Though textile exports are not one of the strengths of the economy, the country does make special fabrics which are globally admired. Denim is one such fabric for which the Japanese have a global reputation. The fabric is normally very expensive and is used for high-end lines. In spite of being expensive, a decent quantity of fabric is exported to different countries around the world. We will analyze in this report, where this fabric is going and at what prices.

According to TagWalk, a one-stop search engine for the enlighted fashion girl, there is an increase in bleached denim by 348 percent over the last year. The trend was spotted in multiple SS 19 collection this season. Some high end labels including Stella McCartney , Alberta Ferretti, Alexander Wang, and Balmain, represented the acid washes in the runways with pale blue colour. Indigo wash effects are more contemporary and modern .

Picture Credit : Isabel Marant Spring/Summer 2019. ImaxTree

Kaia Gerber is shown wearing an impressive bleach spot boiler suit from the Stella McCartney spring 2019 collection. Also, The former Girls Aloud star , Cheryl, was spotted in a pair of high-slung bleached jeans while making her way to Paris Fashion Week. Apparently, going about acid washes, bleaching, and tie-dyed for the next summer/spring seasons is going to be a serious business

Kaia Gerber in a Stella McCartney Boilersuit

Cheryl in a pair of high-slung bleached jeans

The style upgrade is all over the fashion world and we will not be very surprised if this style starts popping up everywhere around us. Different brands have already started laying out the new designs with the bleaching. Let’s have a look at some!

E.L.V. Denim – The Twin Bleached High-Rise Straight-Leg Jeans

Stella McCartney Bleached Jeans

Acne Studios Bleach Denim Jacket

3×1 Higher Ground Crop Jeans

Urban Renewal Remade Bleach Splattered Denim Jacket

Weekday Press Collection Bleach Out Denim Jacket

A likely effect of this trend catching up would to take focus a little away from super stretches and soft fabrics – which have been dominating the women jeans trend for a long time. Super stretches fabrics may not be the best fabrics for this trend.

“The rapid changes in the fashion industry are continuing and the H&M group is in an exciting transitional period. Our transformation work has contributed to a gradual improvement in sales development with increased market share in most markets during the third quarter, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Eastern Europe, Russia and China, said -Karl-Johan Persson, CEO

Top 10 Countries Based On Sales For The Q3’18

Germany is the biggest revenue generator country for H&M during Q3 and had contributed USD 1084 million to the total sales of H&M and also managed to register a growth of 13% from the previous year’s quarter. USA dissapointed with its adverse growth rate , though it is the 2nd largest contributor however the performance is not that good. China and Russia seemed to be the fastest growing spot for the H&M as in the top 10 list , China marked a growth rate of 21% during Q3 along with Russia . UK, being the 3rd largest contributor with USD 476 million during the Q3 , had a growth rate of 16% during the 3rd quarter of 2018 .

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The Quarter Ended On August 31,2018

This table presents the ranking of top 10 countries which have grown the most in terms of Sales during the Q3 of 2018 . Iceland surprises the list with Rank 1 with a growth rate of 362% (however it has only 2 stores) followed by New Zealand with 106%. The number of stores as on Aug 31,2018 for both the countries were 2 and 4 respectively and the sale/store were USD 3.30 million and 1.93 Million respectively. The highest sale/store was found in Chile which had USD 5.28 Million sale per store with 8 stores only . Chile is growing at 22% . There are two countries from South East Asia in the list – India and China . For Q3 , India grew at a rate of 49% with 34 stores in hand and the total sales for Q3 was USD 47.08 million ( USD 1.38 million / Store) however China , which has 522 stores as on August 31 , managed to draw sales of USD 0.68 million per store.

If we compare the sales figures of nine months , India marked the growth rate of 29% and the per store sales were then USD 3.64 million . The per store/month sales comes to about $0.4 million for India against China’s $0.23 million . Its growth rate is the highest if we consider a reasonable number of stores (ie about 25) . But we need to consider that China is growing at a bigger base of over 500 stores and hence its growth rate of 21% is also appreciable.

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The First Nine Months Ended On August 31,2018

If we look from the following data, we will find that Mexico is the country with a reasonable number of stores and a very good per store sale of about $ 6 million million . This puts Mexico in the hot seat when we consider the last 9 months. Next comes India with 29% growth and reasonable number of stores. Growth in Poland of 21% with 182 stores also can be considered very good.

Five Year Sales Summary on Nine Month Basis | December – August | 2014-2018

Looking out the results of Nine Months of previous five years , we can immediately draw this conclusion that , though the sales have been growing, however the pace of growth is inconsistent . In 2015 , the growth rate was 21% which came down to the level of 5% in 2016 , in 2017 it shown an upward trend with growth rate of 7% however in the latest Nine Months ended results , the results are down by 4% and hence the growth rate remained only 3% .

The path is not going to be so easy for the H&M, the Swedish group that is the world’s second-largest clothes retailer by sales. The retailer is facing competition not just from cheaper fashion brands such as Primark but above all internet sellers such as Zalando, Asos and Amazon. Its closest competitor Zara has been doing very well in online sales and so H&M . The retailers need to do a lot to make supply chain little quicker. Not to forget , Zara delivers the products within a day time via its online sales in many countries.

Karl Lagerfeld’s SS 19 Ready To Wear collection showcased the outfits with waves and fresh ambiance around the beach. Chanel’s global collection was not only amazing but that too with a mini vacation break for the audience. There were over sized straw hats, vacation-ready swimsuits, and Chanel logos in the form of belts, bathing suits, and cardigans with chained bags , bamboo hats and the accessories to go with the beach view, the collection also included certain wide bottom jeans and wavy patterned denims. The models carried their shoes alongside the beach with a je ne sais quoi – the effortless way of French girls to look chic !. The Runway was turned into a beach with the sea and Lifegaurds on duty. Indigo colored emboridered see through jacket added to the glamour quotient.

Miu Miu – Wonky Couture

Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women’s clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Milan, Italy. The Wonky couture collection by Miuccia Prada’s Miu Miu showcased a sweet spot via its SS 19 Collection.There were a lot of midi length dirty denim skirts and dresses. The denim dresses with curvy body designs and long deep necks with collared dresses inspired a wide range of denim designs. An unexpected straight-up well cut, non-ironical gray blazers and skirt suits in matching leather were the part of the attire collection. The street way hoodies style had made its way out and a welcoming mad-style is finding its way back in. Miuccia Prada gets inspired by ’50s and ’60s subtle punk and perfect lengths for the Miu Miu girl. Muccia considers the fall of each garment and selecting the fabrics which move with the seam. The detailed seams are the basic strength of this collection.

Image credits : vogue.com

The collection featured funky patchwork dresses and top coats, ‘50s-inspired circle skirts, deconstructed ball gowns and lingerie slips sewn into denim overalls and classic white tees along with the asymmetric use of different fabrics along with denim, differentially washed denim pieces in a single garment construction and colorful non-denim patches.

Watanbae’s collection is going to hit the showrooms very shortly, in meantime,checkout some our favorite pieces from the collection below:

Images Courtsey : Junya Watanabe Brand