Eco-Smart Technology from ROICA on show at EUROBIKE, Germany, September 4 - 7

EUROBIKE, the world’s leading trade fair for the cycling industry, staged at Friedrichshafen, Germany from September 4 to 7, is highlighting smart innovations relevant to the sport.  Cycle retailers, brands and manufacturers will discover premium stretch ROICA™ that provides comfort and movement as it energizes.   ROICA partners who are exhibiting at the fair include Italian companies M.I.T.I. SpA, Piave Maitex, SITIP SpA, as well as from France, Payen – ESF and from Spain, Sportwear Argentona S.A. ROICA™ partners’ materials elevate new standards for high-tech performance that can enhance cycling products, showcasing a range of stretch essentials for cycling clothing and special gear.  Moreover, ROICA™ partners at EUROBIKE will show their ongoing commitment to responsible innovation and creativity manifested through their advanced responsible developments made with the ROICA Eco-SmartTM Family.

There are two responsibly-produced yarns that demonstrate premium stretch performances that give free rein to designers’ creativity while complying to the most cutting-edge sustainable standards. The ROICA™ EF– GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified - is made with 58% of pre-consumer recycled content. GRS guarantees its sustainable mission with a certification by the influential Textile Exchange*, one of the most known and recognized global players in the market. The ROICA™ V550  breaks down without releasing harmful substance under the testing environment according to Hohenstein Environmental Compatibility certification. Made and engineered by Asahi Kasei R&D team, and produced in the ROICA™ German plant only, the yarn offers additional and relevant circular economy advantages linked to material health as proved by a Gold Level Material Health Certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute for a safe and biological end of life cycle.

Multifunctional wardrobe set to drive athleisure market, says GlobalData

It seems that the popularity and influence of the athleisure trend will continue as our favourite fashion choice, as we seek multifunctional clothing more than ever before, driven by the demand for comfort, performance and style.

Li-Ning, SS20 - Paris Men's Fashion Week.

According to GlobalData, a data and analytics company, 20% of UK consumers purchased sports clothing specifically for leisure activities and free time in the last two years, not to exercise in.  Also 68% of consumers who purchased sport clothing for exercise also wore such items for leisure activities and free time, eating our or shopping.

Consumers are purchasing more consciously and reducing spend on fast fashion, playing into the hands of those retailers and brands that can showcase the versatility of their items, as well as the durability and quality.

GlobalData forecasts that the global athleisure market will rise 9.0% in 2019 and will continue to outperform the total clothing and footwear market beyond the company’s 2023 forecast period.  

Athleisure fashion pushing boundaries.

A catwalk show at Pure London,

July 2019.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

Honor Strachan, Principle Retail Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Over the next five years, the sportswear market will be one of the leading retail sectors. Activewear brands are selling consumers a lifestyle, and fashion retailers are leveraging their style credentials to produce affordable fitness ranges to sell alongside core casual and formalwear collections."

Strachan explains: “This willingness to pair sportswear with core wardrobe pieces has opened sportswear brands up to new audiences and allowed them to diversify into new product areas, boosting their share of the global clothing & footwear market.”

Moreover, increasing consumer appetite for comfort has also fuelled sales of activewear and trainers with brands utilising their technical expertise in ensuring products offer freedom of movement, aid temperature and sweat control, shape the body and provide support. These qualities have filtered into consumers’ everyday wear and not just when they are at the gym.

Adoption of the athleisure trend in much of Asia has been slower, so international and national brands are leveraging social media, third party selling platforms and brand ambassadors to sell the appeal of having a sports and street influenced wardrobe.

Strachan concludes: “Chinese brand Li-Ning has exploited its credentials as a sports manufacturer to produce high fashion casualwear which can be worn for training or leisure, while Nike’s instore and online outfit styling provides inspiration on how to wear pieces for multiple uses encouraging consumers in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to incorporate sportswear into their everyday wardrobes.”






Photos above and left are from Chinese sportswear and fashion brand Li-Ning's catwalk show staged in June 2019 during the Paris Men's Fashion Week.

Li-Ning on the international stage at Paris Men's Fashion Week

In China, Li-Ning is an iconic  and successful sports brand named after their star Olympian.

China's iconic sports brand Li-Ning, named after the Chinese star Olympian,

will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2020.

And now its ambition is to conquer the world, especially after a successful introduction in its home country at retailers like Lane Crawford. Li-Ning’s elevated runway collection, now in its fourth season, continues to expand its global distribution at a range of high-end retailers and specialty sneaker boutiques including KITH, SSENSE, LN-CC, Slam Jam, END Clothing, Oki-Ni, Selfridges, and END Clothing to name a few.

The sports brand has now presented for the second time at Paris Men’s Fashion Week. This season the event was in a show space inside the Lycée Turgot in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris.  Within the custom set, graphics from the collection adorned the hyper-colour, multi-layer walls; with seating arranged in a maze-like format.

Models walked the labyrinth to an eclectic Chinese soundtrack, ’90s hip hop, and abstract Jazz, revealing the collection to a front-row crowd that included world champion skier Eileen Gu, Chinese performer Ayunga, singer Can Chengyu, and Lucas Jagger, as well as Mr. Li-Ning himself, who took in the show alongside his daughter Xiaoyan.

Mr. Li-Ning at the Paris catwalk alongside his daughter Xiao-yan.

Li-Ning finds the inspiration for its latest collection in ping-pong—or simply known as table tennis in the West, the Chinese national sport that commands a fervor greater than basketball, baseball, or soccer and one in which China has won 28 of 32 Olympic gold medals since its introduction in 1988.

For Spring/Summer 2020, the simple ping-pong polo informed the design direction of the entire collection, which offers easy shapes and voluminous silhouettes cut away from the body.

For an airy look, Li-Ning has used a set of new, ultra-lightweight fabrics for an array of coats and shirts, trousers and shorts, bags and accessories and footwear. 

In its styling and coloruways, the collection fused nostalgia and futurism.

SS20 highlights include deconstructed, zip-away Mackintosh coats trimmed in contrasting piping and affixed with patches, layered paperweight anoraks in contrasting tones of khaki and yellow, oversized polo—short or long-sleeved, striped, patterned, patched, piped, open V-neck, or zip-neck with vintage-inspired circular pulls. The breezy look carried through to the women’s range: females wore long tennis dresses darted with contrast stitching, as well as zip-away track coats and waisted track dresses. And for all genders, Li-Ning reimagined its signature garment—the track suit—in a wild range of colors, materials, and techniques, each of them at home on the ping-pong courts of yesterday or today.

Across all apparel, Li-Ning made strong use of vintage-inspired graphics including repeating paddle prints, abstract collages, comic book sketches, and the critical number 11, which was assigned to Mr. Li during the 1984 Summer Olympics.

CHAMPION® Athleticwear celebrates "100 Years for the Team" with launch of global campaign

Athletic wear CHAMPION® brand partners with sports legend Magic Johnson in a quest to find unique teams around the world to share their stories.

Champion®, the global athleticwear brand based in Rochester, New York, is celebrating a century of teamwork with the launch of its centennial anniversary campaign – “100 Years for the Team” – that will explore what it means to be a team in 2019 from the perspective of participating teams, clubs, squads and crews across the world.

Urban Dove for Champion's "100 Years for the Team" Anniversary Campaign (Photo: Business Wire)

Champion will engage with teams small and large around the world to share their passion about teamwork and what it means to them to be a team.  Throughout the year, Champion will highlight and celebrate teams through social media, a special website, exclusive product collections, events and influencer partnerships. Select teams will even be featured in a centennial celebration video.

Magic Johnson for Champion's "100 Years for the Team"
Anniversary Campaign (Photo: Business Wire)

“This significant milestone for Champion allows us to reflect on what ‘team’ and the evolution of ‘sports’ means today to consumers around the globe,” said Jon Ram, Group President, Global Activewear, Hanesbrands Inc. “Helping people come together as teams and being innovators in the industry has been an important part of our brand’s story since the very beginning. Now is the time to look ahead and celebrate how teams today have the power to change the world for the better, and how we assist in enabling them.”

The campaign will launch with a special film that features someone who has experienced the power of the team personally – the iconic basketball legend Magic Johnson. In the film, Johnson shares his reflections and insights into what truly makes a great team. 

“As part of the ‘Dream Team,’ I experienced first-hand the power of people coming together to achieve great things,” said Johnson. “I’m pleased to celebrate the power of teams in Champion’s 100th anniversary campaign.”

From Paris to Portland, Première Vision launches new Sport event this August

With the continued popularity and growing influence of the global sportswear and sports footwear market, the organisers of the international Première Vision events for professionals in the fashion, textile, creative and related industries - is launching a new event: Première Vision Sport, not in Paris but in Portland, in the state  of Oregon in the US.

PREMIÈRE VISION SPORT will take place August 14th and 15th 2019, to be held simultaneously and in partnership with The Materials Show, a leading sports footwear material and component sourcing show organised by American Events.

Portland is long established as the "Sportswear Silicon Valley".  Rightfully so as it is where major international American sports brands, the likes of Nike, Under Armour, Columbia Sportswear, Adidas North America, Avia and others are headquartered.  Portland is also located less than two hours by plane from San Francisco - headquarters of Patagonia, The North Face; and a little over an hour from the Canadian city of Vancouver - birthplace of such well-known brands as Lululemon, Arcteryx, Canada Goose and others.

The SPORT & TECH section at Première Vision Paris, September 2018.
Photo © Lucia Carpio.

PREMIÈRE VISION SPORT is a strategic development for the Parisian trade fair organisers which  launched the SPORT & TECH sector at its Première Vision Paris show last September offering a selection of high-performance and technical materials to help and support those brands and designers in search of innovations for the development of high-performance fashion products.

Finished garments on display at the SPORT & TECH section at Première Vision Paris, September 2018.Photo © Lucia Carpio.

The new PREMIÈRE VISION SPORT will bring its exclusive fashion expertise - seminars, colour range - and will introduce a specialized offer for performance and active sports clothing:  including fabrics, components and designs presented by a selection of exhibitors from Première Vision’s Parisian and international trade shows.

The MATERIALS SHOW was created more than 25 years ago by American Events Inc.  The biannual fair specializes in footwear for high-performance sports with a selection of dedicated materials - components, fabrics, leathers - offered by more than 300 exhibitors.

Each year, American Events organizes 4 editions of THE MATERIALS SHOW dedicated
to the footwear and sportswear markets, where representatives from international sports brands - makers and producers walk the show floor to discover what’s leading the market in technology and style.  Two editions (August & March) of the NE Materials Show take place in Wilmington,
Massachusetts, on the East Coast, presenting 200 exhibitors and welcoming some 800 visitors, while two editions (August & February) of the NW Materials Show take place in Portland, Oregon,
on the West Coast, which gathers together 300 exhibitors and 1,500 attendees.

According to figures from Euromonitor International, the global sportswear market has seen continued growth between 2011 and 2016 reaching US$ 280 billion in 2016. American brands dominate the worldwide sportswear market, with the United States representing 37% of global sales, or US$ 103 billion in 2016: US$70 billion of which for sportswear (+4.4%) and US$ 32 billion for shoes (+8.8%).

Pascal Monfort, fashion expert and founder of REC Trends Marketing, a specialist in sports, youth and street culture, said we’re seeing a growing alliance today not only between fashion and sport but also between luxury and sport, leading to the term “athluxury” - a blend of ‘athletic’ and ‘luxury’.

Pascal Monfort 
Photo © Lucia Carpio

Presenting a series of conferences on Sport &Tech at the Autumn 2018 edition of Premiere Vision Paris held last September, Pascal Monfort said: “The inclusion of sport in fashion is no longer simply a trend, it’s a necessity for many fashion brands, whether they come from the fast fashion or luxury worlds.”

In his view, 2020 will be the pinnacle of this success, the ultimate incarnation of the love affair between sport and fashion.

Monfort (pictured above at Première Vision Paris last September) said: “What’s happening today is fantastic. Creativity isn’t dead, far from it. Together, fashion and sports can go a long way and we love that!”

He added that the power of collaborations is incredible "We’re seeing the most unexpected and most surprising ones: Marine Green x Oakley, Vêtement x Oakley… Nike x Off-White for the team Nigeria fielded for the 2018 World Cup (3 million jerseys pre-ordered) … Koché x PSG: even football can become fashionable and cool!"

The fact is that fashion designers love sportswear, said Montfort.  The power of streetwear and sportswear designers is overturning norms. The most recent example is undeniably the appointment of Virgile Abloh (Off-White), a multifaceted American designer, as head of the House of Vuitton, an event which created quite a surprise in the fashion world.

Nevertheless, a series of collaborations with the biggest luxury brands and the creation of the “luxury” Nike City Ready line now places Nike on the pages of the leading fashion magazines such as Vogue.

Conferences at Premiere Vision Paris on Sport and Technology

Three conferences exploring the close relationship between fashion and sport will be held during Premiere Vision Paris, hosted by Pascal Monfort, founder of the research firm REC Trends marketing, along with two presentations by companies in the sector, all to take place in the SPORT & TECH Forum.

Premiere Vision Paris attract fashion and garment trade visitors from all corners of the world.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 

Here is the schedule for the Conferences:

Wednesday 19 Sept. at 2 pm
Sport & Fashion, partners in success.
‘Sportswear’ has become the most dynamic sector in the fashion industry. How can fashion and sports co-exist, drawing on each of their codes and references, for a win-win situation?

Thursday 20 Sept. at 3 pm
Sport: where performance meets with elegance.  Technical cuts and fabrics are no longer just for sports, they’re conquering the world of style as well. How performance products gained new uses, broad acceptance, and moved into the zeitgeist.

Friday 21 Sept. at 11 am
Sport, from «Street Culture» to «Sport Couture»: Luxury meets a young generation of consumers. Luxury cosies up to sports to better connect and inspire a young generation of consumers around the world. How brands gain a better comprehension of new consumer standards by viewing sports as an ally.

TWO MASTERCLASSES BY EXHIBITORSOn September 19 and 20, SPORT & TECH exhibitors along with PV Paris fashion team will present some of their latest products highlighted in Fashion and Sport with an analysis of major influences and a broad look at the key points for technical and performant fabrics for autumn winter 2020.

Fashion and Sportswear brands take urgent action to utilise recycled material waste

SEAQUAL ™ changes plastic waste to filament yarns.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

There is no time to wait and see with the critical problem we are facing on this planet after many years of not realising the damage that plastics, despite their amazing range of usefulness, have contributed to polluting our environment, our oceans, our cities, our countryside, and affecting the health of all living beings, ourselves, our nature and our wildlife.

The BBC nature programme Blue Planet II had driven the message hard and highlighted the immense urgency we are facing in one of their critically-acclaimed programmes hosted by nature guru and UK national treasure David Attenborough.

One shocking fact we have learned is that less than 50% of the 480 billion plastic bottles sold in 2016 were collected for recycling. It is indeed a responsibility of all of us to take action and tackle this irreversible global crisis.

Sundried sportswear made from
recycled plastics.

While politicians, activists and environmental agencies are reportedly taking action plans to promote recycling and minimising waste, many companies and brands are giving new lease of life to recycled plastic bottles by turning the waste into new ethical and environmental friendly products.

One such company is activewear brand Sundried whose sportswear range is made from 100% recycled materials including plastic bottles.

While helping to clean up the global excess of plastic bottles which would otherwise take thousands or even millions of years to decompose naturally Sundried are also reducing harmful emissions and water waste used to create new textiles.

Sundried was founded by personal trainer and triathlete Daniel Puddick. His goal was to create a brand that his children would be proud to be associated with in years to come.

Puddick says: "Being a parent makes you think about the bigger picture for the world, so business for me now is more than just creating a financially successful brand."

From the ten-piece pilot collection launched in 2016, Puddick has grown Sundried in size and together with his small team of designers have created sportswear made from recycled materials whilst ensuring a low carbon footprint.

Sundried activewear made from recycled materials
including coffee waste.

Sundried founder Puddick adds: "Creating collections made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled coffee waste has been a really exciting part of this journey and we are continuing to research the best, ethically-sourced materials available."

Fashioned from Nature exhibition - Victoria and Albert Museum, London until January 27 2019.
Photo © by Lucia Carpio 2018.

Of course Sundried is just one of many brands and designers who are all too aware of the plastic crisis and material waste.  Designs by the likes of Nike, Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney are on show among fashion specimens highlighting the close relationship between fashion and the environment at the Fashioned from Nature exhibition currently on at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.  Forming an important of the exhibition is the forcus on practices in the fashion industry that threaten people, the lives and the environment.  Running until January 27 2019, this is billed as the first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature over the last few centuries, from 1600 to the present day.

Recognising that urgent action is required quickly to tackle marine plastics pollution, a Spanish company of textile fibres has recently unveiled its commitments to initiate a new eco-friendly yarns called SEAQUAL ™ filament yarn made out of plastic waste retrieved from the ocean.

Seaqual 4U was founded in 2016 to tackle marine pollution with as a starting point the recovery of plastic waste collected in the oceans and recycling them into a range of continuous and discontinuous yarns.

Its ingenious plan is to dredge then upcycle plastics from the bottom of the sea and turn them into fibres and yarns.  The company partners with some 400 fishing boats off Spanish coasts that help it to collect the plastic waste.

The company has thus set up a virtuous chain involving various stakeholders in the textile industry including spinners, weavers and brands. 

SEAQUAL ™  fibres is a real catalyst engaging the entire textile industry and thus inspire consumers to buy products made of sustainable fabrics made from recycled plastics.

New innovations from SEAQUAL ™ will include exclusive yarns in staple fibres for blending with other fibres such as recycled cotton, Tencel ® , viscose, wool, linen and will be available as both continuous and discontinuous versions in their natural ecru shade or dyed into different colours. 

Y-3 showcases Autumn/Winter 18 'NICE TO MEET YOU' collection at Paris Grand Palais

With voluminous, oversized shapes, sportswear technicality and comfort as key, Y-3, the sportswear label created by adidas and designer Yohji Yamamoto, introduces the Autumn/Winter 2018  "NICE TO MEET YOU" collection in Paris this catwalk season, a nod to the ongoing collaborative nature of  the brand since its inception.

The goal is to distill the best of Yamamoto and adidas in daringly simple apparel, footwear, and accessories.  There is an emphasis on both craftsmanship and innovation — long-held qualities of both the German sportswear icon and the renowned Japanese designer. 

Presented at Grand Palais in January, the Fall/Winter 2018 runway collection represents not only a return to the roots of Y-3.  Presented mainly in black, white, deep ink, with an injection of sunny yellow and a floral camouflage print, it showcases a refinement and celebration of the brand's key characteristics: simplicity, proportion, heritage, and the three stripes distinctive of adidas. 

The collection rides a tension between tradition and progression, pairing Japanese craftsmanship, such as Sashiko embroidery, with the cutting edge innovation of CARBON 4D and BOOST™.

The Sashiko  stitching conjures a crucial human element —suggesting the hand of a couturier - and has been incorporated within the stacked logo motif that appears throughout the range.

When it comes to apparel, XXL is the new medium. Outerwear proportions are blown up to extremes and worn with body-conscious separates to create an intriguing contrast of covered and uncovered. This pairs with an innovative inside-out fabric concept: innerwear materials used as outerwear and vice versa.  Many of the styles are also reversible.

Graphic codes subtly nod to Y-3’s story. The print of the season — a camouflage floral —
represents both the grit of the street and the poetry of Yamamoto‘s avant-garde approach.

Note that bold slogans, such as ‘Y DON’T YOU CALL ADIDAS’  and ‘NICE TO MEET YOU’, tell the tale of collaboration and mutual respect from which Y-3 was born. 

Y-3 relentlessly innovates with its footwear offering, giving a taste of the future with SPEEDFACTORY and CARBON 4D, as well as debuting several new styles. Directly inspired by the adidas archive, the pioneering  Kaiwa melds a minimalist design philosophy with contrasting midsole accents for a bold, 3-D effect — shown on the runway both as a low-top trainer and knee-high sneaker-boot. The sleek, sock-like, sport-driven Ekika combines smooth neoprene mesh uppers with suede accents and stitched details, recalling the collection’s handcraft motif.