Paris Report: Chinos, Color and Texture
Beyond the glitz of the runway and the iconic boutiques, the business of fashion is ingrained in the ethos of Paris. The city lived up to its reputation as the fashion capitol of the world last week hosting two leading textile trade shows, Texworld Paris and Première Vision.
Each show presented a global roster of mills with forward-thinking fabrics that pushed the boundaries in fashion innovation in uniquely Parisian settings that encouraged attendees to watch, listen and learn.
Texworld Paris highlighted the next generation of wearable technology at Avantex, a section dedicated to technical textiles, while Première Vision sent a clear message about sustainability by providing mills a platform to share their advancements, from fiber to water.
The shows were also an opportunity for Lenzing to share news about Refibra™, the first cellulose fiber featuring pulp from recycled cotton to be offered on a commercial scale.
“The Paris shows present some of the leading denim and casualwear mills from Asia and Europe,” said Tricia Carey, director of business development for denim at Lenzing Fibers. “Leading the trends were sustainability and texture in yarns and weaves.”
Mills from Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan convened at Texworld Paris, where an emphasis on new basics was seen at every price level and from every region.
Pakistan-based Kassim, known for jacquards , tapped into the très chic trend for black denim with Future Black. The mill applied the Lenzing Modal® BLACK to jacquards, promising no sign of color loss even after 50-plus washes.
For a more polished look, Indigo yarn-dyes. from Luthai Textile Co. debuted cotton and TENCEL® blends for formal shirting.
At Première Vision, with Santanderina, Arvind, Prosperity, Toray, A&A, Destro and more exhibiting, the emphasis was on texture and color.
Italian mill Destro intrigued attendees with its unique setup and use of TENCEL® and TENCEL® linen. The result is fabric with unique slubs and seersucker look that can be applied to indigo and casual wear.
A&A touted an exquisite range of indigo chambray that spanned basics to dobbies, jacquards and patterns. The mill, known for reinventing ways TENCEL® can be incorporated into collections, promoted denim on denim looks with TENCEL® bottomweights.
Royo rolled out a new category of fabrics that keyed into Parisians’ effortless style called, Premium Relax. The category of fabrics included Suave TENCEL® and the mixing of indigo and colors. Colorful chinos were also trending as NTB Nuova Tessilbrenta presented a range of chino in cotton, TENCEL® and spandex combinations.
Performance and specialty yarns with function like Umorfil beauty fiber and Miyabi, a recycled polyester from ocean waste created buzz on the show floor. Meanwhile mills like Toray, experts at fiber and yarn mixes, promoted performance-based collections. The mill presented Miracle Air, a collection of lightweight yet dense fabrics suitable for performance, made with a blend of TENCEL® and nylon.
“The mood of the market is cautionary as price and innovation pressures continue through the supply chain,” Carey said. “It is challenging to innovate when brands will not pay for development and technology.”