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IN THE MARKET | PERFORMANCE DAYS Beyond Technical 10 • Textile Insight ~ May/June 2019 textileinsight.com Contemplating the Role of Beauty in Today's Active/Outdoor Scene. By Emily Walzer hat defines functional textiles is rapidly evolving as taking care of the planet merges with taking care of our selves. The latest fabrications reflect the push for sustainable solutions throughout the entire textile supply chain, but consumers' heightened desire for personal self-care — to ease stresses of daily life — is now also being addressed. These strong industry trends were on display at the recent Performance Days trade fair in Munich where textile introductions and presentation topics confirmed that new forms of functionality are taking shape. The Spring edition of Performance Days, held May 8-9th, focused on the topic The Beauty in Function with a curated tally of 285 vendors exhibiting and a fabric-savvy audience seeking new developments in the active/outdoor/lifestyle category. While aisles were busy, and the show atmosphere upbeat, a string of upcoming trade shows — TechTextil in Frankfurt, ITMA in Barcelona, and the Copenhagen Fashion Summit —slowed the bustle of a typical Performance Days crowd. Innovation was plentiful nonetheless. Tech advances in the areas of odor control, thermal regulation, and resource-efficient manufacturing methods received considerable attention. Important, too, is new thinking surrounding the concept of beauty in relation to function. Contemporary interpretations highlighted products with enhanced feel good type attributes via appealing aesthetics and/or nourishing ingredients. Devon Chemicals introduced R-Vital CBD, a "well being technology," using micro-encapsulation, that according to the company, helps promote relaxation, healthy sleep and pain relief. Italy's M.I.T.I S.p.A presented yarns featuring different natural ingredients, like Vitamin E, to yield wellness benefits. Today's emphasis on color, hand-feel, structures and fabric transparency is ushering in a new generation of performance textiles that go beyond technical attributes to feature charac- teristics that please the senses in terms of softness, comfort, and overall contentment without sacrificing function. Tech Talk Neutralizing body odors and environmental odors such as smoke for a campfire, is a new path in odor control technologies. The trend in thermal regulation also expands on convention by gaining traction in commuter wear, suiting and dress shirts. In addition to a booth, HeiQ provided workshops on its product innovation families including HeiQ Fresh sustainable odor control, HeiQ Smart Temp activated cooling, and a new breathable heat retention technology called XReflex. Polygiene introduced Odor Crunch, a treatment that uses quartz sand and water to neutralize odors. UK-based Odegon captures odors via active carbon and 37.5/Cocona technology features volcanic particles to get the job done. W w w w . s u p e r d r y e r s . c o m MOLD? MOISTURE DAMAGE? AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE No Silica gel Captures and Isolates Moisture in excess of 200-450% of its dry weight Prevention is better than cure No clay No BIOCIDES Michael H anrahan > > micha el@ superdryers.com (201) 679 4703 Steve R y an > > steve@ superdryers.com (312) 371 5438 Alex Chisholm > > alex@superdryamericas.com (904) 210 8602 For orders in the Americas : Active sport design consultant Alexa Dehmel toured attendees through the Performance Forum.