Silent Performance - Outdoor Indigo | Climate Control

September 18, 2017 Jill Lawrence

Breathable coatings onto indigo denims allow us to wear our jeanswear pieces in all climates. We love our jeans, we want to wear them in all conditions. They can be lightweight, water repellant, breathable, comfort stretch. Not just for jean but for jackets and outdoor styles.

Denim and jeans can now be warm and insulating rather than the previously chilly cottons. Thermalite from Invista helps us create warmer denims. Brushed backside denim fabrics allow the simple cotton jean to become a winter cotton item. Quilted constructions trap air between the double layers. "Knit" like denim constructions can easily replace as well as replicate the classic fleece hoody and sweat pants in beautiful indigo denim with flexibility and comfort.

Face brushing can be better done in garment form to achieve a warm appearance as well as an insulating fabric. In face brushing the garment the indigo surface level can be controlled to become like moleskin or velour.

Double layering in the garment as well as quilting in the fabric enables us to use thermal fillings inside and water repellant coatings on the outside yet it is still a denim jacket!

Natural plus synthetic fibre blend innovations have achieved the strongest fibre - Dyneema. Cotton + Dyneema blends are used for high performance jeanswear where high rub and tear strength is required - motorbiking; street cycling; boarding; blading; mountaineering to name but a few extreme activities where performance denims are an advantage. Cordura from Invista and Nylon 66 are also super strong fibres which when blended with cotton create synthetic strength with natural fibre softness.

Shine and performance can be achieved with fibre rather than coated finish namely, hi shine nylons, tencel and trilobal polyesters. Whilst denims are traditionally made with cotton warps we can now make a denim which is totally synthetic yet retaining ability to dye indigo - namely, Tencel or Modal ( Lenzing) cellulosic warps with other synthetic fibre blends in the weft.

We have mentioned temperature controlling fibres in the form of thermalite from Invista. Invista also help us create cooling denims with moisture management with their Coolmax for summer denims and Coolmax all season being a blend of thermalite and coolmax for all year round comfort denims.

Nilit also offers Breeze which is a cool fibre; Heat which is a thermal fibre; Aquarius which is a breathable moisture management fibre.

Brushing; Quilting; Coating; Padding are all achievable in the classic character and shade of indigo denim. We now need never to be without our denims whatever the weather.

Silent Performance - Clever Memory

September 11, 2017 Jill Lawrence

Super fit, super fine and super stretch is what we need to perform in our jeans just as we would in our leggins. Invista blends of natural with synthetics have helped us achieve in denims what was until recently not even thought of. Their dual core fibres namely Dual FX and Lycra Beauty have cotton on the face, spun fibre blend against the skin both wrapped around lycra stretch core to create whatever level of stretch is required. Such fibres achieve both comfort and performance for even the lightest of denims.

More simple blends of spun polyester with elastane will likewise achieve a supreme high stretch with a soft touch but for even softer touch denims Modal from Lenzing can blend with cotton and lycra for super softness and high stretch. Tencel or Lyocel from Lenzing is likewise blended with lycra for softness and in this latter instance a super drape. All such blends are capable of being surface printed for branding or creative patterning.

For 360 bi stretch and V stretch we need to play more with the blends in the warp to achieve the desired levels of stretch whilst at the same time controlling the shrinkage and recovery. All such technical research, development and innovation is done at the fabric make stage in order to enable the brands to achieve the best levels of performance for their active styles.

Composite Image ©TheDenimEye ©Calik Denim

What we want is a second skin denim. As light and figure hugging as possible to replace our dependence on high stretch warp or weft knit active wear. This is not just for active lifestyle denims but also for figure contouring denims. Such clever blends enable us to do more in our daily denim jeans

Absolute fit combined with shine gives the appearance of activewear and yet it is clean smart denim daywear with the performance attributes of active wear. Denim jeans with the versatility of day to sport to eve wear. Here we have tencel lycra blends with a super 360 stretch and perfect recovery.

Trend Alert: Silent Performers

September 4, 2017 Jill Lawrence

Life continues in the fast lane for which we need enhanced performance. Performance fabrics are still the future of everyday wear.

Athleisure / Active Lifestyle dressing is shifting from leggins and performance knits to performance denims. You can now do in your jeans what you could do in leggins and look more polished instead of wearing sport gear with its sweaty connotations throughout the day. We want more refined clean denim dressing with added performance for all our daily activities through to evening cool.

Denim Fabrics, created by innovative Denim Mills, with added performances to be explained later are creating a new and exciting trend in denim jeanswear.

High stretch and bi stretch. Coated finish. Breathability. Are just three essential elements of denim sport performance wear. The key is indigo. The romance of indigo shades combined with classic denim texture are taking on a new life together with the excitement of added performance. Polyurethane coatings and spray finishes enable the fabric to breathe and to repel moisture. Hi stretch can be now bi stretch or vertical stretch. We create a stretch for all different uses. A common term is 360 stretch meaning all round stretch for ultimate movement and comfort in the denim jeans. Jeans such as have not been previously experienced.

Performance denims look just like your ordinary jeans either vintage character or refined and simple. The secret is in the performance of the fibres and finishes employed in the manufacture of the denim fabric that makes them performance jeans. Clever fibre blending is the current excitement, to achieve the touch and character of the natural fibre with the precision performance of synthetics.