HOW YOUR COLLECTION GETS COOLER

May 07, 2018

How your collection gets cooler – News from PERFORMANCE DAYS April 2018

1. Cooling sportswear provided by special technologies

Fabrics with cooling functions for summer 2020 is one topic of the last fair for functional fabrics in Munich. Cooling sportswear provide optimum support to the athlete`s performance. As Ulrike Arlt describes in her detailed article in SAZ-sports magazine, it`s important, that the body temperature is kept as constant as possible. The production of sweat cools the body down, at the same time it is deprived of heat energy. In particular, functional sportswear, which is worn directly on the skin, is equipped for a perfect temperature management. It is important to keep the body temperature constant or to minimize the energy loss of the athlete. Ideally, the fabrics still reflect the sunlight to prevent the textiles from heating up.

How does this work?

Enlarging the surface of the material supports evaporation and prevents the body from cooling down; favorable for this are 3D structures or honeycomb constructions. A fiber cut in the yarn also causes a larger surface area.

Additives such as activated carbon particles also enlarge the surface due to their porous structure; Phase Change Materials (PCM), which, depending on the state of matter, extract or supply heat to the body when the athlete’s body temperature drops after exercise. Additives may e.g. be applied in the form of prints on the inside of the fabrics.

The use of ceramics or minerals in printing on the outside of the fabrics serves to block light rays. This prevents the clothing from heating up and is especially valuable for dark fabrics.

2. Fashionable functional fabrics and cooling sportswear

Prints with batik effects, metallic luster, semitransparency and a variety of structures make the fabrics in the trend Forum look ultrafashionable. The functions do not fall behind in any case. More and more materials are made from recycled materials and are also biodegradable.

Click on company link for further info: MERRYSON I EVERTEX I HSD Zipper I PONTETORTO I PIONEER ELASTIC I

RUDHOLM & HAAK I GB TEXTILE I SCHOELLER TEXTIL

A growing topic is the athleisure area. Back again: the velvety cupro, but also woolly qualities and cord-like fleece variants. I noticed a jacket from Toyoto Tshusho, where within different weave structures is played in one jacket:

abrics & accessories at PERFORMANCE DAYS Munich, May 2018.

3. Eco-Award for A. Sampaio: recycled plastic waste from the sea becomes polyester fiber

The problem of dangerous microplastic particles reaches us every day via all media. It is therefore great that the fabric manufacturer A.Sampaio, together with the fiber manufacturer Seaqual, has developed a material suitable for bodywear called “Baselayer-Seaqual”. Totally impressive that the collected plastic waste comes from the seabed of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast. Every day, more than 400 fishing boats fishing off the the seabed forplastic waste, which also includes glass, metals and other materials. These are sorted on the spot and assigned to the respective recycling centers. “Baselayer-Seaqual” by A.Sampaio has received the Eco Performance Award.

For me the fair is always worth a visit, because it offers a lot of input about innovations and inspiration. A cooling equipment of the substances could certainly be transferred to areas outside the sport. Cool prospects for the next summer!

Information on the latest trends in the world of sportswear can be found here in my post

“6 Trends at ISPO AW 2018/19 – what`s hot and what stays hot?” .

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