ASW 2022 kicks off in Bengaluru with new apparel and textile avenues

More than 10,000 brands, retailers, manufacturers, and D2C brands from 15 countries are taking part in Asia’s premier apparel sourcing event.

Bengaluru

Major Asian economies including India, Japan and China are making Bangladesh their sourcing destination for garment items. In fiscal 2020-21, Bangladesh exported garment items worth $421.86 million to India, which was $420.73 million in fiscal 2019-20. The Apparel Sourcing Week (ASW) 2022, Asia’s premier sourcing show for the apparel industry, kicked off in Bengaluru on Friday with new opportunities and avenues to strengthen India-Bangladesh collaboration and bilateral trade and make Asia the global Apparel Sourcing Hub. The gala ceremony launch witnessed an action-packed line-up of world’s biggest brands, industry veterans and think tanks, latest fashion innovations, future trends, Next-Gen Technologies, and sustainability benchmarks.

With participation from more than 10,000 brands, retailers, manufacturers, and D2C brands from over 15 countries, ASW has emerged as the biggest and most effective sourcing platform for retailers and brands from around the world. Receiving immense response from the world leaders in apparel, textile, and fashion technology, ASW endeavours to make India the global hub for textile innovations.

Organised by Apparel Resources, one of the fastest-growing fashion media and events companies, ASW is taking place in Bengaluru with an overwhelming response from all partners.

Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran, Shelley Salehin, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Chennai, and Faruque Hassan, President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), were the guests of honour at the inauguration.

ASW 2022 also endeavours to take India-Bangladesh collaboration in the industry to the next level by building on the existing and potential synergies between the two countries.

H E Muhammad Imran, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner, said “Enhanced cooperation between India and Bangladesh can go a long way in strengthening their position in the apparel industry and making South Asia the hub for apparel and textile innovations. I am happy to note that efforts are being made to boost cooperation between the two countries, and am confident that ASW 2022 will play a key role in this.”

ASW 2022 features an expanded line-up of manufacturers from leading apparel hubs from across the globe including India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh who are showcasing their manufacturing prowess to established and emerging brands.

“In a short span of time, ASW has become the most influential and highly recognised fashion business and apparel sourcing platform in Asia. Fast emerging as the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators, ASW is creating newer opportunities for world’s biggest brands to do business and meet new partners, ensuring that the sharpest innovators hit the stage.,” Mayank Mohindra, Director, Apparel Resources, said at the inauguration of ASW 2022.

“We had an action-packed Day 1 of ASW 2022 with industry leaders speaking on diverse and relevant topics including Reinventing Physical Retail, Fashion Innovation Using AI, Upcycling – The New Frontier For Sustainability, Sourcing in Times of Industry 4.0, Metaverse, and more. We are confident the participants would have benefitted a great deal from the insights. We have lined up many more exciting knowledge-sharing events on the second day too,” saidMohindra.

A power-packed panel discussion on synergies between the two countries is also going to be one of the key highlights of the second day of ASW 2022.

The first day of ASW 2022 saw industry leaders representing some of the biggest and most popular apparel brands sharing their thoughts on a host of important aspects of the future of manufacturing, retail, technology and sourcing in the industry.

Popular brands from the apparel retail industry such as Shopper’s Stop, Being Human, Tata Cliq, Fab India, ACE Turtle, Amazon (Private Brands), Myntra, Zivame, Clovia, Nykaa, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Techno Design (S Oliver), Arvind Fashion, Adidas, Benetton, ZDHC, Relove, The Sourcery, USPL, WGSN, Falla Bella, KAS Group Asia, Blue Kaktus, Target, Bestseller (Jack & Jones), Rookies, Vardhman textile, and many more would be participating in the show.

World leaders in apparel and textile innovations such as Pacific Jeans, Giant Group, Laila Fashions, Liva, Vardhman, Reshamandi, Trace Network, Flix Stock, Pacific Jeans, Armana, Lenzing, Freudenberg, R|Elan from the house of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) , Liva, Blue Kaktus, Arise, Coats, WFX, Ravel NY Fashion etc. are also participating in ASW 2022.

ASW 2022 is expected to attract more than 10,000 visitors from India and overseas, representing the biggest Indian and international apparel retailers/brands and buyers from traditional markets like the US and Europe as also non-traditional markets like China, Japan, and Australia. In addition to over 15-panel discussions, ideative and bridging sessions; session on fashion funding by esteemed VCs, and more, the two-day event also offers great networking opportunities.

Some of the topics to be covered on the second day of ASW 2022 include Mitigating Risks in Sourcing, D2C Opportunities for Fashion, among other panel discussions and industry sessions.