A Show of Fashion

While sitting in the salon getting my hair styled one Saturday, I was thinking about what might draw attention in Screen Printing’s upcoming editorial calendar for 2011. Let’s see—hot topics include sustainability, lean manufacturing, automation, mobile tagging, UV, and screen-printed special effects clothing, I thought. Then, out of the corner of my eye floated a hair stylist wearing her underwear over her outerwear just to show it off.

While sitting in the salon getting my hair styled one Saturday, I was thinking about what might draw attention in Screen Printing’s upcoming editorial calendar for 2011. Let’s see—hot topics include sustainability, lean manufacturing, automation, mobile tagging, UV, and screen-printed special effects clothing, I thought. Then, out of the corner of my eye floated a hair stylist wearing her underwear over her outerwear just to show it off.

“What’s that about?” I asked. It was the store owner wearing a Vegas showgirl outfit. She had asked for a Bedazzler as a birthday gift and the day finally arrived. Apparently it took quite a while for the other stylists to apply that many rhinestones to a piece of hot-pink specialty wear, but it was a birthday gift, and birthdays are special.

While thinking about Screen Printing’s editorial calendar, I took note that we’re not the only one to notice special-effects screen printing in fashion. Wearable print has come to the forefront at tradeshows recently too. You might have noticed that the SGIA Expo in Las Vegas (October 13-15) will have a Digital Apparel Production Zone where attendees can explore the glitter and glitz of digital garment decoration. In the Screen Printed Apparel Training Zone of the SGIA Expo, attendees can participate in six interactive training sessions and learn the latest garment-decorating and special-effect techniques.

Furthermore, FESPA 2010 (Messe Munich, June 22 – 26) actually had a daily fashion show. Occupying a whole hall at the exhibition, FESPA Fabric was created to give textile decorators, garment producers, fashion technicians, retailers, and apparel-brand owners access to the latest news and developments and to see the techniques used to create these effects. Each day in the fabric area, Fabric Live! featured beautiful models wearing the latest screen-printed fashions sashaying down the runway while show sponsors Falk & Ross and Gildan provided live commentary on textiles, inks, and processes involved in producing the textiles. Now that’s exciting.

Advertisement

“Garment decoration is heavily dominated by the screen-printing process, which still offers unique flexibility, creativity, and productivity for garment producers,” said Marcus Timson, FESPA’s sales and marketing director. He added that the show’s screen heritage made it the place to have an event focused on garment decoration.

It’s not news that visitors at industry shows have the opportunity to see the latest advancements in manual and automatic screen printing, digital direct-to-garment technology, drying and heat-transfer technology, laser cutting, and design software. Shows provide another place to network with screen-printing-machine manufacturers, ink innovators, garment producers, and embroidery and flocking specialists. Like Screen Printing magazine, it’s another way to inspire creativity.

We may not have live fashion models, but in every other respect 2011 will be an exciting year for our readers.