APRIL 2008

giving a relief effect. Many colours weremarled, producing depth of colour witha 3D effect in the final fabric. The lookwas generally for clean dry surfacesbut by means of colour these weremade interesting and also difficult tocopy cheaply. Ilaria showed delicatebouclés, small knots and a slight crimp

in the yarn for a delicate, feminine lookin natural looking pastels.

Hand knitting where many ecoyarns were first introduced, as atFilpucci, continues to expand. Thick,ecru wool yarns, surprisingly light andsoft, knitted with coloured decorationand large gauge stitching at

Grignasco showed dramaticinterpretations. The continuingmessage in all sectors of the Made inItaly movement is that the technologyand expertise of the industry isbecoming so complex that it isexpensive and difficult to providecheap knock-offs.

23

PITTI IMMAGINE FILATI SPRING / SUMMER ‘09

Spazio Ricerca water's edge marine colour inspiration Waterline designs and colours by Angelo Figus and Nicola Miller

Sustainability continued to pushfabric development trends atthe Outdoor Retailer WinterMarket (ORWM) held in Salt

Lake City, US, from 23 to 26 January.The spotlight was on new fabricdevelopments containing functionalqualities with a sustainable story.

Show director Kenji Haroutunian said:“This year’s show was overflowing withpassion, incredible technology and anextensive array of products designed tomove this industry forward by bringingmore people into the outdoorcommunity.

“We have worked very hard toestablish an atmosphere that isbusiness friendly but also celebrates

the heart and soul of the industry.”According to Mr Haroutunian,

manufacturers are introducing a newgeneration of equipment, apparel andaccessories aimed at bringing morepeople outdoors. “Newcomers to theshow are experiencing new levels ofperformance, comfort, fit and fashion,while outdoor enthusiasts are seeingadvanced technology enabling them toexcel at their passions even in thetoughest conditions.”

The key trends in fibres and yarnscontinued to be organic cotton,seaweed, soy, bamboo, Cocona,Merino wool, Modal and Modal/silkblends, recycled polyester andrecycled nylon.

Surface interestIn knitwear constructions the trendwas towards surface interest fabricswith fine-gauge, micro jacquardpatterns. Other knit constructionsincluded luxury, with soft, cashmere-like looks. A variety of textures gavea new fashion look to knitted fabrics.Soft, plush looks, including fleece,continued to be important.

On the knitting technology side,Santoni organised a “SeamlessVillage”, a collaborative industrydisplay that included an operatingSantoni seamless knitting machineand supporting exhibitors involved inthe seamless knitting industry (seepanel). The Seamless Village

BACK TO NATURENatural fibres and seamless technology were strongly in evidence at theUS-based Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, as KKaatthhyy SSwwaannttkkoo reports

generated a great deal of interest atthe show. This was the first time thatfibre, yarn and apparelmanufacturers have joined togetherto create a collective display for theseamless market at ORWM. The ideawas championed by Santoni tointroduce the US outdoor market tothe latest advancements in seamlessknitting technology.

Marco Poddine, area salesmanager for Santoni explained:“Based on the quality of theexhibitors and the goods featuredhere at the Outdoor Retailer Show,Santoni feels that this show is gettingmore and more important.”

Besides Santoni, the othersupporting companies included inORWM’s Seamless Village wereDreamworks Knitting of Santa Ana,CA, Nouvelle Seamless of Montreal,QC, Nilit America Corporation andRegal Manufacturing.

Molly Kremidas, Nilit’s USmarketing director said: “TheSeamless Village offered ORWMparticipants a convenient place tomeet the experts in this exciting

apparel field.“Seamless

apparel is animportant segmentfor Nilit. We werepioneers in thedevelopment ofmicrofibre yarnsfor the seamlesscategory and, asa result, ourproducts are usedby the leadingmakers ofseamless legwear,intimates,bodywear, andactivewear.”

According to MsKremidas, Nilit’snew Aquarius andBodyFresh fibresprovide thebenefits ofmoisturemanagement andanti-bacterialproperties,enhancing the

comfort of seamless garments.

Faux cashmereConcept III introduced its new fauxcashmere Velboas fabrics at theshow, which offered fashionable,lavish and plush aesthetics,combined with the comfort andperformance qualities that it says aredesired by today’s outdoor customer.

According to David Parkes,president of Concept III, the 100%polyester Velboas fabrics, which are

available in a variety of weights, canbe made in both a fleece knitconstruction by Kingwhale Industriesand a sliver knit pile construction byNice Gain. Depending on the weight,the Velboas can be used for a widearray of applications, including firstlayers, linings and outerwear.

Another interesting fabric is thenew Bison Suede from Kingwhale.This Bison suede fabric is a fleece-type construction with the front of thefabric printed and sueded toresemble the worn leather bomberjackets of the 1950s.

Chris Parkes of Concept IIIexplained: “Both sides of the BisonSuede are made of 100% polyester.The ‘hairy’ side is a type of fleeceand the front side is printed with thesuede pattern and then it is sanded.It is printed with dye and thenfinished and brushed to get theleather effect.”

This Swiss company used theORWM to promote its comfort stretchknitted activewear products and twonew partnerships which utilise DOWXLA and its newest product, AYRXX.

Dow introduced the Greg NormanSignature series of luxury ultimate80s polo shirts made with Dow XLAfibre technology. XLA is a uniqueolefin-based stretch fibre engineeredto resist high heat and harshchemicals, allowing designers toachieve a wider range of treatmentsand finishes, while still maintainingstretch and performance and thenatural touch of the base fibre. It isthe only stretch fibre that canwithstand the double mercerisationprocess.

The shirts are a blend of 96%double-mercerised Egyptian cottonand 4% Dow XLA stretch fibre, saidto give comfort and mobility to thegarment, combined with luxury andperformance. The Greg NormanCollection is the first golf apparelbrand to launch with Dow XLA inknitwear.

New fabric familyDow Solutions also launched its newAYRXX family of fabrics, targeted atthe activewear market. The DiadoraCycling Collection is Dow Solution’s

24 KNITTING INTERNATIONAL

ORWM WINTER ‘08

Santoni's Seamless Village was popular at ORWM

Dreamworks knitting booth within Santoni seamless village

Bison suede from Kingwhale

APRIL 2008

first partner to use these new ARYXXfabrics, which comprise a 100%polyolefin-based material. Accordingto Sarah Durante, communicationsmanager for Dow Solutions, garmentsmade with AYRXX provide clima-control functions, superior longevity,shape retention, colour-fastness,quick-drying and breathablequalities, along with a comfortablesoftness next to the skin.

Cathy Knoles, textile innovationmanager for Dow, added: “Athletestoday demand highly comfortableperformance garments more thanever. With AYRXX fabrics, Dow FibreSolutions meets this demand byintroducing a patented innovativefamily of fabrics that gives activewearan entirely new dimension ofperformance and quality.”

The Diadora Cycling Collection withAYRXX consists of men’s long andshort sleeved undershirts, cyclingjerseys and pants in different coloursand premium cuts. It is aperformance line that follows anergonomic approach to offer the bestpossible support to the anatomicshape of the body in motion and toenhance muscular energy, accordingto the company.

Merino yarnsOffering visitors improvements on itsnaturally performing Merino woolfibre, AWI presented three newproduct innovations at the show.

Ultra-light Merino was developedin response to demand forlightweight, comfortable, durableand temperature controlledgarments. These Merino yarns aresaid to be suitable for next-to-skinapplications, enabling garments tobe up to 30% lighter in weight, whileretaining their durability, structureand style.

Nu-Yarn is another new AWIdevelopment, which is a uniquemethod of producing fine countAustralian Merino yarns. Fabricsmade from Nu-Yarn are said to offercomfort, softness and high bulk windresistance and quick dryingproperties. This makes Nu-Yarnsuitable for a wide array of endproducts from socks to bodywear toouter garments.

Moisturising Merino is a new rangeof finishing Merino textiles that addcosmetic moisturisers and othernatural products to fabrics. Theavailable cosmetic finishes includeAloe Vera, Squalane (for balancing

moisture in the skin), Vitamin E,Monoi de Tahiti (for regeneration ofskin cells), and Passion Fruit Oil (forkeeping skin supple). KI

25

ORWM WINTER ‘08

Santoni used its Seamless Villageconcept at the ORWM Show topresent a range of new garmentsaimed at the outerwear market,which were first shown at ITMA lastyear. While this new way of usingseamless technology has alreadycaught on in Europe, it still needsto be marketed in the US.According to Marco Poddine ofSantoni, the purpose of the villagewas to market the new philosophyof using new gauges and differentyarns to knit the same types ofouterwear garments, which in thepast have been produced only onflatbed machines. The ultimategoal for ORWM’s Seamless Villagewas to reinvent the knitwearcategory the seamless way, headded.Mr Poddine said: “We were veryhappy about the quality level ofvisitors and had the opportunity toshowcase our seamlesstechnology. Actually, many of thevisitors to the Seamless Villagehad the chance to see for the firsttime what a seamless knittingmachine is and the wide range ofgarments which can be produced.Many interesting contacts weremade among our village partnersand their potential buyers, whichwas the main target of ourinitiative.”Tentative future plans are to fine-tune the Seamless Village and toparticipate again at ORWM 2009.Mr Poddine added: “We would liketo involve more exhibitors and wewill study a better way to attractvisitors’ attention. This issomething to be carefullyevaluated and we have timeenough to do this. But, I’mpersonally convinced that thisexperience should be repeated.”

Seamless Villagesuccess

Greg Norman Signature series of luxury ultimate 80s polo shirts made with Dow XLA fibre technology