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‘Wool 2003’ showcases trendy collection of woollens

E-Tex Staff - New Delhi

Come winter, the dress-conscious make a beeline for the latest in woollens that reflect the changing market trends and consumer taste. What more could be of help to them than an event, which showcases the trendy collection of fabrics, shawls and knitwear specially designed and developed for the ensuing winter season? That was exactly what the fashion evening, titled “Wool 2003”, got up on the spacious gardens of the Australian High Commissioner’s residence here recently, sought to offer to the fashion-savvy Delhi-ites.

An annual event, organised by the India branch of The Woolmark Company as part of its endeavours to promote quality products made of the world-famous Australian wool, the fashion show this year presented leading models sporting a range of attractive products from three leading firms - Oswal Woollen Mills, Siyaram’s and Ahujasons - besides accessories for easy care of woollens developed by Godrej.

The Australian High Commissioner in India H E Penelope Wensley AO and Dr S K Chaudhuri, regional director of The Woolmark Company jointly hosted the colourful evening, which attracted a large gathering of consumers and representatives of the woollen industry and trade.

Dr Chaudhuri in his introductory remarks thanked the Australian High Commissioner for providing the right setting for the Fashion Show, which The Woolmark Company had been organising every year. He also thanked Oswal Woollen Mills, Siyaram’s, Ahujasons and Godrej for their suport in organising the Fashion Show this year. Mementos were presented to Mr Vikas Jain if Oswal Woollen Mills, Mr Ramesh Poddar of Siyaram’s, Mr Kulbhushan Ahuja of Ahujasons and a representative present there from Godrej Consumer Products Division.

The Australian High Commissioner, in her welcome address, said that by co-hosting this show with The Woolmark Company, the High Commission was not only demonstrating its strong support for the work of the Woolmark in promoting Australian wool but also underscoring the importance Australian Government attached to relations with India. Australia had a lot to offer to India in trade and investment and this was borne out by the two-way trade touching Aus $ 166.2 million in 2001 - 02. “Australia means business and doing business with Australia is an attractive idea for today’s dynamic India”, she added.

Compered by Mr Shamsir Luthra and choreographed by Ms Rashmi Virmani, the show started with the presentation of knitwear collection of Oswal Woollen Mills of Ludhiana. Monte Carlo and Canterbury are the most popular collections from the Oswal Woollen Mills catering to the needs of today’s consumers and targeting the whole spectrum of the market from the mass to elite segments. The latest introduction from them is a “whole garment” sweater made with the latest computerised Shima Seiki knitting machine. The Oswal collection featured the latest in styles and silhouettes, various knit structures and designs with a casual look to satisfy the growing demands of the young consumers. The presentation included the winning creation of the “Godrej Ezee Banao Sweater Bano Star” contest. The winner was Rajeshree Sharma of Bikaner and the garment was developed by Oswal Woollen Mills. Then came the presentation by Siyaram’s of their finest range of world-class fabrics from pure wool and wool blends with polyester and other innovative fibres like cashmere, Tencel, and Lycra. The collection of J Hampstead, the popular brand from Siyaram’s, comprised three distinct themes, namely “Business Look”, “Smart Casual” and “Ceremonial”.

This was followed by a range of shawls from Ahujasons for whom shawls are not mere merchandise but a manifestation of Indian culture, tradition and craft. With its unique experience of making and marketing over a million shawls, Ahujasons are well known in the international market. Besides shawls, a breath-taking range of scarves, stoles, throws and mufflers come from them.

Behind the presentation lay a lot of groundwork put in by The Woolmark Company in terms of disseminating regularly information on international trends to fashion designers and manufacturers and helping them develop new designs, styles and blends to suit these trends. The association of Australian High Commission in putting up the show has added lot of value in totality. The High Commission did render substantial direct & indirect help in making the event successful.

According to Dr S K Chaudhuri, regional director of The Woolmark Company, in the emerging scenario influenced by the supply and demand situation of Australian wool the market is for wool blend, especially in the suiting segment. This market trend fits very well into the Indian domestic retail scenario. Wool-blended trousers are comfortable to wear, easy to care for and elegant to wear, as demonstrated in “Wool 2003”

As regards shawls, it is well known that Indian shawls are accepted as a fashion accessory internationally. However, being a fashion oriented textile product the shawl has a short business life as any other fashion product. Indian shawls have been doing extremely well for the last five years and now a decline is witnessed especially in the international market. This necessitates product diversification and product innovation. ‘Wool 2003’ presents a right collection suitable for the rapid change in international market trend. A similar phenomenon is being observed in the case of knitwear also both in the domestic and export markets. Hence, there is a need to create appropriate knitwear products and ‘Wool 2003’ shows how this issue has been addressed.