China may be the world’s largest exporter of denim, but it is the domestic consumer market, and the fast-growing middle class’s appetite for jeans wear in particular, that is attracting the attention of exhibitors in the Beyond Denim hall at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics which gets underway later this month. While the future potential of the apparel market in China due to the growing middle class is well documented, what is less well-known is just how big this group will become.

In 2013, McKinsey & Co released a report on China’s upper middle class – which it defines as having annual income ranging from USD 16,000 to 34,000 – predicting that this group would expand from 14% of the population in 2012 to a staggering 54% by 2022. To put that into perspective, the report explained that within this group, those born after the mid-1980s will be almost three times as numerous as the number of American baby boomers who propelled the consumer economy over the last few decades in that country.

As Chinese consumers increasingly adopt a Western lifestyle, particularly the middle class, the opportunities for denim are endless. The Beyond Denim hall at this year’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics has undergone a major revamp to provide more opportunities for overseas suppliers to take advantage of this potential, with the entire denim supply chain now on display: from denim yarn, fabrics and garments to accessories and machinery. Garment exhibitors from the concurrent CHIC fashion garment fair will also take part within Beyond Denim, while the entire hall has been given a unique outlook by American design studio Doneger Creative Services, who also designed the Denim Forum trend area. In total, nearly 170 exhibitors from six countries and regions will feature in Beyond Denim covering the aforementioned product categories, with the exhibition area expanding by 74% compared to 2014.

Denim Forum presents latest products, trends and technology

In addition to the entire supply chain being on display, a Denim Forum developed by Doneger Creative Services will showcase a range of denim products, trends and technology under five themes:

• Artisan: The celebration of all things handcrafted is undergoing a renaissance. By paring down, there is respect for the truth in essential objects. Hand-shaped and crafted components of a salt?of?the?earth tradition give nourishment to a world hungering for simplicity. • Western: Just as it was way back when, for those with a hardy soul country wear is not so much of a sartorial movement but more of a way of life: a search for something a little deeper with a little more meaning behind the label. Rugged, robust and unpolished, details pay testament to classic cowboys. • Dwell: Simple luxuries translate into perfectly comfortable, modern essentials. As activewear turns to lifewear, there’s a focus on less pretension and more precision. A modest take on looks makes them extravagantly plain yet comfortable and subdued – perfect for every day. • Cyber: Imagining a brave new world is a comforting beginning, an opportunity where time and space go on forever. Reflected in artistic creations and altered technologies – fantasy artefacts of parallel realities – Cyber is viewed as an animated perspective of the world. • Wanderer: Scouring the East and West to collect souvenirs from a tour of the continents while longing for discovery is inherent in free-spirited identity. Call it a shift in global consciousness or a bohemian revival, but being a neo-nonconformist is not a choice, it is a way to express creativity with an underlying appreciation of artistry.

Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition 2015 takes place from 13 – 15 October and will feature over 4,600 exhibitors from 29 countries & regions. It is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Textile Information Centre.