High-Tech Fabrics to Get Softer, Lighter

Technology influences fashion with enhancements to microfiber. In the coming seasons, the fabric is said get softer and lighter. Israeli-based Nilit Fibers released its trend concepts for bodywear and active-sportswear for Fall/Winter 2013-2014. With a preview of garments ranging from bodywear to activewear, the company illustrated four trends in yarn innovations.

Nilit Super Microfiber provides “ultra-lightness” and a soft touch. Comfort is the emphasis. The company suggests fabrics shouldn’t hinder the wearer. This couldn’t be more important than in activewear, which needs to give the wearer full freedom of movement for a particular sport or activity. Nilit has developed a nylon Super Microfiber that is 6.6 filaments. The company reports this thin filament creates fabrics with maximum lightness and ultra-light, soft handle.

Nilit Britex and Nilit Brillion provide “glamorous” shine. The two fabrics are used to create garments with a “gleaming second-skin” appearance. While both fabrics lend themselves to lingerie, they can also have applications in the activewear category as baselayer garments and other performance gear.

Nilit Ecocare and Nilit Innergy give garments the ability to slim and shape. These fabrics provide body shaping to hide bulges. We hope they’ll also be used for compression garments that enhance our workouts. Nilit boasts that its EcoCare recycled yarns offer wellbeing as well as environmental responsibility.

Sport Protection is the aim with Nilit Aquarius and Nilit Innergy. The fabric combines elements of style, comfort and high performance. Garments made from these materials will have a multifunctional ability, though fitness and training are the main goals. These fibers offer breathability, compression and moisture management. The Aquarius yarns wick moisture and provide thermal protection. Innergy yarns used in compression-fit garments protect and warm muscles during physical activity.

[via Knitting Industry News: Nilit Bodyfashion & Activewear trends AW 2013-2014]

Dare to wear (Cold)Black in the Sun

A shirt using coldblack made by Flying Cross

You may wear black clothes daily, but when you go to work out or spend time in the sun, you probably look for lighter colored clothing. Dark fabrics, especially black fabrics, absorb the heat from the sun and transfer that heat right to your skin. It doesn’t help your workout at all.

A new finish on fabric called coldblack made by textile company Schoeller Technologies makes for a new class of functional clothing. With coldblack, darker colors can be worn in the sun without worries of providing extra heat. The heat bounces off the textile rather than shooting straight through.

An additional advantage to coldblack is protection from UV rays. The fabric provides a minimum Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) 30 when applied to any textile. This protects against UV-A rays and UV-B rays. Continue reading Dare to wear (Cold)Black in the Sun

New Performance Fabrics Processed with Plasma

It’s the gas in your TV. And now it’s the gas that created the surface of your clothes. Plasma is a gas created by applying electrical fields to pure gas or gas mixtures in a vacuum chamber. A Swiss company called Eschler is using plasma to cause systematic surface modifications to fabrics. Translation: A process that creates water-resistant, water-absorbing and dirt-repellent fabrics through the use of electricity and an ionic gas rather than the use of chemicals or excessive water. Plasma changes the surface of the fabric to grant these properties through particular textures whether they’re smooth or mottled. The process has traditionally been achieved through the use of wet processing with chemicals and lots and lots of water. The chemical process often makes the fabric too stiff, and wears away with repeated washing.

Continue reading New Performance Fabrics Processed with Plasma