NEW YORK — South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Corp. believes an innovation in its Creora spandex will bring designers, brands and retailers new confidence when it comes to incorporating stretch fibers into black fabrics.
The Seoul company has introduced Creora H-100D, a black spandex that gives fabrics a deeper shade of the color that is more resistant to fading. However, one of the fiber’s most significant performance characteristic is that it eliminates the metallic shine, or “grin-through,” that other fabrics using spandex can display when stretched.
Ria Stern, director of North American marketing and global brand for Creora, said adding the black coloring to the polymer before it is spun into a fiber, instead of the more traditional method of dyeing after the fiber is spun, ensures the deeper color and prevents the grin-through effect.
“When you take a black fabric with spandex and stretch it, there can be a metallic-looking background in the fabric,” said Stern. “It shines, and that’s because the spandex gets stained, but it’s not completely black.”
Designers and brands have looked to increase the value of their garments with enhanced performance characteristics, which has spurred textile and fiber innovation. In this case, said Stern, the innovation has been driven by the need to solve an existing problem.
“I think the reason we developed this is not so much to address a trend, but to address something that’s been a problem all along,” said Stern.
The intimates segment and the recent rise in popularity of footless hosiery have been key motivations. According to Stern, some of the major intimates manufacturers and retailers have recently changed their color standards, demanding darker colors and better fabric performance from their suppliers. In her meetings with potential customers, Stern has frequently had customers direct her to the mills that, for example, provide specific portions of undergarments, such as lace.
“I’m getting a lot of ‘Go talk to this person,’ which means they think it’s positive in terms of helping them develop better product,” said Stern.
Creora H-100D is targeted at the intimates, hosiery and swimwear markets, all of which Stern said traditionally use a high percentage of dark fabrics. The company is expanding its use into activewear, and also using the fiber in Hyosung’s personal hygiene segment for diapers. The fiber is available in more than one color in the hygiene segment and Stern said it was likely that H-100D would expand into different colors for the apparel industry, as well.
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Invista, the largest producer of spandex under the Lycra brand name, introduced a similar product last fall dubbed Black Lycra. Stern said she believed the Invista and Hyosung products were produced in a similar manner, but that the company had not conducted any head-to-head comparisons. H-100D was introduced at the ISPO show in Munich, Germany, in July and will get a formal launch at the Lyon Mode City show, Sept. 2-4 in Lyon, France.