The future of denim is on display at Keyhouse and Bluezone in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5-7. Each season the industry events encourage exhibitors to find sustainable solutions to manufacturer better quality, forward-thinking products.
This season, mills, fiber manufacturers and technology companies are sharing stories that clean the environment, enhance the wearer’s wellness and speed up production time. Here’s a look at some of the innovation highlights.
Balancing Act
How can denim help you be your physical best? Orta introduces Biocharge, the first denim created to support muscle wellness.
The intelligent denim is infused with a combination of minerals designed and medically proved to refresh muscles with the energy needed to get through the day. By supporting muscle regeneration to reduce stress and tension, Biocharge denim improves the body’s balance and maximize relaxation during sleep.
Orta is pitching the innovation toward brands that cater to the surf and active outdoor markets. However, the fabrications can be used across categories for tops and bottoms. The fabric has a normal hand feel and is made with 35 percent stretch. The Biocharge performance benefits last for up to 10 home laundries.
Shape Up
Pakistan-based mill Naveena presents Wraptech, a innovation in yarn production by combining the qualities of two yarns into a parallel set to achieve multi-fiber properties of strength, elasticity and comfort.
The technology provides the garment a more nature look along with superior shape retention, greater wicking and moisture management and less shrinkage. The result is long lasting denim with a smooth sheen, softer hand feel and no elastane breakage.
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Something for the Senses
For the first time, Nilit, a global manufacturer and marketer of nylon textile fibers, rolls out Sensil for denim. Sensil, which debuted in the apparel market in July, provides superior softness, strength and durability.
The fiber’s premium performance features include odor control, temperature management, moisture management and UV resistance.
Denim presents a new opportunity for Nilit to speak to the millennial demographic. The company strategically presents Sensil denim with an athleisure-inspired capsule collection with unisex styling and an eco story. Garments are lined with fabric made from coffee beans, which keeps the body warm and requires no need to dye.
Clean Up
Kassim follows the launch of the “first connected denim” with jeans that clean the environment.
While mills grapple with ways to reduce their environmental impact, the mill showcased photocatalytic denim, or jeans that decrease pollution, at Keyhouse. The innovation was also the recipient of the show’s Hightex Awards.
Called the Invisible, the jeans contain photocatalytic nanocom that is able to efficiently eliminate pollution by using just natural sunlight. The denim is currently being mass produced.
Fit & Focused
Lenzing, Santoni, Tonello and Unitin bows DEN/IM 2.0, a new and improved collection of athleisure garments made with stretch indigo on seamless circular knitting machines.
The updated collection emphasizes new elements like compression, ventilation, moisture control, thermal conductivity and body mapping.
Each knitted garment in the collection incorporates different combinations of fibers and knitted structures to create degrees of tension for different areas of the body. The new collection is also designed with more shape and contouring lines.
Tricia Carey, Lenzing’s director of global business development for denim, stands behind DEN/IM. “Its important for us to show the evolution of this concept,” she said, adding that laundry techniques improve and brands—especially on the West Coast in the U.S.—are warming up to the idea of using indigo yarns in their seamless machines.
The Real Deal
What you see is what you get. That is the message sustainable technology company Jeanologia is sending to designers through its new laser innovation, High Dynamic Range (HDR).
Through HDR, Jeanologia guarantees designers more accurate results. The system increases the contrast of the dynamic tones of the image, achieving a level of depth closer to reality and resulting in more natural and 3-D design.
Jeanologia says the new hyperbolic system simplifies the design process by reducing production time by up to 30 percent.