Fashion trends at ROYAL WEDDING

Victoria Beckham is a great designer. But she seems to be really confident about her skills as well, because she decided to attend the royal wedding ceremony in one of her own creations, a midnight blue dress from her Fall/ Winter 2011/ 2012 collection. She finished her look with a super-high Louboutin shoes and a stylish hat made by Philip Treacy. I love the look but probably it would be wiser to opt for a bit lighter color.

Blush tones, colour-blocking and navy blue emerged as the key trends of the stylish guests at the royal wedding.

BLUSH TONES

Pretty blush tones proved to be one of the most popular and versatile choices for guests attending the royal wedding. The supremely stylish Letizia, Princess of Asturias (L), chose to wear Felipe Varela, and made it her colour for the day, as did Princess Beatrice, who chose Valentino haute couture and a bespoke, fun hat by Philip Treacy...

BLUSH TONES

...(from left) Princess Ameerah; Sophie, Countess of Wessex wearing a Bruce Oldfield outfit and a hat by Jane Taylor. Princess Maxima also opted for blush tones, ranging for peachy pinks to oyster hues.

BLUSH SHOES

...Blush-toned shoes also proved the staple for the day. Clockwise from top left: Princess Maxima; Princess Ameerah; Letizia, Princess of Asturias; Princess Beatrice; Justine Thornton; Samantha Cameron (who braved an open-toe sandal version); the Duchess of Kent; Carole Middleton; Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne all opted for the spring-appropriate footwear.

FABULOUS HATS

Fabulous hats, clockwise from top left: Princess Beatrice in a playful creation by Philip Treacy; Miriam Gonzalez Durantez in a floral-embellished turban; Tara Palmer-Tomkinson in electric blue courtesy of milliner Philip Treacy; and Victoria Beckham's bespoke Philip Treacy hat matched her dress.

NAVY BLUE

(From left) Navy blue was a serious but elegant choice for fashion-forward thinkers Sophie Winkleman (in Giorgio Armani), Victoria Beckham in one of her own designs, and Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman wearing Christopher Kane skirt and jacket, Manolo Blahnik shoes and a headpiece by Kate Halfpenny.

FASHION AT THE ROYAL WEDDING

Kate Middleton married her Prince Charming (William) and surprised the public with her stunning gown. Speaking about the gown, Kate made a great choice when asked Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen to design her wedding dress. The stunning ivory and satin dress looked fantastic and combined both the traditional and the modern – the way Kate wanted it.

Kate Middleton’s wedding dress featured a fabulous lace appliqué bodice with 9ft train. It is said to have been inspired by Grace Kelly’s gown for her marriage to Monegasque Prince Rainier III. To finish her look the new Queen opted for a 1936 diamond Halo tiara by Cartier, pear-shaped diamondearrings designed by Robinson Pelham, and of course the veil, made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers. Gorgeous. Absolutely.!!!!

You can definitely never go wrong with Alexander McQueen and Sarah Burton. It’s great Kate Middleton knows that because she might have looked not that impressive if she opted another brand and designer to create her wedding gown and the dress for evening festivities.

The wedding gown was beyond fantastic, but I liked her another dress, too, very much actually. For the grand evening Catherine wore a white satin gazar and strapless gown, with silver diamante embroidery at the waist and a circle skirt. She teamed it up with a cropped angora sweater. Doesn’t it look brilliant?

Why is fashion designing a glittering career and career options after completion of the course

Fashion designing is one of the most sought after courses today among the youth, since fashion is something that changes every day and especially in today’s world where everybody is fashion conscious and likes to keep themselves updated with the current trends. 

 Fashion does not only mean wearing designer clothes but even street fashion wear can be given a new looks with the right styling and accessories. If you have the right attitude and the flare for fashion, then fashion designing is the right career for you!

You can make a successful career inFashion if you are creative, artistic, if you love colors and tones, if you are always up to date with the current trends, if you love playing with fabrics, textures, silhouettes, if you can visualize in three dimensions and bring out your design in the form of a garment. Then there is nothing that can stop you from achieving your dreams of working in the fashion industry.

To work in any industry it is necessary to have the suitable qualification , like wise in the fashion world, after completion of the course in fashion designing , you will acquire the basic knowledge in all aspects of fashion , like merchandising, textile designing, styling , pattern making, computer aided designing, quality control, production, designing, etc. . after which at the end of the course you will have an idea of which field is most interesting for you,  you can either specialize in that area or start working in the line which interests you .

 Few Career options after completion of the course

-Merchandisers: responsible for the production of goods right from the stage of sample development to shipment of the goods

-Fashion designer: Responsible for developing new and original design of the clothes according to client’s taste, local market conditions, current trends etc 

- Illustrator: Responsible for drawing free hand sketches of designers ideas and is most sought after by big fashion house and garment industries.

- Fashion Stylist: Responsible promoting sales of the products by coordinating entire wardrobe for a fashion show or any other fashion program. Nature of the job involves coordinating the dress, accessories; make up, hairstyle, even the color of the nail polish of the model according to the theme and the overall look of the show.

-Textile designer: responsible for designing textile fabrics, textures etc

Top fashion events in India

In ancient Indian fashion, India really did not have garments that were sewed together like dhoti, sarees, turbans, scarves. The recent developments in Indian fashion have changed the scenario. Now the fashion especially in urban India has changed.

People in India have got influenced and adapted the fashion which has become a vibrant scene and turned out a colorful and a glamorous world where everyday day a new trend is getting introduced. Until recently, people have focused on couture lines and wedding trousseau but now the Indian fashion has gone up to international market and got combined with the western culture.

 Fashion events like various fashion weeks are helping the designers to showcase their talent. These events are not only the launching several designers and models but also it is a platform for the business of fashion which has helped to interact between designers and buyers in Indian and international market. Indian fashion has got an international recognition all over the world.

The Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has played the most important role to the fashion design talent and fashion business to move ahead. FDCI advises and assists fashion designers, retailers, models, make-up artists, hair stylists, choreographers and manufacturers in raising professional standards and improving business practices while creating domestic and international opportunities.

Media is also playing a major role educating people about the fashion weeks. January through April designers showcase their autumn and winter collections and September through November the spring/summer collections are shown.

India Fashion week (IFW) is an event promoted by fashion design council of India which is sponsored by Wills Lifestyle, held twice annually which is considered to be the biggest fashion event in India which is held in capital of India, Delhi. Another grand event Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Lakme, the cosmetic brand which organizes fashion events twice a year in Mumbai. Recently, Delhi Fashion Week organized by Prodigy Fashion an event management agency where participation is ‘by invitation only’ where each designer is been picked on basis of their creative talent by design experts.

Another ‘by invitation only’ fashion week which is held in the IT capital of India,Bangalore, recently established, in the south sector which is Bangalore Fashion Week (BFW) which has given opportunity to the upcoming designers and talents.

Designers like expose their creative talents with different themes. Their collections broadcast on televisions, magazines, newspapers all over the world & people follow the trends set by these designers. These events are not only showcasing their talents  but also generating  better business opportunities and the best mixing between designers, buyers and fashion market within the country and outside the country.

An orientation of fashion design industry in India

Fashion, not only include the apparel but it is applied art on lifestyle and accessories which are influenced by cultural and social conditions. Fashion design is a global and one of the fastest growing industries. Recently, India has come up in fashion. India is the largest exporter of fabric and second largest producer of silk which itself creates a background for fashion growth. The fashion in India is not only appreciated in India but also grabbed attention worldwide. Though there is an influence of the rich culture but also the Indian aesthetic talent has helped to succeed the industry.

Films and television has played a major role in fashion design where masses get to know trends which are changing day by day. The television, magazines, newspapers are educating about fashion which is influencing all ages and all classes. Designers are also playing major role in setting up the trend. Every year there are fashion events held where the designers are getting exposed globally.

Many designers like Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Rina Dhaka, Manish Arora, Satya Paul, Abraham and Thakore, Tarun Tahiliani, JJ Valaya and Manish Malhotra and many more have given fashion the next step of success where Indian market has been recognized at international level. These designer clothes, accessories have become a symbol of status.

Fashion is also exposed through different fashion institutions. These institutions are training students professionally to make them ready future of fashion industries. Within few years some young aspirants have given a tremendous contribution even to grow the institutions and the fashion industry as well. Fashion jobs have become highly paid jobs where there is enough scope for designing industry as well as other related industries. Fashion industry jobs are open for retails, designers, forecast, management, marketing, product developers etc.

During several years, boutiques, fashion houses, stores, malls, export houses, garment industries, textile mills etc have been a tremendous success. The retail response has made International brands enter the Indian Fashion Market. Earlier, only the metros cared about fashion but today small cities are becoming increasingly fashion and brand conscious.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN FASHION DESIGNING

The word technology does not mean that it is connected to the IT world or Google, Microsoft, Intel etc…Technology is very important even in the fashion industry and textile industry. Nowadays technology is involved in all stages, the main use of technology in any kind of work is to simplify the human effort, and it is time saving and fast.  

 for e.g.: in the production houses there would be at least 10 to 20 styles running at the same time and each style would have thousands of pcs, it becomes very difficult for the factory to keep a track on all that is happening hence all the style/stitching details are entered and with the help of a software which will be developed for each organization the factory will be able to keep track on the status of the orders

In regards to fashion technology we often hear many words such as CAD, PDM, POS, ERP etc.. 

all these are soft ware developed to keep a track on or to ease the effort and also to save time e.g.: CAD CAM is used in the lectra department to make the markers and calculate the marker efficiency, Corel draw can be used in the design department and so on there is the use of technology in every aspect offashion design. 

  Technology does not only mean computers or soft ware it also includes the machines which are used for sewing , the cutting tools , embroidery machines,  pressing equipment , packing machines etc.. Machines are always evolving and changing over the years this happens only because of the innov ations in technology.

The fashion industry always needs to keep updating the machines and systems since fashion is also something that keeps on changing. The fashion industry is a very good example of how technology has evolved over the years

Trend Forecast – Views from India Fashion Forum 2011

  The fashion segment is almost second largest in India after food. In the next five years we can expect a 2-3 fold increase in apparel with a similar pattern in jewelry, if gold prices do not increase. So, there is a huge scope for business in fashion.

  India is a youth - dominated country. New categories are emerging as the youth gets a wallet and a voice. What is true and fascinating is the emergence of fusion. They are making discontinuous changes to their definition of fashion. Though the over lying want is of not being clones of each other and showing their cool quotient, the underlying commonality is promoting green and organic and the love of tradition.

  One of the speakers has underlined the need to look for the unexpected, in terms of proportion, colour and most importantly, texture. For Autumn 2011-12, the details would be hidden. Cancelled button plackets and pockets would allow fabrics and textures to play the key role. Digital printing would provide interest with subtle optical patterning.

Printing would move to jackets, coat and even trousers. Perspectives would be from futuristic to technological aspects to ancient rural traditions. Clever cutting and precision construction would really put shape at the forefront. On the colour palette the greys, chambray, reds and greens would dominate.

  For accessories, quite chunky knits and furs on bags and shoes would have the home crafted look and designs driven by functionality would rule.

  Ancient primitive aesthetics mixed with a very precise contemporary look will be seen during Spring Summer-2012.

  An important trend in the retail segment would be do-it-yourself. More and more brands would invite customers to translate their preferences into products, such as creating own fragrances and customized t-shirts. Technology will play a vital role in the future of the fashion retail industry.

  Constant change through innovative ideas about product range and display will keep the interest of the consumer. Surprise should be the key element. 

Non-Store Retailing

In the world of internet, virtual stores (on-line stores) are becoming more popular. This solves the problem of increased real estate prices. Marketing is also done purely through news paper, catalogue and television. While it is nearly impossible for every brand to reach all the cities through stores, virtual retailing has made it possible.

  Online retailing has its own disadvantages. The most important one being the delivery of the purchased product to the customer unlike in physical store retailing, the customer walks into the store, picks, buys the product and carries it along.

Secondly, it is about setting the right expectations with customers. Sometimes the product looks very good on the screen or the catalogue but it may not meet the customer’s expectation when he gets it. This may have a negative impact on the brand’s image.

The next challenge is the payment as most of the people are not comfortable with credit cards and net banking, so cash on delivery is a good option. Equal amount of focus on physical and non store presence is what is needed to get the best of both the worlds.

New technologies for fashion forecast

  You see a cool style on the screen today and in 45 days you have it in the store. Thanks to the fashion scouts and super fast procurement and delivery systems, this is now a reality.

 Designers should have a good understanding of what consumer needs and what influences them. Thanks to the internet and to highly efficient trend portals on the internet, it is possible to access the international trends from one’s own desk.

The designers then use this information and using their ideas and creativity make design sketches along with the details like processing requirements, the various fabric options, trims requirements. This data is compiled in what is called the Product DataManagement (PDM). PDM is accessed by the developing team, either in-house or at the manufacturer’s end through the internet.

  Mood boards are digitally created which shows the colours, design and the mood for the particular collection. Animated 3D visualizations, also called ‘virtual catwalks’ are used to show the collections to the sales team. Hence, the process of preparation of actual samples is eliminated for the regular basic products, though new developments may need a prototype to bring together the design, fit, price and quality and to ensure that they are appropriate for the target customer. The softwares used are very user friendly and also help in minimizing the time required to do a task. The patterns are done using the software while considering the drape and elasticity of the fabric. The cutting and grading starts with 2D pattern and dresses the virtual model. It also shows details like fall of the fabric, areas where there is stretch, depending on the parameters entered. The corrections made on the 3D image are converted into the 2D form.

  The PPC (Production Planning and Control) tool indicates the available capacity and length of production time to delivery. We can also get history of sales which helps in forecasting initial sales.

  All this put together helps in achieving the jet speed availability of goods in the stores, reducing the cost, time and travel in the due course.   
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WRINKLE – FREE PROCESSING OF FABRICS & GARMENTS

A resurgence of demand for easy care cotton containing casual wear led to the introduction of WRINKLE FREE cotton trousers. Blends of Polyester and Cotton and 100% Polyster suitings are naturally wrinkle free but the polyster being hydrophobic material it cannot give the comfort to the wearer what a 100% cotton suiting can give. The hygroscopic nature of cotton makes it a sought after material for garments especially in hot and humid climate. With global warming, 100% cotton material is preferred material for garments. But the problem with 100% cotton garments is that they wrinkle badly as they have poor wrinkle resistance. That is why 100% cotton material is given wrinkle-free treatment. 

         Wrinkle-free finish can be achieved in three different ways: PRECURE, POSTCURE & IMMERSION (Garments). For pre-cure, the resin is applied to the fabric & fully cured at the mill to crosslink cellulose. Precure gives good after wash, smoothness, imparts good dimensional stability & requires no additional wet processing treatment by the garment manufacturer.

         For post cure, the resin is applied at the mill but not cured. After the garment is assembled and pressed, the resin is cured by heating to cross link the cellulose and set the crease.

      For immersion finishing, assembled garments are soaked in or sprayed with the resin, dried, pressed & cured. Immersion finishing gives a very soft hand, & premature curing is not a problem. Distressed looks can be incorporated prior to curing and garments soiled during processing can be cleaned prior to immersion.

ENZYME FINISHING OF GARMENTS

       ENZYME FINISHING

In enzyme finishing Cellulose/ Amylase enzymes are used. The single component CELLULASE enzyme, alkaline-neutral cellulose, was introduced in 1992. This mono-component enzyme produced high – contrast abrasion & gave very good fabric strength retention. Hydrolysis of the cellulose, which is catalyzed by enzyme, causes the surface fibers to become weakening & later removed when subjected to fabric to fabric abrasion or fabric to pumice stone abrasion during the washing. The temperature & pH used are dependent upon enzyme used. Usually neutral cellulose (2 – 4 gpl) is applied at pH of 6-7

Vogue institute of fashion Technology

      PEACH SKIN FINISHING USING ENZYMES:

Peach skin finishes are given to Chinoes suiting materials, Denim material and for Tencel fabrics. Tencel has high strength ( In dry & wet state) & dry tenacity is almost equal to that of Polyester. According to Mr. Rodgers production of the   Peach – skin effect requires that fibre be PREFIBRILLATED, DEFIBRILLATED & REFIBRILATED.

   Prefibrillation splits the surface hairs on the fabric similar to stripping back the bark on a twig. It requires mechanical action also such as tumbling in a wet processing stage. Prefibrillation creates tangled masses of fibres. Defibrillation of the pills of fibre (Entangled mass of fibres) with enzyme produce a very smooth fabric with almost no protruding fibres. Any of the acidic, mildly acidic or neutral cellulose enzymes are suitable for defibrillation. Refibrillation or secondary fibrillation produces SECONDARY HAIRS on the fabric surface, generating the peach skin hair. Prefibrillation is carried out in the desizing stage. Defibrillation takes place in washing stage & for Denim garments the same process is used for color washing also. Refibrillation is accomplished by agitation in the normal softener application stage of wet processing. 

Contributed by Vogue institute of fashion Technology

DENIM WASHING AND FINISHING OF GARMENTS

INTRODUCTION

The art of garment dyeing is an ancient one. There is evidence that prehistoric man applied colored pigments to vegetable & animal matter such as fibers & skins. Garments made from various fabrics are now being dyed & delivered to the customer in a short period of time. With today’s exploding clothing markets of casual & sportswear, garment dyeing has emerged as one of the better production routes towards meeting the quickly changing demands of the fashion market. Though any kind of material can be dyed in garment from but cotton is more popular to dye and finish in garment form than any other fibre. Processing of DENIM and some CHINOES is more common fashion in garment dyeing field.

VARIOUSTECHNIQUES OF WASHING & FINISHING:

Denim goods finishing has a longer history, the techniques used for denim finishing has been extended to other items such as chambrays, solid color indigo dyed fabrics & chinoes suiting. A variety of washing effects are achievable on denim goods dyed with the traditional indigo dyed, which is selected on accounts of it’s brilliant blue color & excellent fading characteristics to washing, finishing or abrasion. Depending upon the dyeing method, goods dyed with indigo dyes have poor color penetration with ring dyed yarns; thus after finishing them they give good acceptable faded look.

Some of the most popular common & advanced washing & finishing techniques for denim garments & others are given below.

1)      CONVENTIONAL WASHING :

This entails the desizing the materials with enzyme & detergent followed by washing at an elevated temperature. The degree of color fading is comparatively slight, but uniform.

2)      STONE WASHING :

Volcanic rocks also called as PUMICE stones are added to the garments during washing as abradant. Colour fading by this process is more but not uniform. The degree of color fading depends upon washing time and stone ratio (i.e. Wt. of stones: Wt. of Garments), size of stones, liquor ratio & garment load. Generally washing machine is run for 60 min. to 120 min. & it depends upon degree of fading.

3)      DENIM BLEACHING :

In this process a strong oxidative bleach such as Sodium hypochlorite or Potassium permanganate is added during washing, with or without stone addition. Discoloration is usually more apparent depending on strength of  the bleaches, liquor quantity and treatment time. A strong bleach with short treatment time is preferred for better bleached colors. The bleached goods should be adequately anticlored or after washed with peroxide to minimize subsequently yellowing & tendering of the goods. Some times optical brightening agent is added to get brighter appearance for white or near white shades.

     A recent innovation in decolorizing Indigo, referred to as enzyme bleaching using LACCASE enzyme(Mediator system). Laccase is an Oxidoreductase enzyme that accepts oxygen from air & attaches it to a mediator, which then reacts & decolorizes the indigo molecule. The mediator, which is an organic molecule, consumed during 10 – 20 min. period so the process is self limiting without any degradation or weakening of the product or no danger of over bleaching.

   Color can also be removed in denim washing by reductive processes. One process, some times called Sugar bleaching, uses carbohydrates like Dextrose, which contain reducing groups. The process requires high pH, elevated temperature & large quantity of Carbohydrates. The use of high level of Carbohydrates produces waste water & high BOD & COD.

4)      ACID WASHING ( STONE WASH) :

Acid washing is usually done by tumble drying the garments with Pumice stones presoaked in a solution of Sodium hypochlorite (5 – 10%) or potassium permanganate (3 – 6%) such that localized bleaching takes place resulting in a non-uniform sharp Blue/ White contrast. The color contrast after tumbling can be further enhanced by a subsequent optical brightening. Soft stones that are usually dust off are suitable for this process.

Vogue institute of fashion Technology

Vogue college of fashion technology, Bangalore offers Fashion designing courses, 

Jewelry designing,  Diamond grading, Retail Management, Fashion Merchandising and management courses. 

It also provides classes on graduation and certifications including BBM, MBA and Diploma on many professional courses.

Textile Designing

Textile designers are responsible for creating two dimensional patterns that appear on a variety of different fabrics. Textile designers, sometimes referred to as fabric designers are involved not only in clothing and carpet designs but upholstery, too. The field encompasses the actual pattern making as well as supervising part or all of the production process.

To become a textile designer, a person needs to have strong fashion sense, research skills, and design skills. An interested person will need to constantly research the market for trends and keep up-to-date on developments both in style and on manufacturing end. Textile designers work within and alongside industries such as  interior design. They may also move into designing paper goods, ceramics or other items that require patterns. Textile designing encompasses not only drawing skill but business savvy and customer relations as well.

A student interested in textile design should consider a degree in textile design from a university. Alternatively, she/he may consider an art degree or an associate degree in computer related field. Computer aided design skills (CAD) skills are important, since the student will need to both sketch her designs by hand and recreate them in computer. Understanding color theory and key design principles is also important for a textile designer.

So anyone who wants to become a textile designer should keep a portfolio of her work. This portfolio usually includes hand drawn sketches and patterns, and any  finished or sample products.

The degree course (Fashion and Apparel Design) and diploma course for fashion designing are available at Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology. The fashion design training institute prepares aspiring designers  for careers in the textile and garment design fields and general fashion design.

Fashion Illustration

The fashion industry is mostly hard work with a little bit of glamour thrown in for spice. The industry is 99% hard work and 1% glamour. It can be a really rewarding career option, and there will be glamorous moments, but you're going to have to work for them! Technical training and creative schooling in the fashion arts will provide an invaluable foundation for a future in the industry.

For an aspiring designer, fashion illustration forms the foundation for building his or her career. A training course in illustration will develop the skill needed for fashion drawings and students will learn to draw using a broad range or art media and techniques from hand sketching to sketching using graphics software.

Before manufacturing a costume or an accessory the first thing a fashion designer prefers is to see a visual picture of what is to be created. A fashion illustrator does this by means of his or her drawings. There are specialists who create eye catching fashion illustrations are called fashion illustrators. The fashion illustrator works in a specialized area of advertising and marketing, producing drawings for promotional magazines and newspapers as well as publicity material for catalogue and stores. Fashion drawings are also used for window displays and exhibition stands!

A beginner needs to study the anatomy of human body, the human figure proportions in 8-heads. For fashion drawing, the proportions are exaggerated for glamour purpose. In fashion sketches, it is also essential to know how to draw fabric and more importantly know how to draw the folds of clothing. The lighting effect, shading depth will enhance the quality of sketch and gives a three dimensional illustration.

When sketching a design on a croqui (drawn body form), the designer is not making a pretty work of art. Instead, this drawing will be the focal point of discussions between himself and his pattern and sample-making team. Because of this, the sketch must be precise. A wrongly-placed waistline or strangely-drawn crease can mean several different things in reference to fabric type, seams and draping.

Let us be completely frank: you don't need to be able to draw a pretty face; but you do need to be able to effectively communicate your designs visually, on paper, to the media, to your contractors or to a pattern-maker. Proper use of visual communication will allow you to transplant your design concepts into the minds of other people at your firm, or on your team. Again, this is a good example of why a formal fashion education is essential. Offered with a variety of other courses, fashion illustration will be one of the courses accessible to you at Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology.

A GLANCE OF PAST AND FUTURE OF GARMENT INDUSTRY

The much awaited quota phase out by 31-12-2004 has opened a new chapter in the history of international trade which is growing substantially post 2004 which necessitates substantial involvement of productivity & quality. The estimation of the value of International apparel trade by 2010 showed a wide gap. As per the estimates of K.S.A. (KURT SALMON ASSOCIATES) the global apparel trade was predicted to touch U.S. $200 billion in year 2000. Where as the study “ India The Growth Imperative” (Mc Kinsey 2001) predicted it at U.S.$ 415 billion. Over 80% of the world’s population will live in the developing countries. i.e. 5.94 billion vis-à-vis 1.32 billion that of developed countries ( As per AAMA predictions). Indeed the global apparel trade has surpassed U.S.$ 415 billion in the year 2010. Many developing countries like India & China that were major apparel exporters have become major markets for ready to wear apparel.

Institutes of fashiontechnology

         In this context importance of productivity & quality in apparel industry will be going to have very good importance. So, Indian garment industries should focus on productivity strongly in order to bring up productivity. At present as compared to international market demands the scenario of Indian garments is not much satisfactory; when compared to the productivity levels achieved in Western countries & U.S.A. The efforts of apparel manufacturing industry in Western world to improve productivity did show substantial results. This was made with the development of many specialized machines & equipment for various applications in the apparel manufacturing. The objective was to reduce the labor content of the apparel products to the least possible level in order to make the products cost competitive.

      The U.S. apparel industry established that with the modern machines & best possible methods, a dress shirt could be produced in about 12 minutes of direct labor input. As per survey conducted by K.S.A. in 1990 the productivity levels achieved in countries like Germany, U.S.A., France & U.K. were 250% more than least productive countries. The productivity ratings of Indian garment industries stand at 50%, which is quite low, & have to be improved and brought up; in order that Indian garment industries can compete globally in the context of Quota phase out . But Indian garment industries have an edge over competiting other Asian countries, i.e. Indian garment industries are capable of producing high value added garments by means of enriching the garments with a lot of different surface ornamentation. Thus they can afford to take small orders also which our competitors, other Asian countries can not do.

The following equation will be the revival kit for Indian apparel manufacturing companies.  

M.E. + E.M. +MO.E. + EN.M. = H.P. + E.Q.C.

(Modern equipment + Engineering methods + Motivated employees +Enlightened

Management) = Higher productivity + Effective quality product.)

       Modern machineries has to be employed, & Industrial activities such as Method engineering, Work study, Time study & motion study has to be focused. The worker’s work place has to be ergonomic and should have proper lighting, ventilation and seating arrangements, so that they enjoy their work & do not suffer from work related health problems and care should be taken that labor force becomes motivated employees. Also the labors & staff should be trained properly before allocating work to them. After all employees are backbones of a company.

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