35 collections to exhibit at Textile Forum

“Fabric suppliers selling to designers at the top end of the fashion sector are generally still faring well,” says Textile Forum’s co-founder and organizer Linda Laderman, “so I was not surprised to be oversubscribed for space. While 2013 will not be an easy year, businesses seem to be more positive and Textile Forum will be bringing a broad range of innovative stock and forward order fabrics in small minimums to excite the designer market.”

According to Chris Chatburn of Acorn Fabrics, “optimism within the industry in general seems to have increased - our existing customers are still buying and new customers are continually emerging despite depressing reports about the economy.

“Interest in English products is still very strong, particularly from UK firms looking to promote the ‘Made in England’ brand overseas – customers want to source materials and production from within the UK if at all possible.”

At Carrington Fabrics, Robert Moyle says those suppliers that are able to offer small quantities to the designer market will benefit. He is optimizing opportunities presented by digital printing, as the “option to print smaller quantities without set up costs are much greater than with rotary printing”.

For spring 13, digital prints will be included for the first time in Carrington’s John Kaldor collection.

The demand for prints is also being seen within the leather sector. “We are getting far more enquiries filtering through as printed leather broadens a designer’s options in many areas,” comments new exhibitor Guy Skerman of The Deep Print Movement.

Other fabric suppliers showing at Textile Forum in March include Holland & Sherry, Liberty Art Fabrics, Bennett Silks, Laurent Garigue, Ringhart, EQS, Tiss ET Teint and Schwarzschild Ochs.

Textile Forum