Debra Johnston Cobb reports from Paris
1
February 2010 - The January 2010's Salon International de la Lingerie and
Interfilière impressed buyers and vendors with a return to traditional
values-not only in the sense of offering value for money, but with a kinder,
gentler spirit that was manifest in the season's trends as well as in various
charitable initiatives.
While
the venue was more compact, attendance numbers inched up, with Interfilière
reporting 11,120 visitors against 11,066 in January 2009. Visitors at the SIL
and Interfilière combined were 29,928, a 20% increase according to the Eurovet
organization.
"Nowhere
else can you meet so many buyers of such high quality," remarked Eurovet's
spokeswoman at the opening press conference, where the SIL presented Designer
of the Year award to Freya Lingerie, and embroiderer Junior SRL ArteRicami by
Adele Zibetti was lauded by Interfilière.
Highlight
at the SIL was Saturday evening's Sleepover Party, a catwalk show of loungewear.
Emblematic of the trend for cocooning and well-being, the fashions featured
natural fibres, particularly Modal, wool, silk, cashmere and ultrafine cottons.
Two key directions emerged: fully fashioned knitwear garments for lounging,
along with cozy fleeces and teddy bear fur fabrics. Contrasted with satin, they
were made up in RTW-inspired pieces to layer with "treggings" (part track pant,
part legging), wraps, bed socks and arm warmers.
A Sense of Quiet Luxury in Refined
Knits and Natural Fibres
With the
continued movement into ever-finer knitting, the season's emphasis on natural
fibres was somewhat surprising. New spinning techniques have resulted in high-quality
cotton or cellulosic yarns that can withstand knitting at 50 or 54 gauge for
"freecut" edges (at Willy Hermann) or work in mouldable cotton/Modal structures
(Piave Maitex) or lend themselves to tricots and meshes (Penn Textile
Solutions).
Dr.
Martin Hermann, managing director at Willy Hermann, pointed out that "natural
fabrics used in a new way are very important for understated luxury." The company
has developed a yarn of 80% cotton/ 20% recycled cotton providing an improved
product with sustainability. Other Superfine blends included MicroModal with
angora or bamboo, and blends of silk with Modal, wool, cotton or bamboo.
Natural
fibre specialist Huber Tricot made the most of cotton and cellulosics with
their Smooth Skin fine-gauge knitting and Brightex finish. Jerseys and ribs
have a lustrous finish, super recovery and a high resistance to pilling. The
company has developed new versions in 100% Merino wool, along with luxurious
basics using silk and cashmere.
Seamless
warp knitter Cifra is also moving into cotton, wool and viscose, and has
developed non-elastic seamless garments to meet the demands of the market with
an easier fit for dresses and RTW.
Finding Value in Health, Wellbeing
and Sustainability
New
developments in synthetic knits focused on health and wellbeing. Maglificio
Ripa's patented Skin Comfort fabric is hypoallergenic and highly breathable, knit
from Dryarn microfiber polypropylene. Ripa has added silky Cupro rayon in 44
gauge knitting to their LIGHT range. Cupro is also being knit at Bebe Cotton,
where it is blended with polyamide; Bebe Cotton is knitting with Nilit EcoCare as
well.
Smartcel
Clima, a lyocell-based phase change material from Smartfiber AG, brings new
performance options to lingerie fabrics. Combined with cotton, it regulates
temperature for comfortable wearing while retaining a soft, natural touch. Both
Willy Hermann and Handel & Diller are working with the fibre.
Handel
& Diller knits other innovative fibres such as Biophyll, Advansa's
Sorona-based yarn; and they also work in Tencel, MicroModal AIR and organic
cotton. Paive Maitex is offering Biophyll as well.
At
Dogi, the Winn collection utilized Nurel's microencapsulated Novorel polyamide
products containing moisturizing, anti-ageing and firming cosmetics. Liebaert
and Willy Hermann Superfine are also knitting with these skin-enhancing yarns,
and Dr. Hermann reports that the products have been well-received.
Strangely
the fibre companies were completely absent from this fair, with the exception
of Teijin, who introduced their Nanofront 700 nanometer polyester yarn. Based
on "Sea Island" technology, the surface area of the filaments is many times
greater than that of conventional fibres. This enhances water absorption, slip
resistance and opacity. At present Teijin is developing fabrics in-house, with
the potential utilization of Nanofront fabrics as linings for intimate apparel.
The fabrics have a slightly tacky hand but are cool against the skin.
New Trends and Techniques
Knitters
have turned to finer gauge machinery to create new structures and designs.
Liebaert's new "Nanostitch" fabrics utilize a 50 gauge tricot machine to create
charmeuse, satin and double tricot in polyamide. Lace-like six-bar patterns
include geometric power meshes, and weft knit spacers are engineered to
coordinate with tricot patterns.
Offbeat
geometrics and wavy patterns were an important direction in jacquards, laces
and prints. Using new 44 gauge jacquard machines Handle & Diller created a
refined collection of geometric patterns and stripes. At Penn Textile Solutions
(reorganized from the former Penn Elastic) patterns were worked in
opaque/transparent structures with a 60's vibe. Dogi's lace-like geometric
jacquards offered "intimate transparency" while the new Dogi Tech line featured
high modulus and clean-cut fabrics for shapewear and moulding.
Tiny
florals were a key style trend, and Eurojersey combined archival patterns with
their new EcoPrint technology in a collection of Sensitive fabrics. The
tone-sur-tone prints are reminiscent of ancient Fenici printing and the
EcoPrint process uses 20% less energy and 50% less water than traditional
methods.
Doing Well by Doing Good
With
the recession barely behind us, a new sense of corporate responsibility has
emerged within the fashion and textile trades. Eurojersey has been a leader in
sustainability with their World Land Trust effort to protect the Argentinian
rainforest; the company has pledged to save one metre of forest for every metre
of fabric sold. Their new range of hangtags will bring the Sensitive Ecosystem
story to the consumer as well as to the direct customer.
Maglificio
Ripa is supporting the BAKHITA reforestation project in the Akebu area of
Africa, with plans to have 20,000 fruit trees planted by the women of
association.
A
new charity, Pink Bra Bazaar, has been organized to unite women and the world
of lingerie to overcome breast cancer. Funds raised by the industry will
support research, prevention, screening and early diagnosis of breast cancer.
The
industry has also united behind an organization called Designing Hope, which
raises funds to support people affected by HIV, primarily in Southern Africa.
Lampshades designed by lingerie designers and embroidered by HIV women in
Swaziland were presented at the SIL.
Debra Johnston Cobb
Debra Johnston Cobb is a veteran of
the knitted textile industry with experience in the development and marketing
of yarns, fabrics, and apparel trends. She currently contributes to a number of
trade journals in the UK and the US, and is co-authoring a textbook about
colour forecasting. dj.cobb@hotmail.com
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