This season is about exploration and evolution, and the mélange of strength with softness, embracing a wide spectrum across high impact activities through lifestyle, to outdoors and soft furnishings.
The fabrics possess much lighter properties while maintaining their core character and delivering impeccable performance.
An upward spike in outdoor sports, travel and fitness-related activities has directly impacted a surge in the demand for performance and technical fabric blends with designers and brands maintaining a key focus on those areas. Function and utility also follow close behind with the rise of reengineered options.
A softer and more glamourised approach is obtained with the incorporation of lustrous yarns that serve the demand for opulence and metallic sheen. The products are more sensual and tactile, featuring a soft and silky touch with iridescent finishes.
After analysing the themes presented at various trade shows, reports such as the ones released by SpinExpo and ISPO Textrends, and validating the findings with top Indian players – Vidhya Shankar from Ganapathi Chettiar; Vikas Wadiker from Reliance Industries; Roopali Beri from Vardhman; and Luv Jain from RSWM, Apparel Resources and FFT teams present to you the top directions in yarns for the approaching season.
Key trends in yarns and its end-products have been highlighted, by defining individualistic properties and colour ways that provide a fair idea about the future of textiles for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2019 season…
Since the past few seasons, high tenacity yarns have had a growing effect on the market owing to their toughness and rigidity, but this season, the trend is shifting towards fabrics that are softer and that possess enhanced flexibility.
The trend explores properties of strength and tenacity, where only the toughest, resilient and most durable fibres come into play. Key directions include anti-tear and anti-stress materials, innovative body mapped versions of reinforced engineered zones, high compression fabrics that embrace the wearer anatomically, and engineered fabrics that lock on impact.
Grit and Glamour
FIBRES, YARNS & FINISHES
Aramid yarns
High tenacity yarns
Graphite-inspired strength – 200 times finer than human hair
Natural, manmade and synthetics fibres feature as blending partners
Classics, including gabardine and twill, are updated in lighter weight with high tenacity yarns
Tough membranes and coatings for shell-like protection
Stretch laminates for added protection to embedded high tenacity yarns
Breathable DWR finishes
High power spandex/elastane for high compression
Multi-functional yarns and finishes for added performance
Yarn and finishes boasting of cooling technologies
TARGET MARKETS
High impact sports
Road cycling/mountain biking
Rock climbing
Lifestyle – athleisure/street sports
Skateboarding
Travel
Outdoor equipment – tents, backpacks, sleeping bags
A new level of lustre is achieved by incorporating renewed luminosity and brightness, without abandoning the luxury of touch and feel. Rich and opulent textures take centre-stage through the brilliance of yarns to achieve optical and tactual stimulation.
Compact fabrics with glossy substrates contest against more textured constructions and optical prints while lacquered looks emerge as a key trend.
The focus is on functionality wherein cool touch, UV protection, high compression, moisture management and thermal regulating ingredients come into play. The colour palette comprises of bold, striking hues to attain a vintage classic undertone mixed with metallic overtones. Techniques such as laser cutting and openwork mesh in illuminated yarns are tapped to add a decorative element to the products.
Iridescent Glow
FIBRES, YARNS & FINISHES
Reflective yarns, prints and trims
Rainbow reflectivity in finishes via coatings and prints
Iridescent yarns
Super chlorine resistant spandex/elastane
Tri-lobal yarns for new generation shine
Metallic coatings, transfers and prints
Traditional foil prints
Dazzling bright tone through lamination and intense yarn dyed synthetics
Watermark yarn relief and coatings for iridescent appeal
Gleaming trims in gold and titanium
Glow in the dark yarns and finishes
Fluorescent and phosphorescent yarns and finishes
TARGET MARKETS
Glamourised athleisure segments
Lifestyle/urban
Stylish workout wear with high levels of performance
Beach sports apparel and swimwear
Hiking
Aerobic wear – dry or aqua
Soft equipment
Into the Spectrum
High compression fabrics feature a four-way stretch property that takes on a biomimetic approach to the muscular structure of the body. Reflective fabrics and trims emerge in feather lightweights alongside high-tenacity fabrics that make use of micro fine steel-strength aramid fibres.
The trend focuses on performance boosting characteristics that imbibe a robot-inspired appearance in terms of the structure of the product. Precise, compact and protective, the materials are softer and more comfortable wearability-wise than their previous versions.
Intelligent interfaces on the technical or face of the fabric improve performance by offering cooling effects, water repellence, UV protection, moisture management and quick dry technology.
FIBRES, YARNS & FINISHES
Man-made fibres – lyocell, modal
Silver, zinc and copper yarns and finishes
Coloured coatings
FIR and NIR yarns, Natural touch synthetic performance yarns
Spandex/elastane for stretch, recovery and comfort fit
Micro-encapsulated yarns and finishes – mineral embedded yarns
Air textured yarn technology
Textured synthetic yarns for a grainy, natural touch
DWR membranes
High-performance polyester and nylon feature
Nano membranes
TARGET MARKETS
Travel
Active intimate apparel and socks
Beach sport
Yoga, Pilates
Golf, tennis
Running
Outdoors
Soft equipment – backpacks
Hybrid Territory
Sustainability sits at the core of the fashion and textile industry placing an emphasis on the juxtaposition of a new generation of synthetics, natural and man-made fibres and how they can come together to achieve a new level of expertise.
An upturn in higher performance recycled nylon and recycled polyester with bio synthetics is observed in terms of synthetics, with a strong inclusion of natural fibres from BCI cotton, pima cotton, merino wool and the luxury application of silk. Lyocell and micro modal feature as man-made options.
A combination of a selection of these blends would serve as a hybrid approach to create new sustainable options within the sector. The products feature a strong natural characteristic that is observed through touch and visual feel, updated with performance.
FIBRES, YARNS & FINISHES
Cotton and cellulosic for super soft natural touch
Hemp and linen in refined yarns for a grainy aspect
Reduced water and energy consumption for a sustainable aspect in finishing and dyeing
The inherent function of merino wool in terms of thermal regulation and comfort for the Spring/Summer season
Micro modal, lyocell and silk for added softness
Moisture management and anti-bacterial as key performance factors
Recycled nylon and polyester
Bio-based spandex/elastane and eco-friendly spandex/elastane
Built-in performance yarns – moisture management, UV protection, anti-bacterial, cooling properties
Bio-synthetic insulation for summer delivery in hybrid blends with recycled polyester
Neoprene-free recycled fabrics for water sports
Texturised synthetic yarns with a cotton touch and built in performance
TARGET MARKETS
Athleisure l Lifestyle l Yoga
Travel l Urban cycling l Outdoors
Water sports – surfing, kite surfing, kayaking, and windsurfing
Soft sports l Golf/Tennis/Hiking
Soft equipment – tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, shoes
Back to the Future
The trend observes a weightless direction across micro-fine hosiery-inspired knits to micro-light trims and accessories, through engineered structures and technicalities.
The structure of the yarns enables these materials to know when and how to react and protect, guaranteeing enhanced performance and a truly visionary approach in the sportswear sector. Artificial intelligence and automation inspire fabric construction, boosting and strengthening the motion and friction between the body and the garment.
Cool touch, compression, UV protection and anti-bacterial pose as key properties delivering barely there, ultra-lightweight fabrics that provided unmatched performance. A strong influence in engineered fabrics through body mapping specific functions into key zones in fabric constriction leads to a more seamless result.
FIBRES, YARNS & FINISHES
High powered spandex/elastane
Embedded sensors linked to apps to monitor performance
Power stretch spandex/elastane – super chlorine resistant
Iridescent yarns
Metalloplastic yarns
Futuristically optical heat transfers
Thermochromatic yarns and transfer prints
Reflective technology in yarns, prints and finishes
Day-Glo trims and yarns
Phosphorescent micro-fine yarns
PU tapes – heat bonded seams
FIR and NIR yarns for enhanced performance and comfort
Moire effects
Variable modulus fabrics
Patina surfaces through yarn content or finish
TARGET MARKETS
Track cycling l Running
Marathon & Triathlon l Athletics
Fitness & Gym apparel and soft equipment
Active intimate apparel and bodywear
Cross training and cardio classes
Wearable technology
Post a Comment