Textile Insight

the need to keep garments fresh, sustainably, while experiencing outdoor adventures. The athleisure market sees this level textile tech as appealing to mainstream active lifestyle end use. For example, Microban enters the field with a new patent-pending technology called Scentry Revive that neutralizes odor and maintains freshness without the need for frequent laun- dering. According to the company, while the average shirt might be laundered 50 times per year (consuming upwards of 454 liters of water per shirt), the same garment with Scentry Revive technology built into the textile would require only 10 washings per year, consuming only 25 liters per year via laundry, and states the company, "freeing up time for the consumer to do the things they love." Head to Toe Tech "Across the board, all the folks we talk to, from people in sport/outdoor to high-end fashion, want comfort with a performance aspect to it," says Renee Henze, global market- ing DuPont Biomaterials and Sorona. These conversations include everyone from Tommy Hilfiger to L.L.Bean to Italian suit makers. Henze gives credit to the quality of today's technical fabrics for growth in streetwear. "Now you can wear something fashion- able that has a technical component to it. Before comfort was changing into your Champion sweats. Now you can be comfortable in something stylish," states Henze. Sorona fits the bill as a renewably sourced fiber that provides stretch and recovery and moisture wicking properties in tandem with a soft hand feel and exceptional drape. Henze mentions as an example a recent collaboration with Alexstorm Liu, a renowned Chinese fashion designer that features four applications of fabrics using Sorona: shape memory jackets; comfort stretch dresses and pants; linen/Sorona blend shirting; and insulated jackets. In addition, Henze also highlights Sorona being featured in Burton's Olympic Canadian Snowboard team jacket. "At end of the day, you have to come to the table with performance," Henze explains. "And you can't easily come to the table with performance and not be asked about sustain- ability. Brands expect some thoughtfulness regarding sustainability in the supply chain. But the amount of sustainability depends on the brand." Going forward, Henze sees more collabora- tive brand efforts and fiber blends. Sorona is now being used in blends with Unifi's Repreve, and also with Cordura. Like Sorona, Cordura addresses the contem- porary global demand for cross-functional, stylish products. Cordura's denim offering has grown and the brand continues to push innovation in the emerging performance denim category. At Kingpins Amsterdam in April, for example, Cordura launched "SuperCharged Noir," described as a bold, black performance denim portfolio, in collaboration with Artistic Milliners and Tencel. Based on Invista nylon 6,6 black a solution-dyed nylon (SDN) fiber technology, the new collection integrates many performance and aesthetic qualities. "We're able to bring a new dimension in stay true color and enhanced strength and abrasion resistance to the collection," explains Cindy McNaull, global Cordura brand and market- ing director, "while Tencel fibers and Artistic Milliners complement those attributes with added color fastness, softness, sustainability and stretch." She adds, "We're continuing to see the trend of traditional denims enhanced with 'hidden science' – or technologies that you may not be able to see on the surface, but that are designed with added performance in mind." The same holds true for footwear. States Dan Legor, marketing director, OrthoLite, "The growth in the sport lifestyle category was a direct result of consumers demanding more comfort in their casual brown shoe footwear but wanting a sportier and more technical look that was inline with performance and comfort of their apparel and met the demands of their 24/7 lifestyle." OrthoLite's proprietary technology of open cell PU foam provides bespoke formulas to customers that help customize the perfor- mance and comfort level of the footwear designed to meet consumer expectations. The lightweight, breathable insoles are wash- able, don't compress over time, and have an antimicrobial treatment to inhibit odor. "So many of the iconic silhouettes like Adidas Originals and the Chuck Taylor from Converse have contributed to the growth in this category and are now being worn across many generations of consumers. That was not the case in the past," says Legor. "The one thing that has changed with these Iconoclasts shoes is that they all share a 'secret inside' that was not always there in years past — they have added OrthoLite to improve the step in comfort and taken OrthoLite beyond the insole into the strobe layer and in some cases deeper into the shoe in to the midsole." He adds, "The influence of the sports lifestyle category has forced brands to wake up and realize that consumers want to be comfort- able from head to toe 24/7 no matter what the activity." O 24 • Textile Insight ~ May/June 2018 textileinsight.com FUNCTIONALITY FOR LIFE WEAR

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