Are functionality and added features necessary when designing shirts? Here is a list of some finishes which are functional, currently in trend in the fashion retail & manufacturing industry and some which are relevant, a must in the shirt story…
Nothing ages faster than the last season’s fashion. This is one of the main reasons that the fashion retail industry needs a steady stream of new ideas and possibilities. New colour trends and specific-functional effects serve to stimulate the consumers’ taste for new products in shirts and urge brands
to try and bring in these new features in their collections. Some manufacturers and brands go a step further in combining these with a technology that is gentle on the skin as well as the environment.
These functions not only give value addition to the shirt manufacturer and differentiate their products, their features help lengthen the wearing cycle of a garment for the end consumer and increase its comfort as well as life. Most of these features are communicated via small tags on the apparel.
The question then that arises is – are these functions and features at all necessary? Through this article, an attempt has been made to bring out some of the finishes which are functional, some which are currently in trend in the fashion retail industry and some which are relevant, a must in the shirt story. For the rest – we leave it up to the readers and consumers to be the best judge on the kind of functions and features they deem best.
Colour: No Fade
Colours play an important role in our life and in fashion. Beside patterns and forms, it is colour which influences fashion most strongly. From red to green from white to black, colours matter. Be it sportswear, lingerie, casual wear or for home textiles, colour is fashion, personal expression, they come and go and recur.
In the apparel industry, colours of shirts are exposed and strained to various conditions like sunlight, laundering or different activities which cause sweating. When the colour of a shirt fabric fades due to any one of the factors or combined factors, the look of the shirt is no longer desirable. Due to this, the selection of colours and dyeing techniques are very important parameters.
Colours selected should have best light fastness (not fade in light, sun exposure), contact fastness – no colour on your skin or seating area, best perspiration fastness (not fade or change with sweat), best wash fastness which keeps the colour in the fabric – it doesn’t get washed away and ensures that it doesn’t stain other fibres and is durable in multiple laundering. These benefits to apparel enhance
the performance and look of the garment, keep it new and simplify our daily lives.
Easy Care and Wash n Wear Shirtings – Banish Those Wrinkles
We all know how important first impressions are! A shirt must fit well and equally important, stay clean and wrinkle free. This is true in both our professional and private lives. Different companies use different trade names for this once they have achieved the perfect wrinkle free shirt – they could be termed Easy to Iron, Easy Care, Wash and Wear, Non-Iron Shape Memory etc. They all convey the same message in a shirt – that stay neat all day long, no wrinkles. This can have a moderate to superlative effect on shirting. Fabric quality, weave, weight, design and quality of yarn all play an important role in ensuring this superlative garment performance.
Natural fabrics like 100% cotton have been in demand for a long time in shirtings. The main drawback is its tendency to form wrinkles which doesn’t equal a very smart look. With the entry of synthetic fibres into shirtings, this limitation was overcome.
Thus, began the trend of blends like cotton polyester. Easy wear shirts made of blends keep in shape and are easy to iron. The finishing effect minimizes fabric creasing and wrinkling. This is specially in high demand as this quality ensures a great finished product.
This treatment can be done both at the mill stage at the time of fabric manufacturing and also at the garment stage after the shirt has been made. The latter is not followed much for this requires a complete set of equipment and is good for small production lots.
‘Selection of the right technology in the processing stage, water quality, preparation of the fabric and the right chemicals are must for whites. Maintaining the process conditions and handling of the fabric at all stages of manufacturing is very critical in ensuring a good lasting white shirt.’
Cotton for Comfort
Despite the comfort of blends, a majority of users in India and around the world continue to prefer 100% natural fibres like cotton for formal shirtings. To aid them, wrinkle resistant treatment was developed, which helped consumers stick to their choice of natural fibres. Developed in the 20th century, this treatment has been used for Cotton, Rayon and Linen fabrics. The main chemical used in this treatment, resin, permeates through the entire fabric making it difficult to wrinkle and crease.
Despite the comfort of blends, a majority of users in India and around the world continue to prefer 100% natural fibres like cotton for formal shirtings. To aid them, wrinkle resistant treatment was developed, which helped consumers stick to their choice of natural fibres. Developed in the 20th century, this treatment has been used for Cotton, Rayon and Linen fabrics. The main chemical used in this treatment, resin, permeates through the entire fabric making it difficult to wrinkle and crease.
Modern Stain Management
In various activities such as sport, work or daily life, our clothing often faces expected but also unexpected situations. Soil, oil, food or liquids might come into contact with our apparel, leaving stains which are often hard to remove or in some cases, non-removable.
Due to this, consumers’ demands for protection and cleaning properties are constantly increasing. Therefore, the trend towards soil repellent – and stain release – treatment of shirts is growing, not least to avoid time consuming and costly cleaning and to ensure simple care and long life for all kind of fabrics.
Stain management, i.e soil repellent and soil release treatments – have taken rapid strides
with newer technology that makes fabric more comfortable to wear. The treatments ensure that no stain is able to go deep in the shirt fabric and spoil it. When stains fall on these garments they slide off or if they are dabbed with a handkerchief or tissue, they are quickly transferred away from the shirt onto the cloth used to dab.
These treatments make it fairly easy to release stains into water during a home laundry, cleaning them effectively.
New technologies available in this area ensure that this treatment is durable to multiple washings, able to repel most aqueous and oily stains, allow fabric to remain breathable and comfortable as well as maintain adequate softness.
They also are gentle on skin as well as the environment.
In addition to these above benefits, the fabrics require less frequent laundering, low energy wash cycles and help give extended life cycles for textile products.
UV Protection for Shirts – Blocking Out the Sun
Sunlight is an important part of nature and life and its benefits are immense. The body needs sunlight to form Vitamin D which helps the development of bone structure. However, ultraviolet rays can also have a negative impact on skin and health as well as a damaging effect on clothing articles.
The use of UV protection clothing thus becomes a significant step – for both the skin and to keep shirts looking fresh and new. UV protection in shirts helps to block large parts of UV rays that may contribute to harmful effects on skin, so you are well protected with the shirts which are worn outdoors.
Moisture Management – Keeping Cool
We perspire when it is hot outside. This perspiration gets absorbed quickly over a larger area by the garment that is treated with this specialized technology. The absorbed moisture gets transported faster to the outer surface of the garment and this then is evaporated faster to the atmosphere giving out a comfortable cool and dry feeling.
The key feature of a moisture management finish is the complete removal of moisture combined with an accelerated spreading and evaporation rate resulting in a rapidly drying textile and thus increased wearing comfort.
This finish helps achieve desired comfort, making it an important ingredient in casual as well as active wear. These moisture management finishes are suitable on both polyester as well as polyester-based shirting fabrics, giving it a cotton-like touch and feel and making it comfortable to wear.
UV protection in shirts helps to block large parts of UV rays that may contribute to harmful effects on skin, so you are well protected with the shirts which are worn outdoors.
Hygiene Protection – More Than Simply Clean
Bacteria grows best on sweaty textiles increasing perspiration odors as they reproduce. The hygiene function works like a built-in deodorant – it inhibits the development of unpleasant odors on textiles.
This finish is popular in socks, undergarments, sportswear and certain home textiles; but in apparels this has to yet catch on. The finish is ideal for formal and casual shirts as collars, also sleeves and the armpit area which are most prone to perspiration and odors. This is a concept which in the coming years will be a very important and relevant one.
Today there are solutions available which gives shirts high durability, while keeping them gentle on skin and work in an effective manner.
White is Not Just White
Be it any season or occasion, the craze for whites just refuses to die down. White is not just a colour, it is an expression symbolizing light, calmness, purity and many positive overtones. In formal shirting, white is eternal fashion. In shirts, the demand for whites is always constant. A good white that stays white all day and also remains white after many washes is a challenge not only for the wearer, but also for the manufacturer making this. The white should not only be able to stand the rigours of the day but should also maintain its brilliance after washing, ironing and also storage.
Selection of the right technology in the processing stage, water quality, preparation of the fabric and the right chemicals are must for whites. Maintaining the process conditions and handling of the fabric at all stages of manufacturing is very critical in ensuring a good lasting white shirt.
Even in whites, designers try to create new patterns to differentiate the hues. They use optical brighteners to create different variations because white is not just white – there’re brilliant reddish whites, bluish whites, snow whites and even wool white shades From the clothes that we wear to the bedsheets that we sleep in, textiles are used in a wide variety of areas that have completely different functional performances that need to be met. We have seen that it is possible to include some of these functions in shirting fabrics. However, functionality in itself is not enough to meet the requirements of millions of end users. Aesthetics, design, colour, and technology that is friendly to the skin and ecology, also need to be taken into account while designing shirts and making
life more beautiful.
