According to a recent press release of the British Fashion Council (BFC), Sir Paul Smith will receive the Outstanding Achievement Award at this year’s British Fashion Awards on November 28. This special award celebrates the achievement of a designer whose work has had an exceptional impact on global fashion.Four times previous British Fashion Awards winner, Paul Smith has been the recipient of Menswear Designer (1997/1999), Classic Designer (2001) and Contemporary Designer (2003). This award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design was voted for by a panel of leading internationally acclaimed journalists and retailers to recognize Sir Smith’s career and contribution to the British fashion industry.Sir Smith is revered for his designs which are described as “classics with a twist” and for his signature idiosyncratic take on traditional British styling in both his fashion collections and shops.Within 20 years Sir Smith had established himself as a pre-eminent British designer.

The 12th China (Yiwu) International Exhibition on Hosiery, Knitting, Dyeing & Finishing Machinery (YIWU H&G 2011) opened yesterday through November 25 at Yiwu International Expo Center, Yiwu, Zhejiang, China. China (Yiwu) International Exhibition on Sewing Machinery & Equipment is concurrently held.The three-day exhibition gathers 150 quality enterprises of knitting and garment machinery and accessories industry from 11 countries and regions on the exhibition area of 9,000sq m and the organizers expect that more than 8,500 professional buyers will be attracted to the exhibition.There are also around 10 delegation groups from local and overseas coming to visit and source at the exhibition, including Taiwan Hosiery Manufacturers’ Association, Zhuji Hosiery Association, Zhuji Garment Industry Association, Hanning Hosiery Industry Association, Xiangshan Knitting Industry Association, Pujiang County Knitting, Printing and Dyeing Industry Association, Gushan Underwear Industry Association, MengNa Hosiery, Manzi Zhejiang Knitting and so on.

Swiss textile machinery maker Rieter has granted a license for its ComforJet yarns to an Austrian company, Linz Textil GmbH.As Rieter introduces, ComforJet is the brand name of a kind of yarn from its air-jet spinning machine. With a new type of yarn structure, resulted from the form of the yarn construction on the air-jet spinning machine and turbulence from an air stream in a spinning nozzle, the ComforJet yarn offers very low hairiness, smooth yarn surface and an associated soft and voluminous yarn character, creating many benefits both in downstream processing and in the end product and opening up new areas of application.Linz Textil is one of the leading spinning and weaving companies in Europe with several production sites in Austria

On November 25, Gap Inc launched its first flagship store in Hong Kong.The new store, which is Gap’s ninth store in the Greater China region, spans more than 15,000sq ft over four floors on Queens Road in Hong Kong’s Central District. Housed in a beautiful new building with an award winning architectural design, it offers its collections such as Gap, GapKids, babyGap and GapBody.”Opening in Hong Kong is a momentous occasion and demonstrates Gap Inc’s continued commitment to make our optimistic American style more readily available to Chinese consumers,” said Redmond Yeung, President of Gap Greater China.

According to the statistics of the China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC) Statistics Center, during January to September this year, the total production output of Chinese above-scale enterprises (firms with an annual sales volume of RMB20 million) amounted to RMB3.96 trillion (about US$621 billion), up by 28.98% year on year. Excluding the dyeing and finishing sector, other sectors of the textile and apparel industry saw over 20% of growth in production output.During the same period, the entire industry gained operational revenue of RMB3.84 trillion (about US$603 billion), up by 29.43% year on year, with double-digit growth rate in every sector of the industry. Particularly, the linen spinning sector witnessed the fastest growth rate in operational revenue, reaching 38.41%.During January to September, Chinese above-scale firms’ rate of products sold was 97.76%, up by 0.18 percentage points year on year

India’s Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) projects that the country will export 80 lakh (1 lakh equals 100,000) bales of cotton (of 170kg each) in the 2011-12 cotton season, according to a report of Indian daily newspaper The Hindu Business Line.This estimate was made after the CAB reviewed the cotton balance sheet on November 15, India’s Minister of State for Textiles Panabaka Lakshmi is quoted as saying.In the immediately past 2010-11 season, India’s cotton exports are estimated to stand at 70 lakh bales.As far as output is concerned, India is estimated to produce 356 lakh bales in the current cotton season, compared to 325 lakh bales last season.The consumption of cotton at domestic mills is projected to be 210 lakh bales this season, down from 240 lakh bales last season. This indicates a slowdown in the textile industry, The Hindu Business Line reports.In September this year, the Indian Government removed restrictions on the export of cotton and permitted shipments under the Open General License.Ms Lakshmi is also quoted as projecting India’s cotton yarn production to drop from 39,000 lakh kg last year to 32,000 lakh kg during the 2011-12 fiscal year, with reference to India’s cotton Yarn Advisory Board.The Indian newspaper remarks that the Indian Government removed the restrictions on cotton yarn exports for 2011-12 fiscal year on March 31 this year, and before that, cotton yarn exports were capped at 7,200 lakh kg for the 2010-11.

Huntsman Textile Effects has officially opened its 13th Formulation and Distribution Center (FDC) in Karachi, Pakistan.Located at the Landhi Industrial Area, the 4,000sq m facility with advanced equipment and new technology is aimed to provide a production platform in one of the pioneer industrial states in Pakistan where modern infrastructure is available for convenient access.”With the opening of our new low-cost production facility for formulated chemicals in Karachi to meet increasing local demand, we will considerably increase our competitiveness and flexibility in textile chemicals in this key Asian textile market,” says Paul Hulme, President of Huntsman Textile Effects.”Our well-established partner Swisstex will continue to provide enhanced sales activities enabling us to concentrate on all formulation and production aspects using our cutting edge technology to develop innovative products and technologies, market solutions with intelligent effects to this growing market.”Huntsman has had its manufacturing presence in Pakistan since 2007, with Swisstex as its sole distributor in the country. Huntsman says it is planning to develop more competitive locally sourced formulated products for the local market, and will work with Swisstex in order to maximize growth with key textile customers, especially in the home textiles and specialty chemicals areas.Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer of the world and it represents a fast-growing, dynamic market of increasing importance for the chemicals supplier, says Huntsman.

According to the latest visitorship statistics of ITMA 2011 organizer MP International Pte Ltd, India was the third largest country of origin of visitors to the quadrennial exhibition in Barcelona in September, accounting for 8.5% of the total number of visitors.”ITMA 2011 demonstrated the finest of global excellence in textile manufacturing technology. India is emerging as the preferred base for textile manufacturing and Indian buyers were able to evaluate various machines for procurement during ITMA 2011,” said Rita Menon, Textiles Secretary, Government of India, who led a high-level delegation that included the Joint Secretary (Textiles) and the Textile Commissioner.She added, “As a policy planner and in order to usher in India’s next leap into finer processing, finishing and a strong textile hub, it was particularly gratifying to be shown the finest technology in the world and a range of options at ITMA 2011.”A total of 100,067 attendees visited ITMA 2011, according to the organizer’s statistics. By country, Italy and Spain were the largest origins of visitors, accounting for 8.9% and 8.8% respectively

The French Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (UCMTF) said in a recent press release that ITMA 2011 in Barcelona was a great event for French textile machinery makers.”It was very spectacular to see so much interest for French machines and services and many significant projects from the textile producers worldwide,” said Bruno Ameline, UCMTF Chairman.”There seem to be two different worlds, the financial world in jeopardy and a real economy where the entrepreneurs have long-term goals and innovative projects to ensure the growth and the profitability of their companies,” he added.The association noted that the French exhibitors were amazed by the number and the quality of visitors to ITMA 2011, their well-planned projects, their willingness to implement these very quickly to secure competitive advantages on the market, as well as the large number of contracts signed on-site.Evelyne Cholet, UCMTF Secretary General, commented: “The French manufacturers are now harvesting the results of their strategy to address the specific requirements of their customers, to provide them tailored-made solutions and seamless service, in a word to, build long-term relationships with them and provide added value to their projects.”French exhibitors’ comments on their results at ITMA 2011Schaeffer Productique: More than 20 new projects should be finalized before the end of 2011.NSC Fibre to Yarn: An unusual number of customers from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Iran and India were received.Superba: There were a number of visitors looking for innovative processes, quality and energy savings in machinery and differentiation with new products on their market segments.Dollfus & Muller: The number of visitors at the company’s booth increased by more than 40% compared with the prior edition of ITMA, and many new contacts were made with prospects from such countries as Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, India, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Brazil.Swisstex France: “Very important” orders were signed.Laroche: Its 10th JUMBO/EXEL Tearing Line was sold to Alcocertex, its main customer in Spain, and other recycling lines to countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan and Mexico.St

Japan-based Teijin Fibers Ltd has developed a new polyester fiber with an allegedly unique, highly modified cross-section with eight projections aligned in a radial pattern around a hollow fiber.Named Octa after its octopus-like appearance, the new fiber is said to offer rapid sweat absorption and drying, lightweight, heat shielding/insulation and useful bulkiness.As explained, the voids between the eight projections result in a highly functional fiber for sweat absorption, rapid drying and bulkiness. They also improve heat shielding and insulation properties, and create the lightweight feel of hollow yarn at roughly half the weight of yarn with similar thickness.According to the Japanese company, modified cross-section fibers enable new functions to be added and the appearance and texture of original fibers to be altered. Teijin’s lineup of modified cross-section fibers includes: a polyester fiber with a triangular cross-section offering a glossy appearance; a hollow, thin-walled polyester fiber that traps large quantities of non-flowing air for thermal insulation; a polyester fiber with a cross-section of four flat peaks for superior sweat absorption and quick drying; and a false-twisted polyester fiber with an irregular cross-section.Increased modification and thinness can decrease fiber strength, but the company claims to have overcome these limitations by leveraging its proprietary fiber-making technologies to develop Octa fiber with its highly modified cross-section.Octa can also be used in combination with other fibers through false twisting, combined filament processing and two-strand yarn spinning, says Teijin, which expects to market the fiber from April 2012 for innerwear, fashion apparel and other applications