As mentioned in this month’s Buyer Alert on stretch-and-resiliency denim, Invista and Lenzing’s joint yarn solution improves elasticity while offering a sophisticated aesthetic for the women’s denim market. By combining Invista’s patented LYCRA® dualFX® stretch fabric technology (which merges LYCRA® and LYCRA® T400® into a single yarn) with Lenzing’s smooth-surface, moisture-transferring TENCEL® and Modal® fibers, the two companies are addressing mill demand for cellulosic denim with significantly improved shape retention and heightened performance comfort.
In addition to fiber content, higher yarn twist helps improve dimensional stability of these denims, while minimizing fabric deformation due to elastane slippage after garment washing. If not tended to, slippage (which occurs when stretch core fibers contract from original yarn lengths, becoming shorter than outer yarn surfaces) can lead to rippled or bagged-out denim surfaces, loosened garment seams and severe seam puckering.
Outperforming standard stretch alternatives in terms of fit, recovery, hand, shrinkage and seam slippage, this blended yarn technology has already attracted key denim players Tejidos Royo and ADM Denim.
Michael Kininmonth, Lenzing’s senior project manager of denim, said, “This initiative represents two globally innovative fiber companies working together to provide the denim market with fabrics that meet the performance needs of modern consumers. Superior comfort with stretch and long-lasting recovery are set to become the next core product in women’s wear.”
