Asian textile manufacturers out in force at TexWorld

Asian textile manufacturers out in force at TexWorld

Asian textile manufacturers were out in force at a trade fair in
Paris last week, touting their wares for quality and price
against competition from their European counterparts.

Fabric makers from China, Taiwan, India and South Korea
accounted for nearly half of the 620 companies showing their
wares at TexWorld, the international clothing textiles trade show
in the French capital's business district, La Defense, that
closed last on Wednesday.

"We come for the large quantities and the tiny prices,"
explained designer Olivier Lapidus, who was purchasing fabric for
his Pronuptia Couture label wedding gowns.

According to Lapidus, the quality of the fabrics on offer at
TexWorld has vastly improved since the trade fair began in 1997.

Innovative weaving and dying techniques have pulled Asian
textiles out of the bargain basement and onto the top shelf and
cheap labor has made them highly competitive.

TexWorld has become such an important industry event it is now
poses a threat to Premiere Vision, the show featuring high-end
fabric by European manufacturers that takes place in Paris at
about the same time.

Some exhibitors at Premiere Vision have tried to cut the
action both ways, putting their subsidiaries on the floor at
TexWorld. French fabric maker Carreman has taken that tack with
its Romanian unit Carreman Romania.

According to Aloke Kumar Jaipuria, president of Indian firm
Gyan Silk Mills which is showing at TexWorld, "buyers come to see
the colors and trends at Premiere Vision, then they buy their
fabrics at TexWorld."

Gyan Silk Mills exports 65 percent of its hand-embroidered
silks to Europe and the United States and lists fashion giants
Christian Dior and Liz Claiborne among its clients.

Another TexWorld exhibitor, Ding Cai Ling, vice president of
one of China's largest textile producers, Shandong Ruyi, stressed
her firm's high-end approach.

"We focus on creativity and quality," she said.

The company's designer wool fabric exports have climbed 30 to
40 percent a year, snapped up by prestigious clients such as
European fashion houses Hugo Boss and Armani.

With business booming, Shandong Ruyi plans to open factories
in Biella, the cradle of Italian wool making, soon. -- AFP