Manila

Last week, I was in Manila after 5 years. Not much really changed , other then the Green Belt shopping area.

Interestingly, why should shopping areas be called " Green Belt" ? But I see a a subtle change in retailing. The shops are being designed for visual attraction, but when it comes to the " Brands ", somehow the luxury is missing.

Any market in the world is largely Clothing based and most clothing brands have kind of lost clue on
Colours
Shapes
Sizes
Designs.

Over and over again, it is the same colors, same kind of designs and same presentation. There is a clear lack of Innovation. Though on the prices, everyone is trying to use rockets to place the prices on the moon.

Any garment you buy and after the first wash, the original crease is lost forever, the handle is no more the same, the appeal is faded . Simple, because the Finishing technology is so poor. Most of these brands try to source their fabrics from all kind of cheap producers , who do not have the required machines to get a lasting effect, nor the brands pay prices, where in the maker can use Top Quality finishes.

The biggest catastrophe is keeping uniformity of sizes . I bought two " Shorts " in the green belt in manila and both of the same size. One fits me fine and the other is way big. This is quality control.

I saw a pair of socks, wherein the design was embedded on the sole of the sox and the side which climbs the legs had no design. This is the mind of a designer.

Another jean of a top brand, the metal zipper did not work.

Being a Textile Technologist myself, these things dont digest easily. But the garmenting business runs practically with Merchandizers and Brand Managers, who have absolutely no clue of Textile Manufacturing.

Nevertheless, what I liked most about Manila was the Traffic. Perhaps one Capital City, where the traffic is not really bad. From one end to the other end of the city should not normally take more then 30 to 45 minutes.

As a whole, I liked Manila.