The Intertextile show grew from humble beings in Beijing 16 years ago in 1995 with a small number of both apparel fabrics and home textiles companies – even carpets.

Now Intertextile apparel fabric comes in two editions a year, Spring/Summer in March in Beijing and Fall/Winter in October in Shanghai, while hometextile takes place in August and next year a S/S edition will be launched. The successful co-operation between Messe Frankfurt and CCPIT Textile Sub-Council has not only developed Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics into an amazing size, but also in quality and reputation, year on year. It is a show where domestic exhibitors aim to sell to overseas and local customers and overseas exhibitors focus their sales on the growing middleclass sector of China and buyers that cannot find what they want from the China-made selection. It has evolved to be THE textile show to visit and participate.   

The largest fabric show in Asia and perhaps the world gathered more exhibitors than before with over 2,471 exhibitors from 20 countries that took up 115,000sqm gross spread over 10 halls at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Pudong Shanghai in the third week of October. Record breaking visitor count of 56,645 from 109 countries was fostered by the improved economic environment worldwide. It created a very busy and upbeat atmosphere in the exhibition halls. Exhibition space take-up by Germany increased by 30%, Japan by 80% and Hong Kong 27%.

Eight Country pavilions made up of German, Italian, Taiwan, Korean, Japan, India, Indonesia and Thailand and four Group pavilions by Lenzing, Hyosung, Invista and Cotton Council International and their customers dotted over the two foreign exhibitor halls. A special European Zone highlighted European exhibitors that were not in a country pavilions to ease the finding of these companies. Accessories took up more than one hall which housed its own overseas zone and a trend forum while denim products congregated in the Denim Zone in half a hall and a small Lingerie & Swimwear Fabric Zone.  

The largest pavilion was Taiwan’s with 153 exhibitors in two areas. Leading the pack was Taiwan Premium Textile Supplier Group with 17 companies identified by the Taiwan Textile Federation as the best fabric exporter with interesting products. With the warming of the cross strait relationship between Mainland China and Taiwan, the textile industry has benefited from it resulting in Taiwan’s strong participation at the Show.

Under the theme of “Look East”, the Thai Pavilion organized by the Department of Export Promotion came with 18 exhibitors in 180sm² included a small trend forum comprised of fabrics from the T³ partner companies. India’s participation led by the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council though small was an important step as it was an eye opener experience for them and they pledged to expand participation in the future.

Domestic exhibitors took up six of the ten halls laid out according to products types: casual in manmade, cotton, linen/ramie and knitted; sportswear/functionalwear, suiting in wool and man-made, ladieswear in cotton, silk, printed, man-made, knitted; shirtings and denim where many of the booths were big and sophisticatedly decorated highlighting their individual themes. It means that the exhibitors are expanding their presence to increase visibility with quality. This trend will continue as this show evolves. In fact, one first time visitor exclaimed that the booth designs of foreign as well local exhibitors were far superior to those at the shows in Europe and America he had visited.

Most impressive were the group pavilions where fiber producers gathered together with their customers who are the fabric producers. The Lenzing satellite had 52 companies (1,062sqm) featured fabrics made from Lenzing products - Viscose, Tencel and Modal. Hysoung Group gathered 18 exhibitors with 360sqm highlighted spandex and recycled polyester and nylon yarn fiber. Invista with 26 exhibitors spread over 731sqm emphasized Lycra fiber and Coolmax fabric while Cotton Council International in corporation with Cotton Incorporated and 9 exhibitors took up 160sqm.

Swarovski Elements fashion ideas.

Equally impressive was the Accessories Hall which had its own overseas are that housed the top brand names of accessories such as Swarovski known for their fine crystals fashion, Avery Dennison showcased their RFID solution, Freudenberg & Vilene the interlining solution provider, Gunzetal sewing thread supplier, YKK Zipper and Zipper Technology, Takashima Ribbon & etc. A half day long seminar program was devoted to the topic of accessories.

 YKK Zipper - Little Parts, Big Difference.

The Denim Zone doubled in size from last year occupied half a hall, sizeable enough to create its own atmosphere. With denim products concentrated in one area makes it easy for buyers to find the products and do comparison. Indeed, this Zone has great potential to develop into an exciting specialty product hall with its own character, trend forum & seminar and overseas zone, very much like the Accessories Hall.  

VIP tours and business matching were arranged for foreign delegations to ensure efficient spent of their time at the Show. VIP buyer groups included Victoria’s Secret, Gap International Sourcing Ltd, American Eagle Outfitters Asia Ltd, and delegations from Korea, Taiwan, Spain, Thailand, Middle East, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were seen roaming the aisles.

Trends, Seminars & Workshops

Intertextile is a trend & information rich event of international dimension. Trend Forum by Intertextile Directions Trend Committee with Nelly Rodi Agency in charge arranged the best fabrics submitted from foreign exhibitors in 4 themes – Northern Shelter, Indulgent Dreams, Layers of Time and Crazy Creations. In the domestic hall, another trend forum using fabrics from the domestic fabric producers displayed trends for suitings, ladieswear and functional sportswear was arranged by Fabrics China also in 4 themes - Undercurrent, Cradle Photos, Deconstruction and Deposition. Fabric swatches were gathered from the fabrics companies in the domestic halls.

In addition to these two main trend forums, Italy, Japan, Korea and Thailand also had their own trend forum highlighting the fabrics from their respective countries according to their interpretation of the fashion trends. Interestingly, there were many common perspectives among these trend forums reflecting that the world is a global village.

The seminar and workshop program of Intertextile is most extensive covering a wide range of topics, from accessories to new fibers and new fabrics. Swarvoski Elements, Dow Corning, Nylstar and Invista took this opportunity to present their newest products: Innovative ideas for crystals in fashion, innovative solutions of silicone in textile, gold nanostructures in fibers and China apparel e-commerce, respectively. Some 17 seminars on Design & Trend Forecast from various countries’ perspectives as well as 3 talks on Legal Issues, 5 on Technology & Solutions, 4 on Certification & Testing and 3 on market Information & Business Strategies were delivered.

 Accessories trend display.

Attention on Innovation and Eco

Besides fashion, eco & innovation in fabrics was highlighted. A special area “Innotex Space” housed innovative ideas from 20 participating companies. These included NatureWorks with Ingeo PLA; Libolon with RePET recycled polyester, Ecoya chip dyed for water savings and Coolbest for cool feel and WPC recycling low grade wood, textile & plastic bottles molded into outdoor furniture, all part of their Ecoflying eco concept; Everest with ever extreme lightweight nylon in 5 denier; Singtex with S.Café made from coffee waste; Far Eastern New Century with FETretch TPEE and FETex TPU membranes for lamination that are water repellent, windproof breathable; Helon with environmental Jutecell; Shangtex with Lyocell Bamboo; XueSong with extra-fine lightweight linen; New Trend with Sorona and Apex; Fabric King with LED fiber that glows in the dark and many more innovative ideas. Short seminars introducing these innovative ideas were carried out throughout the day within the “Space”.

 Singtex of Taiwan - S. Cafe process of making fabrics from coffee waste showing finished clothing.

Eco is a sustainable trend that grows in importance as the world’s resources dwindle. The eco concept has already pervaded the textile industry, green products and manufacturing is now a necessity even down to the small items such as buttons & threads. The world’s third largest sewing thread producer Amann of Germany offered eco threads Amann Lifecycle Threads, made from recycled polyester and organic cotton are highly demanded by the sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas.

New Wide of Taiwan showed Cool Transfer Print for green & sustainability. Flycool with DuPont’s Sorona which is not oil dependent keeps the body cool and decays in 6 months when buried hence need not be recycled. Cocona, made from coconut charcoal, was also a hot item where many international outdoor sports brands came to see their wide offerings.

Japan Story

The Japan Pavilion comprised of 28 exhibitors with strong participation by its key fiber producers such as Asahi Kasei, Kurabo, Toray & Toyobo. Under the main theme of Principle of Evolutionary Thoughts the Japan Trend corner created by Japan Creation also displayed 4 fashion creations in collaboration with designers from the Tokyo Collection Week. These were made of organic, natural material and process such as paper yarn, linen, bamboo, and relax linen using natural process such as washed with water from the well and sun dried.

New from Toyobo is microfiber of Eless & Erena to as fine as 1.0dtex and Gokuyi in 0.5 dtex. Asahi Kasei’s Roica comes in 9 levels & functions. New is Roica HS soft stretch, high recovery & soft touch ideal for intimate wear, hosiery, sports, medical, waistband, for warp knit, raschel, circular knit, seamless and woven.

Kurabo’s Ozone treated wool in a garment wash or piece dye uses no salt is environmentally responsible. It can be easily washed at home, offers natural stretch for comfort, shrink resistant, high pilling resistance, bright colors, refined texture and excellent water repellency.

Toray absent from the Show for 5 years returned as the China market is ripe for their quality fabrics. They brought along their high grade fabrics for the sports & function wear e.g. Ultra micro fiber, Torex Esaine, Torex Chamistie, Elegant Silky Finish made of 100% polyester that feels like silk and Entrant DT-2.5 layer with texture easy on the skin, expressed in finished garments of sportswear and ladies wear

Korean Story

China is Korea’s biggest market, said Mr Yoon of Korea Fashion Textile Association (KFTA). The Chinese customers like the innovation that Korean fabric producers have to offer. “Six years ago, the Chinese designers do not understand our products, now they hunger for it”, said owner of Scenic. Many of the exhibitors expressed their fabrics in finished garments to help buyers visualize and better appreciate the design and style.

In the past, Do Nam concentrated in the domestic market but two year ago they began to develop their market in China and Europe. They work with wool, silk, mohair, alpaca, angora, cotton, linen & a small amount of synthetics of nylon, rayon, metallic, acrylic, polyester. Fancy tweed, wool silk for winter coats and animal skin patterns in Jacquard were highlighted.

Young Poong Filltex concentrates on lightweight stretch nylon fabrics in 15 denier. A few years ago, motor cycle and mountain climbing wear were featured, now it is bicycle wear due to the eco trend lifestyle. Some 50% of their production is exported 90% of which is to China.

Last year Ludia featured High Gloss nylon fabric and this year is Jacquard. Their new offering come in 15-20 denier nylon, waterproof, windproof, and breathable, that looks like print but actually it is a polyester/nylon Jacquard resulting in two tones after dyeing. Scenic’s most interesting product was a denim look fabric that looks like a simple woven, but actually it is a knit Jacquard.

Fiber & Fabric Story

Fiber makes the fabric. New fibers translate to new fabrics. Nylstar announced its gold moisturizing polyamide fiber – Nylgold – an anti-aging fiber for the intimate industry, made with pure gold. Already two top brands have expressed interest. Anti-bacteria Nylcare for a balanced healthy skin was also promoted.

DuPont showed its recyclable waterproof, breathable Active Layer for lamination for protective apparel and home furnishings. Cotton Incorporated under the theme of “Natural Performance - innovative cotton technologies” showed new technology such as Trans Dry – transfer moisture – dries faster; hence less energy used.

Dow Corning introduced but the newest is Easy Style 5-7288 which is slightly non-iron with a slippery & shiny on cotton that can help strengthen it. Silicone Textile Printing Inks that is environmental and impact protecting Deflexion were also shown. For Hyosung the newest is Creora “highclo” with high resistance to chlorine over 280 hour exposure test. A family of Creora products were offered in 3 categories: intimatewear, swimwear and apparel wear.

Anteks of Turkey offered an array of cotton and cotton/polyester shirting for men in prints, coated and even burnt-outs in small flowers and dots, a new perspective for menswear indeed. Sourcing and producing in China, Miroglio is not your usually Italian manufacturer. They are integrated with the Chinese manufacturers from spinning to numerous retail shops. They displayed a large print collection mostly made in China and a small amount of digital print, lace, patchwork from Italy. 

Huafu Melange Yarn chose red & pink as their theme colors to boost the spirit after the financial crisis among the neutral colors. Chinese like reds and Europeans like neutrals. They offered Fashion Basic Cotton which is “fashionized” basic cotton in snow heather like snow melted on the fabric, snow slub, space dyed heather chunky look a well as double sided fabric made of Tencel & Pro Modal mix – for a rough raw vintage look.

Business Perspective

Foreign companies that joined the Show look to selling to the prospering China market. With a weaker export market, many of the Chinese companies have turned to developing the domestic market. “It is expected that by 2020 China’s middle class, presently at 250 million, will reach 500-700 million. This will sustain the growth of the apparel industry and our company is happy to grow in China. The strong RMB is actually helping us be competitive with the China made fabrics”, said chief representative Huseyin Kavrak of Yunsa of Turkey who is stationed in Shanghai. Specialized in wool, Yunsa is proud that their products are all manufactured in Turkey, from spinning, dyeing to weaving, in full control of the quality.

The positive growth of the China market attracted Birla Cellulose Fibre of India to join the Show for the first time. They are keen to penetrate the China market. With 6 plants altogether in India, Thailand, Indonesia and China producing 1,700 tons/day using a variety of wood source, they hope to give Lenzing some competition.  

Present in two booth at separate halls, Sapphire of Pakistan has been attending this Show for 4 years and are gradually reaping some business in China. Though they have a wide range of fabrics, they were at the Show to sell their griege goods to China.

Miroglio of Italy‘s low point of sales came in Q4 2009. By Q3 2010 it should be rapid growth by 10% in volume and value. “2011 promises to be good and sales should surpass 2008”, said Chiaretto Calo. “The domestic markets in China, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey are all doing well and these used to be export oriented countries. The middle class in China is growing; there is plenty of growth potential for us”, he added.

Amann of Germany, awakening to the strong growth in Asia, will open a new factory in China come January 2011 and one in Bangladesh in 2012, in response to the strong needs of the garment industry in Asia. First time at Intertextile, they were much impressed by the positive response of the visitors.

Well guarded booth

A unique well guarded booth of Italy fabrics located near the Italian Pavilion zone but not part of it housed 6 Italian companies - Botto Fila, Vitale Barberis Canonico, Lanificio Luigi Columbo, E. Thomas, Lanificio Ormezzano, Cotonoficio Albini – offering various fabric types served by Vitality. Visitations were by invitation and appointment only. Vitality is not an agent for these companies but a valuable partner for both the fabrics supplier and the top local fashion brands for menswear. “Our mission is to understand the clients’ needs and search for fabric partners in Italy to bring to them. The service we provide is more in line with brand development”, said its president Mr Dong Wei Zhang. This perhaps is the beginning of a new way of servicing the clients and promoting business in China. 

 Mr Dong Wei Zhang of Vitality - specializing in top Italian fabrics.

Businesses soared for these fabric companies after they established association with Vitality. “Vitality is a network of people who have established excellent relationships with the key top menswear brands in China. They were able to open doors for us to sell to the top China brands and labels which we have had a hard time penetrating. Chinese customers appreciate and buy the top quality fabrics and image that are not available from China; hence there is plenty of room for us to grow in China.” These were some of the comments from the participating companies. Mr Veronese of E. Thomas said the company’s growth originates from growth in the China market, even when other markets decreased or stagnated. In China we still have great growth potential. Before joining Vitality our exports to China was 1%, now it is 10% and increasing.

Conversations with Exhibitors from Thailand

Besides the T³ trend forum some 17 companies joined the Thailand Pavilion, these included Bangkok Weaving Mills, Jong Pattana, Santavee Intergroup and United Textile Mills, all belonging to the T³ program. Non T³ program companies were Benchmark for cuff links & ties, Chareonsuk Knitting for Rachel lace and embroidery, Chiempatana Textiles for fibers & yarn, K. Cotton & Gauze for grey fabric & yarn, Kongkiat Textile for fancy & mélange yarn, L.V.M. Group for knitted fabrics, Mastex for embroideries & lace, People’s Garment Public for knitted fabrics, Petchkasem Weaving for denim fabrics, Royal Universal Lace, Thai Filament Textiles for polyester yarn & garments, Thai Taffeta for nylon yarn & fabric, Tuntex Textile for suiting & functional fabrics, United Textile Mills for knitted fabrics for casual wear for men, women & children as well as functional wear. In addition to these exhibitors, T³ program organized a small trend forum using fabrics produced by T³ member companies. 

A good number of the exhibitors from Thailand have been coming to this event for a number of years and some of them are partners of the T³ program. The purpose of joining this show is to offer visitors from all over the world an alternative to China made fabrics. Realizing that they cannot compete in price, they developed more fashion and quality and specialty products. On the whole Thai exhibitors were satisfied with their participation at Intertextile. As the show grows and evolves they see the benefit to be present as it has become a meeting point for them to see their clients may they be from Asia or Europe. 

“The price of cotton at record high due to shortage drove up material cost resulting in less profit for us”, said Mr Teeraparp, managing director of shirting fabric producer Jong Pattana, a T³ partner and a regular at Intertextile since many years. This situation is affecting the whole industry but positive for the farmers and hedge fund & commodities managers. They joined the show not for the local China market but the foreign buyers. Producing 10mn meters a year, some 70% are exported to Japan, Turkey, Korea, Asean countries, Egypt, Mexico and Columbia. The remaining 30% are for local brands and manufacturers producing shirts for international brands. New item for them is suiting, jacket & pant fabrics of mostly cotton. They are very stylish in line with the world trend for casual and comfortable clothing.

Santavee Intergroup Co Ltd is also in shirting fabrics of cotton and cotton/polyester and with spandex. As a SME for small and medium size orders of fashionable fabrics, their production capacity is at 1.0mn yd/mth, presently running at 70-80% of capacity. With their own weaving and finishing factory, they are able to offer a variety of styles such as dobby, crinkle and seer-sucker fabrics. Some 70% of production is exported to S. America, Europe and Vietnam. “While the market situation has improved, the price of cotton as risen and the Thai Baht stronger, make fabrics we produce more expensive than China-made. China products are good; it is hard to compete, so we offer fashion direction.” said Pavika Rojanavongse, export manager. “With such high price for cotton it is better to take small short orders than long, as the price may come down, quickly and suddenly” she added. Their purpose to be at this show is to meet with their clients from Texworld and look to discover and develop some new ones.

“Business in 2010 is good because Europe is buying more as the Euro strengthens”, said Ms Srichan Assakul of Bangkok Weaving Mill, one of the founding members of the T³ program. They showed a large collection of trouser fabrics: twill, canvas, poplin, dobby and some are with stretch. They produce 2.0mn meters a month for apparel fabrics alone in addition to fabrics for hometextiles. They have 3 home products brands for the local Thai market. “The Texworld show is for research and clients would come to this Show – Intertextile - to wrap up and make a decision what to buy and from whom”, she explained. Under development with Cotton Inc is a natural stretch cotton item. 

United Textile Mills, a family business in knits, is one of the pioneers of the T³ program. They have been coming to this show for the past 5 years and found business to be brisk this year. “Buyers are coming here because the garment production is in Asia and many European companies have buying offices in China. Shanghai is a good location for such fabrics shows”, said Nutra Uttamapinant marketing coordinator. They offer sustainable fabrics that are hard to find in China such as organic and recycled cotton (wastage from factories) and are Control Union Certified. Half of their offerings are in conventional cotton and the other half in sustainable cotton – both in 100% cotton. The organic fibers are purchased from Australia, US and Turkey. “We have developed more commercial products by working closely with the buyers” she said.

Seventeen year old Thai Taffeta was originally part of Formosa Tafetta of Taiwan. They do spinning in nylon only, weaving, dyeing and finishing in nylon & polyester as well as coating and lamination. The products are for sports wear, skiwear, uniform, medical, clean room, and workwear. Customers they received came are from Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and Europe and China and they are glad to see show improve year on year.

 Photos by Messe Frankfurt.