Changing competitive conditions, above all at the lower end of the market is increasingly hurting the Italian fashion industry, which, in contrast to other west European countries such as the UK, France and Germany, has so far been able to defend its capacities with considerable success. A survey released by Italian union Filtea CGIL Milano revealed that at the end of 2004 around 91,000 employees in the textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods sectors, faced redundancy, premature retiremen

German textile industry association Gesamttextil will open a branch in Shanghai on 4 April 2005, in cooperation with the industry bodies of Austria and Switzerland. Gesamttextil general manager Wolf-Ruediger Baumann will head the new company, which will focus on making contacts and providing information to customers.

This season, Louis Vuitton takes us on a journey through a real celebration of color and joy.Out of the Spring-Summer 2005 collection emerges an ultra-feminine woman, happy and totally fresh, illuminated by a myriad of refined and spectacular details.The unexpected combination of prints and the brightness of the sequins encapsulate this explosion of joy perfectly.The materials are contrasted and combined in a delicate, subtle game - the signature of this sumptuous, energetic collection.

The cotton industry of Greece is in crisis and to resolve it, the country? farmers unions have presented two proposals on resolving a crisisafflicting the sector.The proposals have been sent to the state's legal council for evaluation, Agricultural Development and Foods Minister Evangelos Basiakos said on Monday.While, one of the proposals appeared to be incompatible with European Union law, and the other was totally incompatible with both EU and national law, the minister said.

El Salvador could be the first victim of the post-quota era after its apparel exports to the United States dramatically fell in October and November, according to latest US statistics. The tiny country is rapidly losing ground in major category 352 (cotton underwear), due to a fall in the US market added to a surge in imports from Asia. Although difficulties currently faced by El Salvador are not a surprise, the decrease in sales to the United States is much more significant than expected. US

About the show International Fur & Fashion Frankfurt show the most promising trends and collections in fur, leather and combinations of materials for the upcoming season. Fur, leather plus fashion combination: International trends with their latest range of products. In addition to furs, leather for clothing, designs, accessories and special services, the dressing and dyeing industry will show its forward-looking innovations. Venue Frankfurt Fair grounds Marketing Manager

The benefits of the post MFA era are yet to be reaped but the nation has begun attracting investors from Taiwan, China and Korea in the garment and textile, who have foreseen the signing of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).As per the agreement both countries agreed to eliminate immediately tariffs on almost all textiles and apparels.This was revealed by Garments and Textile Export Board (GTEB) executive director Serafin Juliano. The JPEPA signed by Japan Minister Juni

Scotland's luxury cashmere producers are assembling a programme of high profile overseas promotions in a bid to secure millions of pounds of new business following the abolition of export quotas. The textile industry, far from capitulating in the face of massive competition from foreign manufacturers, is convinced it can cash in by selling its top quality Made-in- Scotland products to wealthy Russians, Chinese and South Americans. In one of the boldest initiatives so far, about 20 textile busine

It? the bumper cotton harvest that is pulling down prices besides temporary cash shortages among spinning mills and exports in a flux, says veteran market observer. Year 2004 saw the nation reap a record 6.32 million tons of cotton, which was 4.86 million in the year 2003. Commenting on the cotton prices Gao Fang, secretary-general of China Cotton Association (CCA) said, "Prices will continue lingering around at a low level before the domestic growing season comes in April." Chinese cotton infor

Date: April 5~8, 2005 Venue: HIECC, Hochiminh City, Vietnam Endorsed by: Ministry of Industry of Vietnam VITAS-Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association(www.vntextile.com) Jointly organized by: Vinatex-Vietnam National Textile-Garment Corp.(www.vinatex.com ) Organized by: Hochiminh City: Hanoi: 10 Nguyen Hue St, Dist 1 25 Ba Trieu Str, Hoan Kiem Dist Tel: (84) 8-829 7352 Tel: (84) 4-826 5898 Fax: (84) 8-829 2349 Fax: (84) 4-826 2269 Email: vinatex@hcm.vnn.vn Email: Vinatexhn@