HISTORY & FOUNDER
“Together we can make it happen”
A WORD FROM THE FOUNDER
A journey of 1,000 miles begins with the 1st step
My life was same as every school kid’s life till the end of school, carefree and fun. After entering college and understanding that I had to carry my own financial load, I quickly realized that it was a waste of time for me study full time rather I needed to earn while I learn. With the yearning to do something creative and fun, I was inspired by a pair of old jeans given to me by a cousin who lived in the UK around 1990. This was an old pair of “St. Michaels” burgundy color cords which fit like a glove. It was enough to spark the fire that was within and before I knew it the journey of almost 3 decades was underway! Times were easy & were also very tough but hard work, focus, honesty & creative thinking somehow always kept its promises. My message to aspiring kids is to do what you love and love what you do – with honesty, dedication and creativity – you will not be disappointed.
1992
Dheeraj Luthra first gained exposure within the fashion industry at the age of 22, after spending his summer working at Benetton. He was quickly intrigued by everything the fashion world had to offer. Shortly thereafter, Dheeraj founded a small denim brand, focusing mainly on design and the manufacturing of jeans. Starting with just 50 garments in one style, the company was manufacturing up to 1,000 garments per month after just two years.
1997
After several years of success with his denim brand,
Dheeraj was approached with a lucrative job offer for a prime subcontractor of Sara Lee Knit Corp, and relocated to Dubai, UAE. During his tenure in Dubai, Dheeraj gained a much deeper knowledge and experience of the fabric and apparel manufacturing process, further solidifying his overall industry expertise.
1998
Dheeraj founded Cortex Textile Trading, a fabric wholesaler, in Dubai supplying fabrics from Korea, Taiwan, China & India to large export factories based in the Middle East.
2004
After growing for six years, the company re-located to its sourcing & QA office to China to manage & develop better relationships with proven vendors.
2011
Time was ripe to take the next step. After 2 decades of starting the journey it was time to raise the bar. Dheeraj founded the garment factory in China with an aim to serve boutique clients with smaller orders difficult to source in China.
2013
Satisfied customers and hard work of our team was rewarded. Cortex garment builds a larger facility and moves in.
2014
Cortex garment facility attains WRAP Silver accreditation.
2016
Cortex garment facility attains a WRAP Gold accreditation and expands its sampling and production facilities to double its previous capacity.
2016
Cortex builds two new large showrooms for visiting customers with plenty of room for planning collections.
2016
Cortex expands its Design and Development center with a more comprehensive seasonal fabric and trim library.
2017
Cortex converts a room for employee parents who need a safe setting for their children during school holidays.
2017
Cortex garment factory receives WRAP Gold certification for third consecutive year.
2017
In addition to updating certain testing apparatuses with newer high-quality machines, Cortex also expands its internal wash research with the addition of an industrial grade sample washer/dryer.
2017
To compensate for increased production demands, Cortex builds an additional facility to handle three additional sewing and finishing lines.
2017
Cortex thought for the benefit of all employees, the company built an exercise and yoga center and has started weekly yoga instruction coupled with a selection of weights and other complimentary exercise equipment.
2018
Cortex establishes a clothing brand and test runs with a few boutiques in Asia.
2019
Cortex registers a foreign direct investment company in Da Nang, Vietnam and buys land in the industrial zone in Da Nang.
Cortex sets up a fully Air-Conditioned Factory in Da Nang and begins the construction of their flagship factory.
2019
Cortex China invests in state of the art automatic spreading and cutting machines.
2020
Cortex plans to make their design lab as an independent design by adding more designers and technology.
Cortex plans to launch their own sustainable athleisure brand.
Cortex is on track to commence operation of their Vietnam factory by 2020.
2021
Cortex keeps its employees & infrastructure running on 100% despite Covid situation.
2022
Cortex inaugurates its flagship Vietnam Green factory in Da Nang.
2023 MAY
CORTEX VIETNAM MAKES A DESIGN LAB
2023 JUNE
Cortex VIETNAM makes and inhouse studio
2023 JULY
Cortex VIETNAM starts the Uniforms Co.