Demand for Cottons, chiffons grows

By Madhusree Chatterjee

Greater Noida Indian apparel exporters and manufacturers are falling back on low cost cotton, chiffons and Western-style pret outfits to rev up business in a flagging market.



Around 300 exporters displayed their spring-summer collections at the three-day 45th India International Garments' Fair here. Mostly casual wear, these were described as "low value and low fashion, meant to give Indian exporters an edge in competitive pricing".

Eightly percent of India's clothes exports are to Britain and the US, where cheap cotton apparel from India is sought after both as a fashion statement and as health utility wear.

"We are looking at new markets like South Africa and Japan this year. Next week, we will be in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, for the International Fashion Fair," a spokesperson of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), one of the organisers of the fair, told IANS.

"We had invited a delegation of designers from Japan a couple of weeks ago to sensitise Indian designers to the needs of the Japanese markets. Japan experiences six fashion seasons and they order smaller quantities of clothes."

Indian apparel exports to Japan have increased from $129 million in 2008 to $134 million in 2009. "The demand for pret wear from India is also picking up in South Africa," he added.

The collections were a fusion of Indian textiles, traditional embellishments and ethnic prints with Western cuts and colours in vogue across the US, Britain, eastern Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa and Australia regions, which make up the bulk of India's apparel ...