PARIS — A change of venue marked the newest stage of development for Texworld.
The fabric fair convened last week at its new home, Le Bourget, a northern suburb of Paris, after years of showing in the CNIT complex west of the city, in La Defense business district. Although exhibitors expressed frustration with transportation and the event sharing the same four-day run as the Première Vision trade show, most reported solid business led by order writing from European and Middle Eastern buyers.
Most buyers said they would keep their budgets on a par with last year’s, reflecting more economic caution.
“We’re at about the same level as last year in terms of business,” said Ayush Murarka, a partner with Indian embroidery mill Ventures. “Seeing that embroideries are not so popular right now, that’s pretty good.”
The ethnic embroideries so prominent in previous seasons generally have been replaced by more intricate, subdued decorations and colorful geometric prints with a Fifties vibe, buyers and exhibitors said.
“Embroideries are out,” said Juana Ferrer, designer of Spain’s Yebsya women’s collection. “We’re interested in laces and light cottons. Business is good, but not booming. We’ll probably buy 5 percent more fabrics this year.”
Basic fabrics for use on high-volume, low-price garments were again the forte of many Texworld exhibitors.
“We’re here for basics at good prices,” said Mark Dodds, product technologist at the U.K.’s Courtaulds.
In recent seasons, however, many buyers have said they were more interested in quality and fashion-forward fabrics, reflecting a general movement upmarket for the show.
“It’s striking,” said Michael Scherpe, president of Messe Frankfurt France, which runs the fair. “This is the first time we’ve seen such a stark improvement in quality and creativity. The market demands it. The fabrics are much more beautiful.”
Many buyers said they visited both Texworld and PV, the show that features high-end European mills. Buyers said they often visited PV for inspiration and do order writing at Texworld.
Texworld featured about 830 exhibitors from countries best known for their cheaper fabrics and manufacturing, including India, Pakistan, China, Taiwan and Turkey. The change of location was spurred partly to welcome another 100 exhibitors from countries such as China and India, and to give visitors and vendors more room to conduct business.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
There were 17,100 visitors, about 100 more than last year, led by buyers from France,
the U.K., Germany, Turkey and Italy, organizers said.
Buyers shopping for spring 2008 said taffetas, paper-touch fabrics, shimmering surfaces and geometric prints were their focus. Red, silver, black, brown tones and green were the most popular colors. Looks were more tailored and constructed than in the past.
“What is most important to us is finding something out of the ordinary,” said Leonardo A. Auada Hallal, executive director of Brazil’s upscale women’s label Selezione, who said his budget was about even with last year’s.