Capturing the magic of the modern era with brazen prints and radiant colors, Finnish design house Marimekko turns 60 this year and throws a patterned-filled party which promises to last all year. Commemorative patterns, design contests and inspiring stories about the iconic prints will be released each month and Finnish retailer FinnStyle brings you the goods.
As part of the anniversary celebration, Marimekko will showcase five products or prints each month for an entire year, in total, Marimekko fans will get to know 60 of its most beloved products. In addition, Marimekko will be holding a design competition in Helsinki where art students around the world will compete to create the next new idea that embodies the Marimekko spirit and revolves around the concept of "Why Not Together."
Luckily you don't have to travel all the way to Finland to get a piece of the mod action, FinnStyle carries a wide variety of Marimekko fabrics, products and prints coined "gems" such as this year's commemorative Yhdessä print. Created from "swatches" of Marimekko's most memorable designs, the Yhdessä print is a modern take on a patchwork quilt.
Clean lines, simple silhouettes, bold colors, and big prints; Marimekko attracted worldwide attention with basic design elements that became transcendent across time and cultures. In 1969 Armi Ratia co-founder of Marimekko said:
"I only want to bring people together so they can get to know each other and gain something from one another."
Australia’s $4.5 billion Textile, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) industries are preparing for the opportunities of a low-carbon world, with the support of the Gillard Labor Government.
Opening the inaugural Big Green Conference in Geelong, Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr welcomed the commitment of workers and business leaders to a stronger, greener industry.
“Climate change is remaking our environment and our economy,” Senator Carr said. “We can plant a few trees, but they won’t shelter our manufacturers from that reality. Good businesses face the facts and find the opportunities – and the Australian Government will help them every step of the way.
“Like most manufacturing industries, TCF faces the challenge of creating sustainable products and business practices in a changing global environment. But the rewards are there for the firms who can adapt first. TCF is well-placed to make that transition.”
Senator Carr said that Australia’s TCF industries are diverse, vibrant and looking to the future. Almost one in two TCF firms already invest in innovation – well above the 40 per cent of businesses in all sectors. The Australian Government has invested to build our research strengths in technical textiles and fibre innovation, including $37 million for new textile labs at the CSIRO–Deakin University Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre in Waurn Ponds.
Madame, a Ludhiana based women’s wear brand owned by Jain Amar Clothing has recently launched a junior brand for girls, aged between five and fourteen to complement its range, along with targeting a 35 percent annual growth in revenues.
Madame has a wide product portfolio encompassing formalwear, activewear, loungewear along with a fashion accessories brand; NYCITI.
Currently Madame is available in over 600 other multi-brand stores (MBOs) and 90 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) of which 80 are Madame stores and the rest NYCITI. To achieve the targeted growth, it plans to hike Madame outlet numbers to 100.
Speaking exclusively to fibre2fashion, Akhil Duggar, Creative Director - Jain Amar Clothing said, “We introduced the Madame junior collection in the autumn of 2010 in the markets of Delhi-NCR, Haryana and Punjab. The response from dealers and customers has been appreciable.
“The collection as per the brand philosophy is focused towards clothing in the age bracket of five and fourteen years. The Spring/Summer collection has also been unveiled in markets of
Northern India and next destination would be Mumbai”.
ecVision, a provider of supply chain collaboration solutions for brands and retailers, will participate in the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) International Sourcing, Customs & Logistics Integration Conference in Miami Beach, Florida on May 11-13, 2011.
This year's theme is "International Expansion during a Time of Trade Inflation." Key agenda items and themes include: sourcing and sustainability, customs and trade, international expansion, logistics, and a political update given by American Apparel and Footwear Association President and CEO, Kevin Burke. The conference will have three keynote addresses delivered by Soo-Ah Landa, Senior Vice President, Disney Sourcing; Mike McBreen, President Global Operations Group, Wolverine World Wide, Inc.; and Simon Ellis, Practice Director, Supply Chain Strategies, IDC Retail Insights. Other conference speakers and participants include many of ecVision's marquee customers.
"The issues contributing to the complexity of global retail operations are hot topics for manufacturers and brands struggling to grow revenue. This conference is a perfect forum to learn more about overcoming these hurdles and achieving optimal supply chain efficiency," says Erik Carr, VP of Sales for ecVision. "ecVision is pleased to participate in this event again and support the open exchange between these leading brands."
ecVision's B2B Portal addresses the need for B2B data integration, collaboration across multiple inter-company and supplier levels, as well as the need for visibility across the entire supply chain. These hallmarks of best-in-class supply chain technology solutions are important to both retailers and suppliers under pressure to streamline operational efficiency.
DwellStudio, known for fashion-forward design for interior home and children's rooms, has expanded their offering to decorative fabrics. Their designer collection for Robert Allen @ Home is now available at retail in Calico Corners – Calico Home stores across the country and online.
Designed by founder Christiane Lemieux and the DwellStudio design team, the fabrics in this collection reflect their aesthetic of hip designs, fresh colors and a livable modern look. Lemieux is also the author of a new book, Undecorate, that celebrates individual style and rooms with personality the homeowner's, not the decorator's! These homes have a vibrant energy and look as if real people actually live there.
"The most stylish people these days understand a fundamental aspect of good living—it's always evolving," notes Lemieux. "Great style isn't necessarily a finished interior so much as it is an ongoing process."
Home decorators can have a chic lifestyle and still break rules of design, to undecorate, suggests Lemieux. "We should know that this room, this home, belongs to that person and no one else. It should bear the mark of their lives, their quirks, their travels, their family."
"That's what I love about having DwellStudio fabrics at Calico," she adds. "Their store associates are design enablers, not style dictators. They help customers discover their own style and follow their instincts to achieve a personal look."
SHEEX, maker of the world’s first performance bedding, announced today that it has added Houston Texans running back Ben Tate to its family of world-class professional athletes.
A former standout at Auburn University, Tate was a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. This marked the only time in Texans history that the team had drafted a running back earlier than the third round. Tate sustained a season-ending injury in the Texans’ preseason opener, but he’s looking forward to making his NFL regular-season debut this fall.
“Michelle and I were inspired by the feel, breathability and quick-dry features of performance fabrics,” Walvius said. “Unlike soak-drenched cotton T-shirts and shorts, performance fabrics breathe better, wick moisture and stretch to move with your body. After two years of research and development, we learned that these advanced materials are able to create and maintain optimum conditions for deeper, more restorative sleep. In 2009, SHEEX Performance Sheets featuring SLEEP•FIT Technology went to market as the world’s first luxury bed sheets crafted from performance athletic fabrics.”
Having gained rapid acclaim and word-of-mouth momentum, the high-quality bedding engineered to help people ‘Sleep Better and Play Better ‘ is launching nationwide at Bed Bath & Beyond stores the first week of April.
A life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted by Novozymes indicates that use of enzymes makes possible savings of up to 70,000 liters of water and 1 ton of CO2 per ton knitted fabric. It also shows a 20–25% reduction in processing time.
Higher production costs, demand for quality textiles, and environmental legislation present challenges for the textile industry. “Novozymes’ solutions can contribute to decreasing dependence in the textile industry on chemicals, lower consumption of energy and water, and bring down costs – all while maintaining superior product quality,” says Sebastian Søderberg, Business Development & Marketing Director - Textile & Leather at Novozymes.
More savings and less use of valuable resources
Water is an increasingly scarce resource. Novozymes estimates that the global knitwear production uses the same amount of water as 24 million rural Chinese people use for drinking water. Fortunately, there are ways that the textile industry can consume less – and keep it cleaner. Enzymes can combine processes to save water usage, and they can also decrease the toxicity of effluents. Enzymes also necessitate fewer rinses after one process as compared to chemicals.
Novozymes solutions can reduce water and energy usage to a great extent simply by being applied at different stages of the same textile production process. Esquel Group, a leading producer of cotton shirts and a global textile and apparel manufacturer, has performed several trials applying Novozymes’ bioinnovative solutions at the different stages of the production.
According to a Live Cycle Assessment conducted by Novozymes, Esquel Group achieved a saving of 30 cubic meters of water per ton of knitted fabric in just one single process (bleaching) by using Novozymes enzymatic solution as compared to using conventional technology.
