Japan was the first to produce in big qualities of textiles and apparel then followed by the four little dragons – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and S. Korea. Then later Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia came into the picture and more recently Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and most recently Myanmar. By Vicky Sung, Hong Kong.

Japan though no longer a big producer of textiles and apparel, it is a producer of high quality, creative and innovative textiles and apparel. Premium Textile Japan and Japan Creation organized by the Japan Fashion Week Organization are most well-known. These exhibitions are relatively small, participated by mostly Japanese companies, and attended by not so many international visitors; hence the organizers took the collections of Japan Creation and exhibitors to the key exhibitions in the world. That was a very good and successful way to draw attention on Japan textiles.