Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Nepal - Handicraft exports up 17 percent

08 Jun, 2009 - Nepal
Exports of handicraft goods went up by 17 percent over the first nine months of the current fiscal year. However, exporters noted that the growth has come largely due to the weakening of the Nepali currency.

Between mid-July 2008 and mid-April 2009, Nepal exported handicraft goods worth Rs 2.22 billion to around 80 different countries, compared with Rs 1.89 billion in the corresponding period last year, according to the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN).

In terms of the US currency, however, exports in the nine months of this fiscal year had fallen by 0.3 percent, to US$29.51 million.

Dilip Khanal, executive secretary of FHAN, attributed this discrepancy in the overall picture to the gains made by the US dollar vis-�-vis the Nepali currency. A dollar was valued at between Rs 68.85 and Rs 80.15 in the first nine months of 2008/09, whereas it had averaged between Rs 64.45 and Rs 65.44 in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

But that same factor, the increase in the dollar�s value against the Nepali rupee, does not provide a blanket explanation for the increments made by certain export items. Pashmina products, for instance, saw a growth in exports because pashmina companies diversified their products range. Exports of pashmina products had gone up by 31 percent, to Rs 573.65 million, in the nine-month period this year.

"This is because Nepali traders are now exporting not just pashmina shawls, but a wide range of pashmina products, including sweaters and ponchos," Khanal said.

This year, Nepali pashmina products--which made up 26 percent of the total handicrafts exported--were exported to around 40 countries around the world. Of this, Rs 200.95 million-worth of pashmina products, around 35 percent of the total pashmina exported, had reached the United States alone, making the country the largest importer of this prime Nepali product.

Exports of woolen products, which make up 15 percent of the total handicraft exports, also went up by 27 percent to Rs 336.95 million in the nine-month period. Exports of other textile items, such as felt, cotton, hemp and dhaka products, also went up both in terms of Nepali as well as the US currency.

Among non-textile items, exports of silver jewelry, which make up 12 percent of the total handicraft exports, went up by a marginal eight percent to Rs 265.05 million. But in terms of the amount of US currency generated, that figure fell nine percent.

Similarly, handmade paper products, which constitute up to eight percent of the total handicrafts exported, saw its exports go up by 17 percent in terms of the Nepali currency but fall 2 percent in terms of the US dollar.

Top 5 importers of Nepali handicraft products:

The USA - Rs 633.12million
Germany - Rs 238.84 million
Japan - Rs 188.28 million
The UK - Rs 166.73 million
France - Rs 148.33 million

*Figures based on the first 9 months of current FY

Source: myrepublica.com

Preppy pashmina

From The Sunday Times (Times Online)

June 7, 2009
Preppy power, by Shane Watson

From twinsets and pearls to cashmere hoodies — new fashion tribes are taking their lead from the Sloanes




Power preppy: Michelle Obama



Preppy is a word that makes the average fashionista flinch. It’s those associations: bankers in seersucker jackets; public-school boys running riot in Rock in stick-up-collared polo shirts; girls who would kill to be at the same polo match as Prince Harry, in their uniform of pale-pink hoodies and denim miniskirts, accessorised with blonde hair and ankle Uggs. It’s Sloane rangers. It’s sporty, county, gap-year and it’s been about as far as you can get from the cutting edge of style. Yet rapidly growing numbers of people are embracing the preppy look — whether it’s stripy boat-neck T-shirts, argyle sweaters, brogues or cotton pea coats. Look closely and you’ll see preppy is having a makeover right under our noses.

It’s still the default look of every Sophie and Hugo on the planet (Jack Wills, provider of the logo-heavy collegiate wear that is their unofficial uniform, saw a sales increase of 100% last year). But the difference is that, now, all kinds of other style tribes are cherry-picking from the preppy canon — that mixture of American sporty casual wear from shops such as Abercrombie & Fitch and British old-school classics — and wearing it in new ways. When types you would never have dreamt of labelling preppy (Alexa Chung, say) start wearing clothes you definitely think of as preppy (cardigans, blazers, penny loafers, ankle socks), you are talking about a wholesale rebranding.

As to why preppy suddenly has such a broad appeal, that’s easy. It’s the antibling look — clean and classic to the core. So, naturally, it’s heading mainstream at the same time as we are tiring of

Wags and multi bags and the excesses of the red carpet. It’s easy to pull off preppy without having to invest much. Tick. It’s uncomplicated and eminently wearable, requiring no inside fashion knowledge or clever styling. Another tick. And preppy doesn’t date. Blazers and pea coats and stripy shirts exist in their own fashion limbo for all time. Double tick.

Preppy has something else going for it. There is an extended line of wholesome preppy-wearers, from Katharine Hepburn all the way to the present day, that gives it a kind of authenticity that speaks to a generation bored with gimmickry and clothes that last only a month or a wash. Preppy is the antithesis of trashy. Like a cashmere jumper borrowed from Dad, it has a whiff of permanence. In the end, this is about a shift away from the fickle diktats of fashion to the appeal of stuff that feels like it belongs in real life, not merely on a catwalk. You can see why it’s catching on.

This is the Jack Wills posse. Younger ones wear a hoodie and denim miniskirt. Older, grungier sisters wear a cotton checked shirt as a dress, saggy cardigan, black opaque tights and rolled-down Ugg boots. Note the roughed-up hair (though beautifully conditioned), the bitten, painted nails and the faded tattoo (she got it travelling).

POWER PREPPY

The grown-up, glamour end of preppy. It’s preppy with an injection of designer, and you won’t see any logos anywhere. Classic looks include a dark jacket with a white shirt and bootcut denim for smart-casual, and, for casual, sawn-off long white denim shorts, a vest and a pashmina.

Poster girls Michelle Obama, Jennifer Aniston, or, if you like your preppy a bit LA, Elle Macpherson.

Defining elements The juicy-coloured statement cardigan, white shirt, capri pants, white jeans.

Favourite labels J Crew, Gap, Boden for downtime (must be worn with a lot of care), Derek Lam for designer.

Most likely to be seen wearing them At home, on holiday, at the weekend, on the school run.

Best look Crisp shirt with ankle-grazer jeans and ballet pumps; bright-coloured cardigan with full skirt.

A look too far Madras checked jackets for men, seersucker trousers and canvas belts featuring ducks, bermuda shorts.

PUBLIC-SCHOOL PREPPY

School Preppy: Chelsy Davy
Poster people Prince Harry, Chelsy Davy.

Defining elements Uggs (still, even in summer) or white canvas plimsolls, the gratuitous scarf (this year in cotton plaid).

Favourite labels Jack Wills, Gap, Crew Clothing.

Most likely to be seen wearing them In gangs on the King’s Road, Rock, Polzeath, Aldeburgh, the northeast coast of Corfu, traipsing round John Lewis with their mothers.

Best look Denim shorts and pretty chemisey top with ribbed cotton tights and white plimsolls.

A look too far Upturned collars or rugby shirts on girls or boys, low-riding jeans with stripy boxers on show, cricket sweaters (unless you are playing cricket).

FASHION PREPPY


This is doing the look with irony, which means taking the most traditional of preppy signatures — penny loafers, ankle socks, Aertex shirts with logos, stripy men’s shirts, wax jackets, hair bands, Hunters, heirloom brooches — and wearing them as a preppy never would. Alexa Chung puts loafers with minidresses, and wellies with denim shorts; ChloĆ« Sevigny likes a blazer over hot pants, or a neat pair of khaki shorts and a boob tube.




Fashion preppy: Alexa Chung


Poster girls Alexa Chung, Chloƫ Sevigny

Defining elements Vintage sundresses, knee and ankle socks, brogues, loafers, two-tone pumps.

Favourite labels Anything vintage, Luella, Marc Jacobs, American Apparel for sweatshirts.

Most likely to be seen wearing them When you’d least expect. At a black-tie party, rock festival, their best friend’s wedding.

Best look Loafers with knee socks and a super-mini designer dress.

A look too far Hunters in town (note, fashion preppy knows to keep hers for Glastonbury), head-to-toe Belstaff.

PIT-BULL PREPPY

This is a pimped-up version of Public School Preppy, with, possibly, a pit bull on a designer lead. Pit-bull preppy has picked up where the designer tracksuit left off. It’s big on sporty signature looks (hoodies, baseball caps), but not so big on the wholesome aesthetic, or the sports.

Pit-bull preppy: Katie Price

Poster people Danny Cipriani for the boys (it’s all those sweatshirts teamed with diamond earrings), and the chicks from The Hills or Katie Price in equestrian mode for the girls. Think soft-top sports car meets sportswear or Page Three meets pony club.

Defining elements White track pants, white gilets, Uggs, nail extensions and ponytail.

Favourite labels Jack Wills, Topshop, Asos, H&M.

Most likely to be seen wearing them On the high street.

Best look Rolled-down track pants and padded gilet with nothing underneath.

A look too far Thong riding up above the waistband of trackie bottoms.

EURO PREPPY

Euro preppies are the only people wearing the look precisely as the original Sloane rangers used to: sans irony. Only, of course, they are 10 times more polished, and whereas the original Sloane might have been covered in jack russell hairs and barely-there make-up, your Euro preppy is immaculate, wears only cashmere and is allergic to animals.

Euro Preppy: Kate Middleton


Poster girls Carla Bruni, with her cable-knit cashmere and loafers; Kate Middleton, with her Spanish riding boots and tweedy shooting kit. (To be fair, Kate is more neo-Sloane ranger, but, for obvious reasons, the Euro preppy holds her in high esteem.)

Defining elements Cable-knit cashmere in pastel colours, velvet scrunchies, riding boots worn over jeans.

Favourite labels Barbour, Hackett, Thomas Pink.

Most likely to be seen wearing them All the time, head to toe, all over Europe and South Kensington.

Best look Stripy shirt under a fitted tweed jacket, and lots of rings.

A look too far Designer riding clothes as mufti.