Apparel Online India Magazine August 1st Issue 2018 | Page 37

FASHION BUSINESS
T
here is an enormous untapped retail
scope beyond the obvious travel items –
consumers are demanding more and more
pieces of vacation-based clothing and leisure
activities.
A surge of vacation-inspired prints and beach-
ready silhouettes swarmed the international
runways, citing a spike in demand from
international retailers.
For Spring/Summer 2019, the demand is
for loose fit, breathable leisurewear in
cotton, modals, viscose, sheer and semi-
sheer materials and very light fabrics, and
a lot of trends in this segment are led by
crochet and lace designs. Pieces such as
kaftans and ponchos make up a huge chunk
of this market considering the large piece
of market share acquired by the growing
modest fashion market from the Middle East
regions as well.
“Since ponchos and kaftans come in free
sizes, our buyers mostly place orders for these
styles as it is easier for the customers to pick
these,” cited exporter Rahul Kumar of Reet
International. Since these two styles have
been a frontrunner in the past, manufacturers
are experimenting with longer lengths and
decorative techniques to fill in the demand in
the market.
Harshad supported the statement by adding,
“As far as styling goes, longer lengths are in
high demand as they serve the dual purpose
of beach to bar, i.e., you can wear these as a
holiday pool-side garment or even for dinner,
multi-purpose resortwear.”
A plethora of ocean-inspired print patterns
such as coral reefs, star fish, sea horses,
vacation-inspired quotes/phrases, tropical
motifs, in a palette that mostly consists
of popping brights and neons, dominate
the market.
“The trend is shifting towards bright prints
on a lighter base such as blue and red on
white, green over white or neons over nautical
stripes,” explained Exporter Arth Sadh of
Ritesh Fashion, adding, “The look is achieved
through digital prints over apparel, and flock
print over bags and mats.”
On the domestic front, Tas Gabaji of label
Nothing Swim, who forecasts candy pastels
for Spring/Summer 2019 added, “Solid colours
are performing well for swim. The demand
is ripe for candy pastels – pastels that are
not as muted as last year but brighter and
more colourful.”
The beauty of India is that it is very diverse
as a market. Prints and patterns such as
animal, abstract and placement prints
perform extremely well here, and is achieved
using digital and rotary printing techniques,
for their high level of colour fastness and
print durability.
Versatile ‘beach-to-bar’ pieces –
The Beach Company
Longer
lengths are in
high demand
as they serve
the dual
purpose of
beach-to-bar,
i.e., you can
wear these as
a holiday pool-
side garment.
Solids and candy pastels
are in huge demand –
Nothing Swim
Sheer and semi sheer materials
are popular for their airy quality –
The Beach Company
Tropical prints reign the market
for Spring/Summer 2019
In this oversaturated market, established
players are experimenting with new
techniques not previously associated with
beach and swim categories.
For Vijay Singh Sengar of Shilpayan
Decor Exports, their USP lies in merging
tradition with technique to create an
internationally appealing style. Hand block
prints and embellishments being their forte, the
manufacturer experiments with the techniques
from all angles.
“Our customers prefer hand block prints
and motifs that are mostly scattered over
sheer fabrics or velvet. To make the garment
decorative, we add heavy embellishments
over these prints which are mostly bead work,
usually done by hand, and for the beachwear
category, we do embellishments over
chiffon fabrics.”
Motifs are bidding an adieu to traditional
form of florals and are instead shaped in a
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