IMPRESSIONS from a Cross-section

As an established player in the industry of stretch fabrics, it is our opinion that, till today, the lingerie sector is undergoing some important changes. Generally speaking, from the year 2008 the market consumption in lingerie  dropped significantly, also because the supply of materials, intended as fabrics and accessories, by far exceeded the demand. The new situation partly created the premises for defining today's lingerie fashion trends and product R&D guidelines.

It is a fact that the greatest buzz for lingerie fabrics in the last decade was mainly ‘handfeel’. Women increasingly discovered the pleasure to wear soft, comfortable fabrics with a pleasing touch. As a result, handfeel is today a necessary ingredient for any top selling lingerie fabric.

Another important factor that contributes to the definition of lingerie stretch fabrics today is the success of shapewear, a trend that in many ways redefined traditional corsetry. In fact, one of the crucial lingerie product development guidelines today is to create fabrics having enhanced shaping and control features with limited or non-constrictive side-effect.

In the case of shapewear, the primary objective is to develop and propose fabrics that are fully responsive  to the current general feminine desire of shaping and “sculpting” the body, ultimately creating a sort of functional textile coating that must remain comfortable and never too constrictive to wear. Related to these expectations are clearly the fabric physicals, requiring specific features like elongation values and a functional weight i.e. the lighter the better. Fabric weight is objectively a critical factor because women today definitely wish to look more attractive yet feel uncompromisingly comfortable ( a trend that begins to apply also for men's underwear), a fashion mood setting new performing standards for lingerie fabrics.

It is true that the use of high gauge knitting machines simplifies the response to the contemporary consumer requirements for lingerie stretch fabrics but it is also true that these kind of fabrics can be quite complex to industrialize.

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There are two additional factors that require our attention when considering the lingerie market needs today. The recent past was assuming that a good fabric had to be developed and proposed focusing on specific technical datas. Today,  the consumers expect more from a fabric especially in terms of engineering and ergonomics. Engineering centers the specific needs in terms of size and dimension while ergonomics must assure test-driven studies of pressure zones and of balanced performances.

Fibers are also extremely important when assembling innovative fabrics. Seeking and selecting fibers and yarns is a highly strategical task that requires expertise and technical know-how. The market today is sensitive to the introduction of new fibers or special treatments in ways that can be sometimes surprisingly rewarding. We believe that innovative microfibers are still among the more requested, together with natural fibers. A great attention is increasingly focusing on recycled or sustainable yarns. Microincapsulation attracts many manufacturers and brands. The capacity to translate new concepts and ideas from prototypes to the industrial phase is critical in this process.

In this respect we are able to respond effectively to other strong fashion lingerie trends like printed fabrics. This is when the pure technical skill must give way to the emotional factor driving the consumer. A nice design can push consumers to buy a garment based on pure emotion. Winning designs are based on a long accurate work of preparation in terms of fashion trends research, reviewing and selection, plus extra-skills required when bringing together convincing color combinations in a delicate but intense and unresting creative activity.

Equation “I love I buy” in this case rules, nonetheless it is true that a nice print sells once the consumer has touched and felt the garment. So we end where we started; nice soft handfeel and fabric lightness are the keys to conquer the consumers today. Then comes the final step of wearing the garment, bringing along the craftsmanship of the manufacturer together with the technical features of the fabrics, engineering and ergonomics which are increasingly essential for this market.

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