Q: How have new fabric innovations affected your product offering?
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Sean Venturi |
Technology in fabrics and fibres has been vital to us. We primarily use a peach face microfibre polyester and our solid range have a water repellent resin coating which allows water to bead off - which drastically reduces drying time.
Technology has played an important part in our fibres and fabrics and, as we digitally print our designs, using a sublimation process which has been advanced with a unique design flexibility to print photographic imagery. We are particularly focused on product differentiation and having the printing technology that we do have available to us is certainly helping us achieve this goal. The use of new technology has definitely impacted the apparel industry, particularly in swimwear. Everything in our shorts has to be synthetic to ensure the highest degree of salt water and chlorine resistance is met. Furthermore, our shorts are colour fast, along with all trimming, including our acrylic draw cord. It’s good to have suppliers that have the technological capabilities. From a design perspective, traditional methods of craftsmanship can aide a strong genuine aesthetic, and this is evident in workman wear that seeks inspiration from the early 1920s. There is the necessity for innovations in fabrics and fibres, and the necessity for synthetic man-made fabrics that are created sustainably will constantly drive the innovation of new environmentally friendly fabrics.
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Stewart Lock |
Nanotechnology has been the single biggest advancement, as it allows microscopic encapsulation in yarn, fabric and finishes with benefits for the end consumer. For example, removing odour or increasing performance of fabrics as in stain resistance.
Colour consistency computerised generation of colour formula has allowed the industry to improve colour consistency across replenishment products. Designers and retailers are pushing the boundaries further thanks to modern advances in machinery. This use of new technology has allowed us to impart benefits in our garments that consumers need, but were previously unable to have in tailored items. We see a direct impact, almost immediately with any new innovation. This is our largest growth area - innovation is the key. We still need the traditional methods, i.e. weaving, but there can be now a combination of the old and the new, especially in tailoring. You are reliant on the traditional bespoke tailoring methods, but they can now be combined with advancements in fabrics and yarns. We are able to create a point of difference with innovation that directly benefits the consumer now in clothing, and it often surprises them when they find that we can now make a suit that is stain resistant, crush resistant and yet is wool and feels great to wear, as we did with Van Heusen Performa. Performa has sold well and the shirts, with the wrinkle free technology, also provides a benefit to the consumer. Innovation and consumer focus is the key - it works for us and we are now onto the next project in our innovation pipeline.
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Helen Wallis |
Modern advances in machinery encourage designers and retailers to push the boundaries by enabling experimentation with different mediums to create unique fabrics, some that in the past would never have been considered for the manufacture of clothing. For example, the traditional manufacturer of lace, that was once seen as a speciality hand-made fabric, can now be achieved through modern techniques using digital printing, laser cutting and burnout etc on various mediums from silk to plastics and leather. In our case, beautiful lace stretch garments begin with a hand sketch of the design, which are then digitally programmed and knitted using circular loom technology. The use of new technology has created limitless creative possibilities for the apparel industry; whatever an individual can envisage can be created. Stella & Minx was built around the discovery of a stretch fabric created from an innovative knitting technique using circular loom technology. Our continuous experimentation with fibre combinations involving the highest quality man-made and natural fibres has allowed us to create clothing that complements the female form through the use of patterns, prints, colours, shading and contouring. For example, using this technique we discovered a blend of cotton, nylon and spandex combined with a graphic pattern design created a high definition three dimensional effect. To our knowledge there is no one else in Australia or New Zealand that creates clothing using this technology. Traditional methods will always be highly valued and have a place. In today’s world other factors, including time constraints, cost effectiveness, labour, consumer demand and environmental factors, drive technological innovation. I believe it is important not to dismiss either but to embrace both methods.