The first Mumbai edition of the three-day Denim Show ended on Saturday 14th May 2022. More than 120 exhibitors mainly from India presented themselves at the Jio World Convention Center in BKC including Hyosung India, Jindal Worldwide, Arvind, Ginni International, Raymond UCO Denim, Bhaskar Denim, LNJ Denim, Oswal Denims, KG Denim, Nandan Denim and the Ashima Group. The exhibition, jointly organized by Messe Frankfurt India and Mex Exhibitions, aims to accelerate technological advances in the Indian textile and apparel industry. Under the motto “Vocal for Local”, local businesses are also to be supported. FashionUnited was there to take a look at the latest in denim in India.
“I call on the industry to support the government’s ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign, which is now moving towards ‘Vocal for Global’. ‘Vocal for Local’ is the true brand ambassador of the ‘Make in India’ movement, by emphasizing the promotion of local brands, manufacturing and supply chain, and shows like Gartex Texprocess India are excellent initiatives and a much-needed show to bridge this technology gap,” said Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles and Rail Transport, at the opening on Thursday .
After a slow start on Thursday morning (Mumbai is not known for getting an early start), the flow of visitors picked up in the afternoon and ensured a steady flow of visitors and full aisles on Friday, when the fair opened to students from the afternoon .
A sigh of relief
Both the exhibitors and the visitors felt the relief that they could once again meet in person, make contacts and exchange information about the latest denim trends and innovations. “Everyone is fed up with Corona; life must go on, with or without a pandemic,” was the general consensus.
… but challenges lie ahead
In terms of challenges, business capacities are still not what they were before the pandemic. While things are slowly returning to a (new?) normal, the war in Europe will complicate things and make denim more expensive to produce and process. Rising energy costs are expected and rising cotton prices are already a concern.
KG Denim, a Coimbatore-based denim and clothing manufacturer, started tackling the energy problem ten years ago and is now building its own power plant using biomass as fuel. In terms of resources, the “world’s greenest denim/fabric mill,” as it calls itself, has a zero-effluent treatment plant that recycles 90 percent of its wastewater.
“Sustainability is a perennial favorite,” said Mr. Gopinath, head of denim sales at KG Denim, in an interview with FashionUnited. “There are various sustainable options on the product side, with cotton blends and polyester taking the lead,” he added. Lenzing fabrics such as Tencel, Ecovero and Lyocell are commonly used to create denim blends.
trends
In addition to sustainability, another trend that will prevail is the use of mixed fabrics made of denim. “Everyone wants even softer denim fabrics,” Hemendra Rawat of Anubha Industries in Surat, Gujarat told FashionUnited. The manufacturer of high-quality denim fabrics is committed to the ethos of “Sustainability First” and offers denim and garment-dyed fabric solutions for both the domestic and international markets. “The industry will follow this trend and trendsetter Levi’s has already started to do so in its collections.”
Established in 2014, Anubha Industries initially mainly served the domestic market while the international market accounted for only 10-20 percent. This has changed since the pandemic, with a now 50/50 ratio and industry giants like Zara, H&M and Primark among Anubha’s clientele. Rawat points to the fact that the denim sector has recovered comparatively faster than other textile and apparel sectors: “Denim is quite crisis-resistant and is on its way to pre-pandemic levels,” he added confidently.
In the field of textile machinery, dyeing and printing, companies such as Baba Textile Machinery, Balaji Sewing Machine, EH Turel & Company, Felix Schoeller, Gayatritex Engineers, Golden Laser India, Mehala Machines India, Orange O Tec, Ramsons Garment Finishing Equipment, Sera Machines, Sky exhibited Enterprises, Sewco Garment Solutions, Zoje and others share their denim innovations.
The next Denim Show will be held from August 4th to 6th, 2022 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.