From the Sector

Officina+39, an Italian sustainable chemical developer, attends Superstudio Più in Milan to show its technical progress and share its concrete contribution to a more Trustainable™ denim. Under the spotlight, among multiple innovations, the latest addition to the Officina+39 family: the brand-new NOVASCRAPER INDIGO.

NOVASCRAPER INDIGO, the new technology for classic aesthetics
NOVASCRAPER INDIGO allows to give a natural vintage look to denim garments through laser finishing, an actual innovative alternative to manual scraping. NOVASCRAPER INDIGO guarantees a natural effect with unparalleled quality and accuracy, requiring less manpower and less rejection rate when compared to manual scraping.

The Sixth Sense: less water, more Trustainability
Officina+39 and Tejidos Royo joined forces to create a denim line that drastically reduces water consumption: this is “The Sixth Sense”, a project concretely inspired by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and specifically by its SDG6, calling to action to ensure access to water and sanitation for all. Officina+39 personally accepts this global challenge by contributing to the realization of “The Sixth Sense” with its AQUALESS MISSION. Featuring three cutting-edge laundry products for one innovative process, AQUALESS MISSION combines the application of REMOVER BC, AQUALESS AGED – a waterless compound to give denim abrasion effects –, and OZ-ONE POWDER – an advanced product to give garments a bleached yet eco-friendly treatment in a dry application, for a worn and distressed look. Compatible with conventional washing and treatment machinery, it allows for water consumption savings up to 75%.
Focused on driving sustainability in the textile industry, Tejidos Royo uses low-impact fibers and yarns as a raw material and the implementation of foam-dyeing technology with its Dry Indigo®, the first-ever technology to foam-dye denim with zero water use and no water discharge.

CircularKromia: a colorful path for preloved garments
At Officina+39 the word “waste” becomes synonymous with opportunity, a source to create something new, fostering true, Trustainable™ circularity. This is the background to the collaboration with Atelier Riforma, an innovative startup born in Turin (Italy) with a social vocation. Through the contribution of Officina+39’s RECYCROM™, it has been possible to obtain new pigment and dyestuff pulverizing discarded garments and pieces usually difficult to recover through tailoring transformation alone. The collection made it possible not to generate any waste, no new raw materials were required to create CircularKromia.

The Circle Book 2: the power of collaboration and circularity
A collective project gathering a total of ten companies with common goals focused on transparency and circularity in denim design, The Circle Book is now in its second edition that culminated in CULTURE.IN, a circular capsule collection transparently made from recycled and degradable materials.

Officina+39 opens its doors, with Lenzing and Meidea
In the evening of October 13, the recently inaugurated brand-new headquarters of Officina+39 in Biella opened their doors to welcome denim personalities, brands, designers and partners to show where Officina+39's innovative technologies are created, to network and celebrate while preparing new steps towards the design of a more circular and – of course – Trustainable™ fashion Industry.

Denim ingredient brand ISKO™ announces R-TWO™50+. Part of Responsible Innovation™, R-TWO™50+ creates high-quality denim that is less harmful to the natural world.

R-TWO™50+ reduces carbon emissions by as much as 45% and water usage by as much as 65%. An exclusive yarn spinning technology, patented by ISKO, uses a minimum of 50% recycled materials to reduce reliance on natural resources.

The fabrics are stronger and more durable, and have a good shape recovery, a soft cotton hand feel and dry up to 20% more quickly.
R-TWO50+ fabrics also have the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification, which provides standardised verification for recycled materials.

ISKO is also one of the first in the fashion market to achieve an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scoring, which measures companies’ sustainability and societal impact.

• HIGHER, FASTER, FURTHER ! During the first physical Frankfurt Fashion Week in January 2022, PREMIUM GROUP will show more novelties than ever.

The anticipation is rising! With the actual move to Frankfurt in January 2022, Anita Tillmann, Jörg Arntz and the teams will not only present further developed versions of the PREMIUM and SEEK fashion fairs, but will also celebrate a major B2C festival for the first time with THE GROUND.

More than ever, the Berliners‘ passion for people and fashion, but also for business and trading, is at the heart of all their events. And where better to combine all this than in the power metropolis of Frankfurt am Main.

„No city in Germany - no city in Europe - stands for business relevance and trading power as much as Frankfurt am Main,“ explains Tillmann. „We now have a unique opportunity to actively shape the future together. PREMIUM GROUP provides the industry with the platform, the brands with the creative content. In addition, we do what we do best, introduce the right players to each other and connect them. We bring together the movers and shakers who have the same drive as we do. With this new mix of location, entertainment, creative industry and trading focus, we are creating a unique momentum after the pandemic - January is when the big deals are made and the c ourse is set for the future.“

To achieve this goal, the PREMIUM GROUP teams have also given the proven successful formats PREMIUM and SEEK a new coat of paint. More space, new areas and shorter distances provide visitors with a completely new trade event experience. Trends, brands and events can be discovered together with new and well-known partners - for the first time all in one place!

And PREMIUM, which is already entering its 19th year in January, is also showing a new side in Frankfurt. Instead of being spread out like in Station-Berlin, in Frankfurt all brands show their collections in one big hall. „We are so excited to finally unite all exhibitors in one hall. This way we create a universe with many different worlds - colorful and exciting,“ says Wiebus. „We are in close exchange with all the protagonists throughout the year and continue to develop the concepts together. The entire industry is positive about coming together in Frankfurt. Everyone is keen to experience and create something completely new! We offer the framework for this - that is our strength.“

And the Berliners have another surprise in store for the Frankfurt debut: With THE GROUND, they are organizing a large fashion festival for young end consumers for the first time. Responsible for the event concept, in addition to Tillmann, Arntz and the PREMIUM GROUP- team, is B2C expert Kai Zollhöfer, who already made the Bread & Butter by Zalando a crowd puller. “THE GROUND is a B2C festival aimed at a young, purpose-driven generation. This new generation has a strong stance on current social and environmental challenges and expects brands to reflect them. The overriding themes at THE GROUND are therefore sustainability, diversity and equality”, said Zollhöfer.

The 3-day event offers brands the opportunity to interactively exhibit purpose-driven stories and products. In addition to the thematic focus on fashion, brands from the fields of wellbeing, beauty, mobility and technology will also present innovative products and solutions.

Lenzing presented at FILO its sustainable approach and on a selection of key innovations such as TENCEL™-branded specialty fibers.

As part of the space dedicated to Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto and Fashion B.E.S.T., the first Italian collective of responsible fashion designers, a selection of TENCEL™’s key technologies were under the spotlight:

• TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™, using cotton textile waste and wood pulp as the feedstock for cellulosic fibers, creating a circular solution;
• TENCEL™ x Indigo Color, infusing pigment into fibers directly during the spinning process;
• TENCEL™ Luxe, providing superior aesthetics, performance and comfort to be the perfect partner of other noble fibers such as silk, cashmere or wool;
• TENCEL™ Carbon Zero, offering carbon-zero CarbonNeutral®-certified products by Natural Capital Partners;
• TENCEL™ x Eco Clean, bringing totally chlorine-free-bleached TENCEL™ Modal fibers to the textile industry.

Lenzing's priority has been to produce fibers for many sectors (fashion, beauty care, cleaning, hygiene and home textiles) in a sustainable way. Each Lenzing product is made of cellulose from wood, a renewable natural resource, coming only from certified sustainable sources.
The Lenzing Group operates two commercial-scale biorefineries with 100% wood utilization, which ensure that the totality of wood constituents are used to produce fibers, biobased chemicals, and bioenergy, thus maximizing value creation from an economic and environmental perspective. This concept was illustrated by Carlo Covini, Lenzing Business Development Manager Italy & Switzerland, in his presentation “Lenzing’s biorefinery concept”.

From the 09-11^th of October, CHIC will take place with around 500 fashion and lifestyle brands on 53,000 sqm in the National Exhibition & Convention Center in Shanghai and offers a perfect overview of the fashion innovations in all fashion areas of the next season.

Chinese consumers place increasing value on sustainable products, the topic of "sustainability" is present in all areas of CHIC, in cooperation with WGSN the latest trends in sustainable fashion S / S 22 are shown. Together with China Fashion and WWD, companies that produce particularly sustainably are honored as part of the "Pursuer of excellence in sustainability" event.

The organizers put a special focus on the expansion of digital tools for the trade fair participants, which were used in the run-up to the trade fair for intensive visitor marketing and at the trade fair to optimally network supply and demand, WeChat plays a central role here. The CHIC WeChat mini program has been expanded and integrates the CHIC e-catalog, tailored to the needs of exhibitors and visitors.

The next editions of CHIC will take place from 3-5^th of November 2021 in Shenzhen and from 9-11^th of March 2022 in Shanghai.

ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei, specialized in sustainable premium stretch fibers, and Bemberg™, a fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters pre-consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process, have been invited to showcase at Filo, the international fair of orthogonal weaving yarns for clothing and furnishings, circular knitwear and technical textiles from the 29-30th of September.

ROICA™ will show its main innovations and four key pieces of the modern and sustainable contemporary wardrobe able to enhance the versatility of the fibers, applied to fashion, sportswear, legwear and underwear.
The brand will also be the protagonist of “The contemporary consumer: Stretch your imagination with ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei smart innovation” speech on September 30th, 11am, organized by the fair to tell its sustainable story.

Bemberg™ will be at Filo showing some selected fabric innovation, and three responsible-driven designers representing different and complementary part of contemporary consumer wardrobe: ZEROBARRACENTO, Maurizio Miri and WAXEWUL.
Bemberg™ will be also involved in two speeches – entitled “Il viaggio di Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei verso una moda contemporanea, premium e responsabile” - organized by the fair (Sept. 29th and 30th at 4pm), where it will share its story made of creation, production and process, as well as product performance, aspects related to sustainability and circular economy approach.

• FILO, 29th-30th September 2021, booth C5

Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei has been invited to showcase at Filo fair, the international exhibition of orthogonal weaving yarns for clothing and furnishings, circular knitwear and technical textiles, in a new special area, a dedicated open space reserved to sustainable fibers that will allow visitors to discover all their production cycle and performances, in full relax and transparency.

Bemberg™, an exceptional fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters pre-consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process, will brings to Filo its history, experience, know-how and market partnerships to prove its versatility and design-driven look and touch Last but not least we are talking about a true circular economy-oriented ingredient, with certified sustainable performance: Bemberg™ is biodegradable and compostable material as verified by the INNOVHUB 3rd party test and it has GRS (Global Reycled Standard) certification from Textile Exchange proving recycling authenticity.

Bemberg™ application history starts with high-quality suit lining, but today we can find it in many other applications such as fashion couture, outerwear, innerwear, bedding, and sportswear where its amazing unique touch and quality is offering a distinctive performance.

And to prove all of this, Bemberg™ will be at Filo showing some selected fabric innovation, and three responsible-driven designers representing different and complementary part of contemporary consumer wardrobe: ZEROBARRACENTO, Maurizio Miri and WAXEWUL - who have all chosen Bemberg™ fiber to create special collections. Three different ways to see and represent how sustainability and style – even if completely different ones – together can be highly successful, performing and interesting to the new consumer.

ZEROBARRACENTO, a gender-neutral emerging outerwear brand focusing on zero-waste product development, selects Bemberg™ for two fundamental reasons: firstly, from a stylistic point of view for its extreme versatility: in the various collections we have adopted it to create Kimonos, padded jackets, wrap dresses as well as for the interiors of our garments, which are intended to be soft embraces for total physical and mental comfort. The second but no less important reason is that this fibre has circular values in line with their zero-waste commitment.

The concept of the brand "Maurizio Miri" has a strong personality and a clear intent: to create a product that stimulates the wearer towards beauty. A garment should not simply be worn, but it has also to create a perfect symbiosis with the person wearing it and generate an exchange of positive energies. The purpose is to make the individual feel in perfect harmony with their own image. With this aim in mind, the designer selects extremely precious Bemberg™ linings for their sophisticated tailor jackets. 

Finally, WAXEWUL, a brand of sartorial clothing and artisan accessories with an urban-afro soul that has environmental and social sustainability as its basic ethics. WAXEWUL will bring to Filo its brand-new product, the J_Hood Bag: a doubleface jacket with a comfortably removable hood that can be transformed into a finely hidden doubleface bag. An exclusive, innovative and sustainable garment with minimal impact on the environment made of BemBAZIN™ - a new generation of bazin created, patented and produced by Brunello which is composed by the high-tech and responsible fibers of Bemberg™ - on one side and of wax on the other, traceable and certified, guaranteeing a reduction in waste (two jackets in one) and a long-life cycle.

• Parade Example for physical Trade Shows

A whole year without physical trade fairs, long months without personal exchange: last week the physical International Textile Trade Show MUNICH FABRIC START and the International Denim Trade Show BLUEZONE took place for the textile industry in Munich. The team at Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH is bringing a bit of normality back to the industry, but also to event management. Thanks to detailed, Covid-19 compliant fair formats, the organisers show that trade fairs are possible and can be successfully implemented with the appropriate measures.

More than 600 international suppliers presented their new collections and developments for Autumn.Winter 22/23 in around 1000 collections in the Fabrics, Additionals, Design Studios, Sourcing, ReSource and Sustainable Innovations areas at MUNICH FABRIC START as well as denim, sportswear and KEYHOUSE at BLUEZONE.

A winning fusion of BLUEZONE & KEYHOUSE well-attended events

Under the motto "BACK TO THE FUTURE", BLUEZONE offered a way back to the tactile experience of textiles and the reunion of the denim community. In addition to international denim weavers and manufacturers, visitors to the Zenith Hall also saw a qualitative selection of KEYHOUSE exhibitors who presented their futuristic innovations for the fashion industry.

Positive visitor & exhibitor echo despite Covid-19 measures

In keeping with the season's title "RISE", the visitors were greeted by inspiring, colourful trend forums with unique highlights for Autumn.Winter 22/23 collection development. In the halls, the industry was able to discover a trade show with the well-known and proven pre-pandemic quality with manufacturers and suppliers presenting in all 8 areas. Non-European suppliers were represented by agencies and offered well-attended show in show concepts.

The newly formed ReSOURCE x SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS Area also drew in the crowds. In a modern atmosphere, information was shared on sourcing sustainable textiles and additionals as well as innovative concepts. Another highlight was the launch of FABRIC.iD, the innovative process for the complete digitisation of fabrics to greater serve the industry's digital future.

Lectra announces the signature of an agreement to acquire the entire capital and voting rights of the Romanian company Gemini CAD Systems. A major global player in the fashion, automotive, and furniture markets, Lectra designs and produces industrial intelligence solutions – software, hardware, data and services – for brands, manufacturers and retailers.
The acquisition is in line with Lectra’s strategy of developing its presence in the fashion market, enriching its value proposition and fashion software portfolio.

Founded in 2004, Gemini CAD Systems (Gemini) has developed several innovative software solutions, essentially Computer Aided Design (CAD), for small and medium-sized fashion companies. Thanks to its network of partners, Gemini is present in over 60 countries.

The transaction concerns the acquisition of 60% of Gemini right now for 7.6 million euros. The acquisition of the remaining capital and voting rights will take place in two steps, in September 2024 and September 2026. The total consideration for the acquisition of 100% of Gemini’s capital will depend on Gemini’s revenue growth, and should be comprised of between 13 and 20 million euros.

Sappi will be presenting its inkjet papers for large-format applications alongside its new Fusion Nature Plus containerboard and a variety of silicone-based papers at the FESPA Global Print Expo from 12-15 October 2021 in Amsterdam.

The new Transjet Tacky Industrial is a coated sublimation paper for digital transfer printing – specially developed for high-speed inkjet printing on highly elastic textiles. Also new in the portfolio is the Basejet uncoated sublimation paper, designed for the digital printing of fashion and home textiles, especially light-coloured designs.
Papers consist of 100% recyclable pulp and are FSC-certified.

In Amsterdam, Sappi will also be demonstrating its inkjet papers for large-format applications. Scrolljet is suitable for outdoor applications including City Light and Mega Light systems. It stands out thanks its enhanced whiteness, high colour density and good line sharpness, alongside tear resistance and UV print protection. For indoor graphics and posters, Swiss Matt reveals its unique advantages of accuracy and pin-sharp lines.

Sappi's new Fusion Nature Plus is all about corrugated packaging, POS displays, shelf-ready packaging and carrier bags.

The products from the Silicone Base Papers range – for self-adhesive applications such as car wrapping, outdoor advertising and office materials – complete this year’s Sappi FESPA Global Print Expo portfolio.