"We haven't seen anything like it for years!"

This is the universally positive message sweeping through key Bradford wool firms whose order books were swelled at the recent Paris Vision international textile exhibition.

A combination of factors has left Bradford manufacturers stunned by an unexpected upsurge of interest in Yorkshire worsteds and woollens.

According to Peter Ackroyd, Director General of the Bradford-based British Wool Textile Export Corporation, three key factors had stimulated a rush of orders for Bradford weavers.

"We're seeing a comeback in North American business which has been slow since September 11," said Mr Ackroyd.

"Things are improving and the number of visitors from the United States rose by 13 or 14 per cent which is very significant.

"The second factor is Japan, our most important export market, which has come out of a 12-year recession, albeit one step forwards and two steps backwards.

"There isn't the malaise of the late 1990s. Japan is shaping up, which is important for worsted mills selling to the top end."

The third element, said Mr Ackroyd, was fashion. Fine clothes were again in the spotlight. "Fashion is now in favour of wool and tweeds with different colourings and weaves," he said.

"You could call it a variation on a tweed.

"That's in tandem with a strong fashion trend for worsted suitings - men's suits with a twist often seen on fashion catwalks without ties but at the top end of the business."

Mr Ackroyd said that exports had tumbled by up to five per cent a year since the Twin Towers.

The trend was now reversing and he said it would become clear in the first months of next year if that could be sustained.

"I'm the first to say that fashion is fickle but I think it will," he said.

However he sounded a note of caution, warning that the glut of orders could provoke a disturbing crisis in manufacturing capacity locally.

His comments were echoed by Bradford manufacturers like Queensbury-based John Foster, which exhibited at Paris Vision.

Managing director David Gallimore said Made In England and fine men's wool suitings were definitely back in vogue.

The firm's own order books to the end of December were up by a fifth on last year.

"We had a very busy show," said Mr Gallimore. "We saw customers from Europe and Britain we haven't seen for a number of years. We probably saw about 50 customers - that's 25 per cent up on normal.

"We don't usually get orders but people were ordering sample garments. Normally we get one or two but this time we got 30. And since the show many people have contacted us to say they couldn't even get on the stand to see us."

Mr Gallimore also confirmed there had been a lot of customers from Japan, Foster's largest overseas market.

"There's a definite swing towards British fabric," he said. "It may not be the Cool Britannia of the past but there's great interest in British suitings made of wool with more colourful pinstripes and decorations."

Malcolm Campbell, of Ilkley-based wool development company Woolmark, said: "I was delighted to hear the optimism and enthusiasm coming from Yorkshire mills.

"What I noticed was that the qualities were beautiful and the effort going into new products was excellent. Yorkshire weavers realise they have to re-introduce class and design."

Mr Campbell said there had been so much interest in firms like Bradford weavers J H Clissold & Son Ltd, he had found it impossible to even get on to its stand.

Clissold's veteran managing director, Adrian Berry said: "We haven't been busier for a decade than we are now. It's absolutely crazy. It was probably the best show I can recall.

"We've obviously had an upsurge of interest. Not only are our regular customers doing record suit business but we're also having interest from customers we haven't seen for a few seasons and in some cases new customers.

"The United States and Japan featured very strongly. A lot of regular customers in the UK were telling us that suits are hot and the good worsted fabrics with integrity that we produce are certainly in demand."

Mr Berry said it was the second successive year of significant improvements with business having returned vigorously since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"Some of our European competitors have lost the plot and gone out of business or changed product lines but as business has come back those of us who have continued to invest are now reaping the benefits," he said.