The Hindu Business Line : Woolmark marks it with a fashion statement

WITH the imminent festive and winter seasons, the best of shawls, Monte Carlo and Canterbury popular knitwear, winter wear clothes and finest range of world-class fabrics of pure new wool and wool blends sported by dewy-eyed models were on display here to the delight of discerning and fashion-savvy consumers.

Organised by Ahujasons Shawlwale, Oswal Woollen Mills, Godrej Ezee and Reid & Taylor here over the week-end to mark the completion of four decades of the launch of `Woolmark', the global badge of purity, quality and excellence, the Regional Director of the Woolmark Company, Dr S.K. Chaudhri, said the show was designed to presage what one could expect this winter in terms of quality, colour, fashion and the value for the money one would spend on winter wear.

Dr Chaudhri said that the imminent end to quota regime, rolling down of import duties and lifting of import curbs on textile products provide both a challenge and opportunity for companies to innovate and adapt and in this the role of the Woolmark company was quite considerable.

Stating that Woolmark was the most successful and best-known textile symbol of the world, he said that it is among the five most known brands and 77 per cent consumers the world over recognise this insignia. In any given year, there were more than 1.3 billion appearances of this mark through various textile and allied products.

The popularity of Woolmark led to the launch of two more brands of quality — Woolblendmark in 1971,which was later re-christened as `Woolmark Blend' to identify wool-rich blend products and `Wool Blend' in 1999 to identify wool blend apparel products containing at least 30 per cent but less than 50 per cent of new wool. He said since its launch in India in 1964, the number of Woolmark licensees has increased to 185 now.

The Australian High Commissioner to India, Ms Penelope Wensely, and the Textiles Secretary, Mr Wajahat Habibullah, gave awards to mark the Woolmark Company's 40 years of service in India to individuals and institutions.

The institutions awarded were Birla VXL Ltd, Raymonds Ltd for fabrics, Oswal Woollen Mills and Greatway Private Ltd for knitwear, S.M. Textile Mills and Essma Woollen Mills for shawls and E. Hill & Co and Obeetee Ltd for carpets. The individuals honoured were Mr Harjeet Singh, Chairman of Wool Club, and Mr J.S. Madan, Chairman of Shawl Club.

The fashion silhouette began with exquisite display of fabric collection from Reid & Taylor, the leading worsted fabric manufacturer with the finest range of world class fabrics from pure wool and wool blends with polyester and other innovative fibres such as cashmere, tencel and lycra. The collections composed of fine woollen wear with three distinctive themes — business look, smart casual and ceremonial.

This was followed by knitwear collections from Oswal Woollen Mills of Ludhiana, Monte Carlo and Canterbury collections in men's and women's wear targeting right from the mass market to the top-notch segment for the elite. Made from the pure Merino wool and innovative wool blends for the Monte Carlo range and the finest quality of wool imported from Australia for the Canterbury range, the collections featured the latest in styles and trendy-wear, various knit structures and designs.

Finally on the ramp were a bewildering array of colourful shawls from Ahujasons sported by bevy of models, using a range of shawls in Pashmina, pure wool and blends. Ms Harmeet Bajaj choreographed the fashion event.

More Stories on : Fashion | Other States | Readymade Garments

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Winter's here

Historic makeover

Great show

Woolmark marks it with a fashion statement

Raghupati Venkaiah award

Old is fad

Crafts mela in Hyderabad

Craft expo in Kochi