The LYCRA Company collaborates with Browzwear

The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing innovative and sustainable fibre and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, has partnered with Browzwear that will provide designers using VStitcher and Lotta, the pioneering platforms for 3D fashion design, the ability to quickly and easily develop products incorporating fabrics containing LYCRA, LYCRA T400, and COOLMAX fibres.

The Browzwear platform enables designers to visualize how garments made with LYCRA fibre
offer a comfortable, lasting fit that will move with the wearer.

The partnership with Browzwear is the latest element of a multifaceted digital transformation that The LYCRA Company began last year with the launch of the LYCRA ONE customer portal, an online marketplace connecting brands, retailers, and garment makers to a global network of partner mills in a virtual capacity. 

The expansion of The LYCRA Company’s digital infrastructure is enabling new forms of engagement with its global customer base, and online platforms, like Browzwear, demonstrate the differentiation and sources of innovation that The LYCRA Company is helping bring to its customers across the apparel value chain. 

With the true-to-life visualizations made possible with Browzwear's innovative software, the industry's leading 3D software for apparel design and development, designers can digitally create activewear, denim, swimwear, ready-to-wear, and intimate apparel fashions using fabrics showcased in the LYCRA Brand Materials Library. The Browzwear platform enables designers to visualize how garments made with LYCRA fibre offer a comfortable, lasting fit that will move with the wearer.

All the materials with digital versions in the LYCRA Brand Materials Library can be sourced directly from one of 15 global mills initially featured on Browzwear. These materials have been tested and certified by The LYCRA Company, ensuring they contain the company’s authentic fibres that are designed to meet consumer needs for comfort, fit and ease of movement. In addition, The LYCRA Company will continue to work with Browzwear to add new resources to the materials library as they become available, further enhancing the digital design capabilities.

Lenzing continues to invest in Modal® towards technological leadership

Austrian fibre specialist Lenzing is determined to be a leader in technological development, having accumulated 50 years of experience in the production and marketing of its Modal® branded fibres for multiple uses in the fashion industry.

Earlier this week, Robert van de Kerkhof, CCO of the Lenzing group, highlighted a further benchmark in the company’s Modal production by emphasizing their strategy to continuously work on improvements, with specialisation as a key element.

“We are working continuously on improvements to our processes and have set further benchmark in Modal production with the adaptation of our production steps.

“The advantages of adapting the Modal production process are clear: Customers benefit from the very good processability which makes it easier to produce high-quality yarns. While different climatic zones and different spinning technologies, which can lead to problems with processing, play lesser roles when processing the new Lenzing Modal® fibers.

“Meanwhile higher production efficiency could be reached in the spinning mill. A patent has been filed for this new technology making Lenzing Modal® fibres universally applicable in the fibre processing industry.”

He added that Lenzing Modal® fibres which recently celebrated its 50^th anniversary is a global success and have been a permanent feature in international collections in the fashion industry. 

Lenzing Modal® fibres are particularly successful with figure-hugging products such as day and night wear and homewear. Certification according to STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® Class 1 makes the fibres particularly well suited to baby and children's clothing, which could be a future market for Lenzing Modal® fibres.

Wearable textile technologies on show at major trade fairs this February

As the popularity of our well-being and the importance of sports continue to infiltrate our daily life, it has given textile and fibre technology producers the impetus to continue to research and develop new techno-infused qualities.  Such new developments have provided new avenues of enriched offerings for global fashion and sportswear brands to meet the growing demand of well-being-minded consumers.

At major trade fairs in February including Premiere Vision Paris and ISPO Munich, Swiss company Schoeller Textil AG will present a development in the field of wearable textile technologies: a durable, heatable  e-soft-shell material which can be flexibly cut to size. 

This new laminate is structured like a conventional soft-shell with corkshell™ technology and can be produced for sale by the meter. The incorporated textile electronics permit consistent heat distribution and are functional at common voltages. Furthermore, the material can be dyed and washed. The vision for the future of the e-soft-shell material includes washable electrical contacting, smart batteries and sensor technology that operates by smartphone. A prototype vest in the new e-soft-shell fabric (see picture left) will be shown at the respective trade fairs to potential customers.

An additional e-textile project:Together with the companies KJUS and Osmotex, as well as the EMPA Institute, Schoeller is also working on an electro-osmotic membrane for use in outerwear. The aim is to ensure a pleasant microclimate in the face of fluctuating external temperatures and exercise level.