With almost half the exhibitors at the recent Denim Premier Vision exhibition in Paris representing global weavers and denim producers and finishers, Monforts was equally well represented with more than 20 exhibitors relying on its sanforising and finishing equipment in production facilities – including Artistic Milliners, Arvind, Calik, Cone Denim, Kassim, Mou Fung, Soorty, Tavex and UCO Raymond.

New technologies

Visitors were able to see premium fashion-brand specialists and luxury names for cutting-edge products introducing new technologies and techniques for denim wear. Calik Denim, for example, exhibited the new Circular 100 fabric range featuring Lycra dualFX technology to create a better alternative to traditional jeans leggings fabric.

The specific fabric construction of Circular 100 – suitable for athleisure in addition to jeans – has been developed to create a unique silky and soft touch inside, while offering elasticity and flexibility for increased comfort.

According to Denim International, there’s every chance of a return to ‘flares’. “We’re getting a lot of enquiries about the possibility of manufacturing flares, and with every other retro style being incorporated into today’s collections, it looks like some kind of return to flared cuts might be imminent,” said Adeel Baig, General Manager of Marketing and Merchandising for Denim International.

Poultry feathers in fabrics

New DuvetDenim from US Apparel and Textiles incorporated poultry feathers with fabrics. “At the moment, most poultry feathers end up in landfills, where they decompose very slowly,” said the company’s Head of Design Mohsin Sajid. “The down feathers are fluffy because they don’t have the little hooks at the end of all their branches that exterior feathers have.”

“They are mostly beta-keratin protein strands which are already twisted and cross-linked and they’re strong, water-resistant and long lasting. The down feather branches float free, trapping air to provide more insulation – they’re warmer than wool and cheaper too – and they also provide a pleasing nap character in the denim.”

Smart Jeans

Following the success of athleisure – the tailoring of denim for activewear – Kassim has teamed up with the young Belgian company Bainisha to introduce the concept of sensor-containing, body-monitoring Smart Jeans. “The health of a lot of people, especially the elderly, can be improved by capturing motion and analysing posture and gait on a medical data level – outside of the lab during day-to-day life,” the company explains.

The jeans contain a self-adhesive sensor at the knee, attached by a textile cable connector to an RF transmitter in the pocket, all of which is totally unobtrusive, and from which considerable data can be obtained.

Natural fibre option

With sustainability high on the agenda for denim fabric manufacturers, Japanese Washi paper is the latest natural fibre option now being employed in weft yarns for denim by Hong Kong-headquartered Mou Fung. Kozo, a type of mulberry, is the most commonly used fibre in making Washi paper.

“The fabric has a great dry hand feel and streaky effect that highlights the paper content,” said Sales Manager Roy Yim. “It a unique denim look and the jeans are completely washable and highly durable.”

With two Montex stenters and two Monforts sanforizers at its plant in Zhuhai, China, Mou Fung has been successfully producing high quality denim since 1970.

www.monforts.com