Sports to Sportswear
The next big thing in fashion could be performance fabrics
The line between sports and fashion is becoming as thin as a thread of microfiber.
Thanks to emerging fabric technologies and evolving lifestyle trends, designers of ready-to-wear fashions are taking their cue from performance athletics, thus creating new opportunities for manufacturers and retailers alike.
It’s no coincidence that such designers as Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Comme des Garcons’ Rei Kawakubo have hooked up with authentic sports brands including Adidas, Puma and Speedo to create performance clothing and footwear with a fashion element.
Likewise, non-sports apparel companies are borrowing more technology from athletics and other areas to enhance their ready-to-wear offerings.
For example, Brooks Brothers recently began weaving women’s shirts out of Dow XLA, a specialty fiber originally created as a chlorine-resistant material for the swimwear market. The fiber was the only one that could withstand the extremely high temperatures needed to turn the fabric into a “non-iron” garment, said Dow spokeswoman Amanda Cease.
“Other shirts can claim non-iron, but the tradeoff is they can’t provide stretch,” Cease explained, “because until now there was no stretch fiber on the market that could be both stretch and non-iron. It just wasn’t durable enough.”
Menswear manufacturers have been using the moisture-wicking fabric technologies found in activewear for shirts and other garments. Stays Cool suits are one of the best-selling products of Hampstead, Md.–based retailer Jos. A Bank. The suits’ fabrics were originally developed by NASA to help regulate body temperature.
The “Smart Fabric Technology” now marketed by Boulder, Colo.–based Outlast Technologies Inc. is built into suit linings and won’t trap heat on hot summer days and during stressful hours on the job. Outlast supplies a host of companies, including Nordstrom, Dockers, North Face, Burton and Adidas.
The tech element is becoming a hot trend in menswear. A recent survey by Port Washington, N.Y.–based market research firm NPD Group showed that about 30 percent of menswear is enhanced with some type of technical feature.
Supporting the movement is Emeryville, Calif.–based Nano-Tex LLC, which has developed fabric treatments that do everything from resist spills to wick away moisture. The company is marketing directly to manufacturers, retailers and mills. Apparel retailers such as Eddie Bauer have been taking advantage, using Nano-Tex’s Coolest Comfort treatment, which has moisture-wicking properties. Lands’ End is using the company’s Resists Spills repellent for its trench coats.
Even diversified sports brands such as Beaverton, Ore.–based Nike Inc. and Speedo, a division of Warnaco Swimwear Group based in Los Angeles, are drawing features from their own top-line products for use in their activewear.
Both companies are outfitting numerous athletes for the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, Feb. 10–26 with form-fitting bodysuits that employ the latest in fabric technology and aerodynamics engineering.
Speedo’s Fastskin FSII swimsuit, created for athletes at the Athens Olympics in 2004, has been revamped for the ice in Torino with a version called Fastskin FSII Ice. The United States’ top bobsledders, luge and skeleton racers plan to wear the suits in Italy. The suits are made from two proprietary fabrics, Flexskin and Fastskin, which are designed to improve aerodynamics.
Nike’s Swift Skin, used by track-and-field athletes at Athens and at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, has also been adapted for winter sports and will be used by skaters in long- and short-track speedskating. Both companies use the suits as inspiration for their activewear and more casual clothing. Speedo now markets Fastskin FSII camisoles and cap-sleeved T-shirts as well as swimsuits.
Plus, the company has carried down features—such as nine-thread flatlock stitching—-from the Fastskin to its general swim line to improve comfort and fabric-shape retention, explained Craig Brommers, Speedo’s vice president of marketing. The company’s presence at Torino outside of its warm-weather turf should also perpetuate its message that its products are built for speed, whether in the pool or on the ice. “Speedo is looking to layer the cool factor over the rational equities of the brand. What could be cooler than an athlete barreling down the ice headfirst at 90 miles per hour?” said Brommers.
Puma has released a line of tech apparel called Ouninpohja, which blends lifestyle elements with performance-based products.
“It’s a mixture of street influences, urban outerwear and tech materials and is designed for adventurous outdoor activities, while being more sophisticated and modern than the typical outdoor product,” said Puma’s Kristina Fields.
Other companies, including Santa Ana, Calif.–based Dream Works Knitting, have employed athletic materials and high-tech equipment to create seamless tops for the fashion market. The company uses Italian circular-knitting machines by Santoni to produce the tops made from nylon, spandex, Lurex and micro-Modal. The result is tops that are sleeker and more comfortable, said designer Anna Chavez. The company has a branded line called Idee, sold through Leila Ross Sales at The New Mart in Los Angeles. Dream Works also does private-label work for Guess and Arden B., among others.
“We’re experimenting with silks now,” Chavez said. “We’re trying to take this technology to the next level.”
While ready-to-wear makers have been dipping into the athletics market, athletics companies have brought more fashion to the plate.
McQueen is collaborating with Puma for a collection of footwear due out in spring. McCartney is on her third collection of activewear for Adidas. Kawakubo has produced swimwear for Speedo. Other collaborations include John Varvatos and Converse, Philip Treacy and Umbro, and Junya Watanabe for Fred Perry.
Also helping to fuse sports and fashion are activities like yoga, which has spurred the success of retailers and manufacturers including Lululemon Athletica and model-designer Christy Turlington, who collaborates with Puma for its Nuala and Mahanuala lines. The company recently recruited Los Angeles designer Magda Berliner to help Turlington design the line, starting with the Fall ’06 collection.
The McCartney-Adidas marriage has helped to fill a void in both the fashion and athletics markets, said Adidas spokeswoman Kristin Wise.
“Stella designed this collection for women who take both their sport and style seriously,” she said.
McCartney is adding tennis to the collection, following up on her designs for running, gym clothes and swimwear. Layered dresses, pleated skirts, cropped jackets and fitted polo shirts will use anti-microbial fabric treatments and Adidas’ fiber technologies Clima 365, X-Static and Infinitex.
“All of the pieces—but particularly within the gym-workout category—are easy transition pieces from the gym to street to the lounge,” Wise said.
