving its infrastructure and ensure a larger supply of a skilled workforce to reach the magic milestone.

Denim Exports From Bangladesh

Denim apparel is becoming an important part of exports from Bangladesh . In 2013 , the combined exports of denim jeans and related apparel to US and EU were over $ 1.2 billion with about 65% going to EU and balance to US. If we consider exports to other nations, the value would be still higher. The exports are set to increase further as Bangladesh overshadows Chinese exports to these regions in next 2 years and becomes the number 1 exporter of denim apparel. Already its exports of menâ€™s jeans to EU is greater than that of China.

December 15, 2014

Details	2013 (Jan-Nov)	2014 (Jan-Nov)	Difference %
Quantities (million sq mtrs)	26.4	21.03	-20.4%
Av. Price	$3.21	$3.46	+8%

Tag: news

Some Catwalk Images

Super Soft Ice Indigo

Burberry Coatings

Rajby Deep Indigos’

Reverse Coatings

Contact Rajby for more info on their latest products here

1897

1904

1910

1919

1936

1943

1947

1948

Some advertisements from Wrangler during the â€˜40s and â€˜50s.

1962

1963

1986

Bogner Jeans

Bottoms

Tops

Colors & Graphics

MUSTANG Men Collection

Key Pieces

Looks

MUSTANG Women Collection

Key Pieces

Looks

Colors & Prints

Sansibar Denim AWâ€™15

Looks

Womenâ€™s Sansibar Denim Awâ€™15

Performance Stretches

Soft & Easy Stretches

Mutant Jeans

Menâ€™s Classics

Neo Denim

Linen Denim

Denim Gabardine

Boomerang Denim

Spice Denim

Denim Shirts

Neo Bubble ultra light denims

RMG Exports from Bangladesh 1989 to 2014

The China Factor

New Markets

Export Components

Challenges

Denim Exports From Bangladesh