Tech conference to address apparel

The TCF Technology Network annual conference looks set to bridge the gap between technical textiles and the apparel industry.
According to Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) executive director and conference project manager Ashley Van Krieken, the August 23 forum will be of "significant interest" to apparel specialists interested in the applications of technical textiles to their product.
The conference, which had expanded dramatically since its establishment last year, promising 150 delegates (a threefold increase since the inaugural forum) would also provide insight into the global technical textiles sector, he said.
It will follow the theme: "Performance Textiles - a convergence of traditional textiles science, emerging science, leading edge design and technology".
Hosted at the Rydges Riverwalk hotel in Melbourne, international conference speakers include Jane McCann, director of smart clothes and wearable technology, University of Wales, UK, on bringing new technologies to the textile and apparel markets; Colin Purvis, director general of the Brussels-based International Rayon and Synthetic Fibres Committee, (CIRFS), on the role of innovation in ensuring the sustainability of the European textiles industry; Dr Michael T. Fralix, president of US textile specialist TC2 and Dr David Bruner, vice president of US company Technology Development on the digital supply chain; and Tendai Ngwena, Asia Pacific director of international research giant Elmarco's Japan office, on taking nanotechnology from research and development to mass production.