Lenzing’s Tencel is often touted for its softness, strength and breathability, among other attributes, and now a warp-knitting specialist has tapped the lyocell fiber for a special collection of stretch fabrics suitable for intimates and swimwear.
LE Textile, formerly known as Elastic Textile Europe and owned by Latvian manufacturer Lauma Fabrics, announced Friday that it had developed its first-ever stretch warp-knit textile using Tencel. The company, which produces stretch fabrics and lace for lingerie, swimwear and activewear, will unveil its new collection to sourcing executives at Interfilière Lyon in France in July.
LE Textile has worked with Tencel since 2014, when it opted to use the fiber instead of eco-cotton and premiered a prototype collection at Interfilière in Paris in January 2015 that the company’s head of development, Harald Mai, said “stimulated the interest of the visitors we met.”
Taking feedback from the trade fairs into account, the company tweaked its idea and used both lace raschel and high-speed raschel machines to sustainably produce a full range of “extremely comfortable, environmentally friendly fabrics made from Tencel fibers” that provide elasticity for lingerie and apparel. A special line in the collection also contains polyamide to ensure that the fabrics can mold to the body.