Impressions - January 2018 - 33

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JERZEES' Varsity ringer style
features new options, such as
contrasting-color necklines and sleeve
stripes, but the same tri-blend fabric.

more boxy-shaped, loosely fit garment can
be worn multiple ways.
One of the more consistent trends is the
blended T-shirt because it brings softness
and adabtibility to the channel, and offers
color and texture versatility.
But Davis says don't forget about the cotton
tee. "We are seeing a comeback with cotton,"
he says. "The market has leaned hard into
lightweight blends, but we are starting to see
a resurgence in heavyweight [styles]. When
everything you own is lightweight, you miss
having that go-to heavyweight tee."
Cotton will remain a No. 1 seller for Cotton
Heritage in 2018, says Ken White, the company's vice president of sales. "When people
think of a T-shirt, they think of cotton," he
says. "It's soft, comfortable, easy to wear -
it is also superior for printing. Be it screen
print or DTG, cotton gives you the best and
most consistent results."
White also sees consumers focusing on
fabric and weight, in addition to silhouette,
in 2018. For women, feminine, flowy fabrics
will be important. In men's styles, he sees a
strong trend toward heavier weights. For example, Cotton Heritage's 5.5-ounce 20's tee has
been a best-seller this year, and the company
continues to have success with long-sleeve
T-shirts across all classifications.

Retail, Wholesale
in Lockstep

Another trend to watch is distributors carrying popular retail brands for customers in
the promotional market. Driven by features,
colors and price points, many manufacturers
expect the momentum to continue.
Hanes' Davis says the retail and wholesale sectors now are joined at the hip, and
manufacturers must meet the needs of both
channels simultaneously. For example, he
says many consumers - such as Millennials - want instant gratification, so Hanes
believes its products must be flexible enough
to service such consumers.
"Today, retail and wholesale garments are
often developed hand in hand," Davis says. "The
fashion-forward Champion Originals collection,
which was designed specifically with embellishment in mind, launched in the wholesale
market in March 2017. Some of those styles are
now being introduced into the retail market."

BELLA+CANVAS expects
the growth in heather and
tri-blend styles to outpace
solids this year.

The Fruit of the Loom and JERZEES
brands also are finding success in this area.
"There's no question that the customer for
wholesale expects to have retail trends in
silhouettes, fabric and color available at the
same time," Edwards says. "In our wholesale business, we end up with significant
distribution at retail, so it makes sense to
leverage the insights in retail strategy, consumer behavior and preferences across both
businesses. We also touch base frequently
with our Fruit Europe division to get a
global perspective."
The company tiers the T-shirt market
into basic, better basic, fashion and performance categories. Aligning trends with the
product-development direction is incredibly
important in fashion and, to some extent,
in performance.
"Those two areas are where we most frequently see customers' demand for newness
and innovation, driving SKU turnover," Edwards says.
At BELLA+CANVAS, there is some level
of name-brand appeal when it comes to the
retail channel, especially for customers who
aren't familiar with the wholesale industry.
"It's easy for [customers] to go with a name
they know," says Summer Barry, brand director, BELLA+CANVAS. "We are disrupting
this by being the first wholesale-only brand
with real name power. We have so many fans

of the brand that only found out about us by
getting a shirt with our label in it. Once our
tees are in their hands, they realize it's the
best tee they've ever owned and will come
back to us later as a wholesale customer."

What Millennials Want

It's difficult to find a consumer segment in
which Millennials aren't making an impact
- and that's not a complaint. For example,
Millennial tastes are continuing to influence
T-shirt construction and design.
"Millennials know what they want and
they look for it until they get it," Hanes' Davis says. "They are discerning in what brands
they connect with, and place a high-value on
brands that are socially and environmentally
responsible."
From a fit perspective, Millennial men
are driving the popularity of more fitted
tees that they easily can layer. For example, the Hanes Modal tri-blend tee features
a relaxed fit on the chest and then tapers
down to the waist.
In addition, garment-dyed tees still are
popular among the Millennial demographic. Interestingly, challenges related to softness and bleed continue to plague popular
garment-dyed brands. Hanes is debuting its
ComfortWash line, which will aim to solve
some of these issues; the tees and fleecewear
JANUARY 2018

P.33

Impressions - January 2018

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