New silk-lile polyester fabric. © Teijin

Teijin Frontier, the Teijin Group's fibres and products converting company, has developed a polyester fabric that looks and feels like fine silk. Teijin Frontier, which envisions various applications for its silk-like material, such as blouses and outers from thin to medium thicknesses, is targeting annual sales of 150,000 metres by the fiscal year ending in March 2022.

“While high-function materials made with synthetic fibres are recently established as fashion trend in the market, demand also has been growing for natural-texture materials made with natural fibres,” the company reports.

“Materials in which delicate fibre fluff is expressed, or fibrillated, on the surface of the fabric for smooth textures, similar to silk or cupro, are becoming popular, but these materials have problems with colour fastness in wet condition, yarn strength, colour migration, fading due to fluff release and shape loss by washing.”

Fabricated surface cross section. © Teijin

Teijin Frontier responded by developing unique processing technologies to produce a new stable, easy-care polyester fabric that boasts the soft texture and fine appearance of silk produced by wild silkworms.

This new material’s specially fabricated surface is soft and glossy, holds bright colouring, resists colour migration, shrinkage and shape loss by using polyester fibres with excellent colour fastness and fibre strength, according to the manufacturer.

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