Globally, the socks sector is growing at a faster rate compared to other apparel sectors, according to a top executive of a leading socks manufacturer in India. “Nobody can accurately say how big the global socks market is; but as of last year, it was reported to be around US$ 5.6 billion,” said Lubeina Shahpurwala, co-founder of Mustang Socks and Accessories, in an exclusive interview with Fibre2Fashion.com “What is interesting is that the socks sector is growing faster than any other apparel. It is noticeable that the humble sock is poised for a cool, stylish make-over,” she added. Terming socks as “a design and style-oriented category”, she said the perception of people is now changing. According to her, “People are realising that it (socks) is not only an extremely personal item that needs to be of great quality, but can also be used to make quite a fashion statement.” Speaking about innovations, Shahpurwala said there are now socks designed for health, sports, anti-fungal, anti-sweat, etc. She feels that these innovations are bound to increase. Over the last couple of years, the socks market in India has grown much more than in the previous years. However, the unorganised players heavily outplay the organised market. If this sector is organised, India can strive to officially become the best manufacturer of socks globally, Shahpurwala added.
