Global Vibes

Desigual dust up
SPAIN: Barcelona-headquartered label Desigual has denied claims it plagiarised designer Custo Dalmau's designs. In a release to international media earlier this month Desigual "denied all accusations by Custo Dalmau" and said from as early as the 1980s, the company had developed its own style and commercial strategy, which was "completely differentiated with garments directed to all types of public". Custo Barcelona has also accused Desigual of following its shop openings and contacting Custo's distributors to market its products.

Truly religious
UNITED STATES: Denimwear brand True Religion has been ranked number one in Apparel Magazine's annual Top 50 List of the most profitable publicly traded apparel companies. The industry magazine publishes the definitive ranking and analysis of America's 50 Most Profitable Publicly Traded Apparel Companies based on annual 2007 profit margins. True Religion was joined on the list by other leaders within the apparel and retail industry including Guess, Nike, Under Armour, Polo Ralph Lauren and Nordstrom. The brand credited the growth of its higher margin consumer direct segment for its strong financial performance.

Viktor, Rolf & Rosso
ITALY: The founder of denim brand Diesel, Renzo Rosso, has bought a majority stake in designer label Viktor & Rolf. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was done via Rosso's umbrella company Only the Brave. Since first showing interest in the label more than two years ago, Rosso said he had made significant plans to help make the company into one of the "top reference fashion houses of the future". These include boosting its ready-to-wear business, creating new licensing agreements including eyewear and jewellery and opening standalone stores.

No to cotton
PAKISTAN: Industry group Pakistan Apparel Forum (PAF) has urged the government to discontinue cotton exports as soon as possible, in an attempt to save what it calls the "crumbling apparel industry of the country". At present the country's domestic demand for cotton is exceeding the total cotton produced in Pakistan. The group is concerned that if exports continue the resulting shortage will lead to an increase in price of the raw material the brunt of which will have to be borne by garment producers. In 2007/08 the total production of cotton in Pakistan was around 12.6 million bales, whereas annual requirement was nearly 15.5 million bales. As a result, the country has to import lint to meet the shortfall of approximately three million bales.

Monitoring urged
UNITED STATES: A textile industry group has urged US president George Bush to set up a program to monitor imports from China to evaluate whether goods are being sold below market value. The caucus has sent a letter to its members, 80 textile state law makers, seeking their support to pressure President Bush to commit to scrutinising Chinese imports. Anxiety amongst US textile producers is rising, as a three-year bilateral agreement limiting 34 categories of apparel and textile imports, expires on December 31. The caucus said in a letter to members it would urge the president to add China to an existing Vietnam monitoring program that evaluates whether goods are being sold in the process known as dumping.