Apparelsourcing Paris sets a high standard for international sourcing

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"Apparelsourcing Paris was an excellent event in terms of orders and making new contacts. We have already have a dedicated core of buyers who appreciated our collections of coats, jackets and parkas in 100% wool and a wool/cashmere mix, made from quality Italian and South Korean fabrics. Our new range of down jackets and waistcoats in quilted technical fabrics has won us new European and North American customers", Serap Kolabas, sales director at Theorie, revealed on the third day of the fair. Theorie is a Turkish manufacturer for top-of-the-range men's outerwear and works for highend brands and major European clients.

The fair offered a large selection of casualwear/ sportswear and Shekhar Agarwal, CEO of Maral Overseas Limited, said that he was "satisfied with orders and was impatient to follow up contacts made. Its organic, ethical range, certified by GOTS, WRAP and BSCI was appealing to clients." The New Delhi-based company offers knits for mid-range casualwear.

Apparelsourcing Paris has set a high standard for international sourcing in Europe by hosting 285 exhibitors from 14 countries at its seventh event. Combined with Texworld, a total of 1,166 exhibitors participated. The fair recorded 15,034 visitors - an increase of 5.16% -from 109 countries during the four-day event at Le Bourget, Paris, from 15 - 18 September 2014.

Buyers were able to extend their collections thanks to the variety and quality of the products and solutions on offer from manufacturers, from traditional production to the development of turnkey products, as offered to brands and designers by the French company MonDéfilé.com.

The fair expanded its men's/women's/youth/children's offer across every range of price and product, such as knits, unstructured garments, businesswear and accessories, with more than 100 new exhibitors coming from Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Turkey and Vietnam.

The majority of manufacturers expressed their satisfaction with this event, at which the customers devoted the greater part of their budgets to large winter pieces, accessories and unstructured garments.

The new Shawls&Scarves section was created in response to strong demand from accessory buyers and this focus on "scarves, head squares, foulards and stoles" was very well received. It consisted of 20 exhibitors and enjoyed a prime position between Texworld and Apparelsourcing Paris. The specially made stands created a wonderful showcase for accessories available in luxury materials such as cashmere, merino wool and silk; natural materials such as cotton, wool, linen, bamboo and man-made materials.

Monica Imbertini, a Florence-based buyer for Italian shops, stated "that combining this offer together was a positive step, as it provided an overall view and saved time", feelings which were shared by Nicolas Domarle, a buyer for the French men's mid-range prêt-à-porter brand Izac and a regular at Apparelsourcing Paris: "Scarves now account for a significant proportion of our purchases, so it is very good to have this dedicated section."

Visitors were able to find manufacturers' signature items in the two trend forums devoted to this segment, one in Hall 4 beside the Texworld Trend Forum and the other right in the middle of the "Shawls and Scarves" section in Hall 2, as well at the specially-arranged show on Tuesday and Thursday.

At this event, 188 manufacturers, including new participants from new sourcing locations such as Shandong, Liaoning, Fujiang and Beijing made the Chinese pavilion, organised by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Textile Industry (CCPIT-Tex) into a rich, avant-garde shop window for the Chinese quality offer.

It met all the demands of fashion showing men's, women's and children's clothing: knits, unstructured garments, casual wear, sportswear, fancy denim, sleeved items, shirting, outerwear, businesswear, swimwear and corporate clothing. Growth was evident in the range of accessories, including bags, gloves, ties and scarves and was duly noted.

Fittingly, at the lecture "Performance and perspectives of the Chinese textile and clothing industry", which took place on Monday afternoon, Lin Yuifeng, the Vice-President of CCPIT-TEX, emphasised China's desire to position itself in mid- and top-of-the-range sourcing and to develop cutting-edge solutions, such as made-tomeasure for men's suiting.

The next Texworld will take place from Monday 9th to Thursday 12 February 2015, at Le Bourget, Paris.

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