22nd April, 2022: The Fashion Meet- Expo ’22 hosted by the Top Fashion Export Council under AEPC – BAA – NAEC in collaboration with SOWTEX (B2B marketplace for fashion & textile) began on Thursday in at Apparel House, Sector-44, Gurugram. The spectacular Day-1 witnessed a grand inauguration by the Chief Guest, Smt. Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles & Railways, Trade commissioners from Australia & Canada along Top Apparel Exporters, Buying fraternity. It’s also noteworthy to mention that 200+ top fashion buyers, exporters & manufacturers of Delhi, NCR had attended the event. Day-2 of the event showcased a Startup Fashion Show and also had industry experts highlight the importance of digitising the textile eco-system & fast tracking design development process to optimise India Textile recent FTA’s with partner countries and achieve GOI’s target of $100 Bn fashion & Textile Exports by 2030.
The show displayed the widest collection of Sustainable & Innovative Fabric Collection from different Mills of India under one roof showing the strength of Organic fabrics made out of Cotton, Hemp, Bamboo, Aloe Vera etc along with 1000+ variety of Man Made fabrics in Viscose, Recycle Polyester, Blends, Embroideries, Prints in SS/23 Themes along with sustainable trims.
The Fashion Meet had live discussions between AEPC, participating Mills on ‘Conceptualisation of Design Studio’ at Apparel House, along with the display of ‘Physical & Virtual Fabric Collection.’ Some other noteworthy topic of discussion by Industry Experts were on ‘Fast tracking the Design Development Process,’ ‘Stitching the Value Chain with Sustainability & Traceability,’ ‘Quick & Easy Ways to Build Fashion Exports.’
Industry Leadership led by Mr. Narendra Goenka, Chairman, AEPC, Mr Lalit Thukral of Chairman IIGF, Mr Gautam Nair, Chairman – Export Council- AEPC, Mr Vishal Dhingra Chairman- PHD Chambers shared their viewpoints on the need to digitise sourcing along with Guest speakers Sevraj Syed, Director, TUKATECH, Europe, Puneet Dudeja, Director- WGSN.
Praising the effort of the organisers, Smt. Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles & Railways said,
“Integrating the Value Chain is the need of the Hour when international buyers are looking to Increase sourcing from INDIA.”
Opening the Statement on the first day of ‘The Fashion Meet- Expo ’22’, Mr. Sonil Jain, Co-Founder & CEO, SOWTEX said, “There is greater need to reinvent the Fashion Sourcing. Traditional sourcing has to be digitised & innovated to create faster access between Buyers & Sellers. With Deep Value Chain of Textiles partnered by FashionTech & Startups this segment can be Reinvented to meet international Demand & Boost exports.”
Commenting on how they have got the right balance of Display of Materials, Fashion Tech Companies, Startups & an overwhelming response on the first day of the event, he further added, “Industry experts such as International Brands Liaison
The second day of the event featured talks & discussions on topics such as ‘Fabric to Fashion – Digital Fashion Show- Showcasing Fabric to Fashion Transition First time.’ There were also discussions around ‘Sustainable Production Processes & Implementation,’ ‘Developing Sustainable Product Lines & Fast-track Development.’ Soon after, there were Start-up fashion shows wherein NIFT Foundation of Design Innovation, five Start-ups exhibited Sustainable & Organic Clothing line, four International Celebrity Designers showcased Sustainable collections; two top celebrity designers will also have their Guest of Honour flying in from London & New York – Varun Bahl & Liz Hartman; ATDC design School under AEPC showing young minds creations on Sustainable & Circular Fashion.
The event showcased selected 50 Fabric Mills, Processors, Trims manufactures & fashion technology companies from India Showcasing latest collections along with trends, materials, technology. This collaboration is an endeavour to strengthen engagement through Meet-up space between buyers and sellers of the textile ecosystem. It is to help fashion buyers, manufacturers and suppliers collaborate and fast-track product development. Furthermore, it will facilitate to work on upcoming season trends collaboratively and create strong delivery ecosystem.
