With the booming of e-commerce and athleisure trend, as well as the advent of customization, tailor-made clothing can better address the diverse consumer needs.

According to the data from GlobalData, in the past two years, the consumer needs for great comfort, high performance, and superior design has driven the demand for functional clothing.  68% of consumers who purchased clothing for sports also wore them for eating out and shopping.

With the rising athleisure trend, the brands and the retailers should find a sweet spot between function and fashion for their products in order to gain a foothold in the industry.

In China, sports-inspired footwear and sports-inspired apparel are the two largest segments in China’s sportswear market. According to the report by Fung Business Intelligence, the combined sales of the two segments totaled RMB 144.5 billion in 2018, or around 54.5 % of the total sportswear sales in China.

Nowadays, consumers are concerned about the clothing size when they are shopping online as the conventional size cannot fit all shapes. The apparel brands, therefore, provide return and exchange services to meet their needs. Ultimately, it has greatly increased the operating costs of brands.

Meanwhile, the personalized consumption is more obvious, and consumers are more concerned about the great-fitting of apparel than ever before. Clothing which offers customized fit experience is more appealing to consumers.

LYCRA® is the brand name of the original spandex fiber which focuses on “The Science of FIT™”. By integrating science with apparel market research, fabric certification, body 3D-scanning, etc., the brand has developed a variety of fibers for different types of clothing.

LYCRA® focuses on The Science of FIT™.

“We focus heavily on The Science of FIT™. Our products and technologies meet the consumer demand for customization, providing maximum comfort, superior design and unique experience,” said Dr. Jack Yang,  R&D Director, Asia, The LYCRA Company.

As a technical veteran in the industry, Dr. Yang has leaded his team to achieve significant development in the world's largest market. LYCRA’s new Advanced Textile Innovation Center (ATIC) established in Foshan, China in May this year is the best proof of the company’s support for the development of the Chinese textile industry market.

Dr. Jack Yang, R&D Director, Asia, The LYCRA Company.

Committed to R&D, possessing several patented technologies

The LYCRA Company has more than 1,000 patented and patent-pending technologies. In addition to the renowned LYCRA® dualFX® technology, the company has recently developed LYCRA® FREEF!T® technology, LYCRA® XFIT technology, LYCRA® FitSense™ technology and LYCRA® MyFit™ fiber.

Thanks to these fibers and technologies, mills, brands and retailers can create fabrics and garments with lasting flexibility, comfort and shape retention.

For knitted fabrics, LYCRA® FitSense™ technology is an ideal solution.  It is a patented water-based dispersion that features the same molecule as LYCRA® fiber, but in liquid form. This revolutionary innovation is screen printed onto fabric containing LYCRA® fiber to provide lightweight, targeted support across a range of garment types.

This solution also helps streamline garment manufacturing through the elimination of sewn-in panels or extra seams and offers unlimited design possibilities for brands and retailers.

LYCRA® FitSense™ technology provides lightweight, targeted support across a range of garment types.

Dr. Yang explained: “The water-based LYCRA® polymer dispersion adds power to garments for targeted compression, support and lift. In this way, LYCRA® FitSense™ technology allows increased modulus and recovery power in specific areas on the body where it’s needed, providing a customized solution for consumers. ”

LYCRA® MyFit™ fiber is a patent-pending fiber technology engineered with a new polymer designed to deliver improved comfort and fit. The result is greater shape tolerance and a customized fit experience for a range of body shapes within a size.

LYCRA® MyFit™ fiber delivers a customized fit experience for a range of body shapes.

Dr. Yang described the functionality of the product: “Our LYCRA® MyFit™ fiber technology uses the new polymer materials to change the order of the molecules so as to deliver fibers with better elasticity. As a result, we can offer a customized fit experience for a range of body shapes within a size.”

For woven fabrics, LYCRA®XFIT technology uses unique technologies for producing fabrics with easy stretch and great recovery, offering durable, comfort experience, as well as a variety of apparel styles.

LYCRA® FREEF!T® technology can help address consumer needs by providing the optimum balance of comfort in wear and shape retention. Comparing to typical stretch fabrics, the fabrics using LYCRA® FREEF!T® technology deliver a much lower compression force, hence offering more freedom to move.

Only the authentic LYCRA® brand fibers which fulfill the stringent standards are provided with LYCRA® brand hangtags. The LYCRA® brand hangtags used by garment brands and retailers in markets are an assurance of quality. As introduced, some prominent apparel brands are applying LYCRA® technologies for their products, including Maidenform,ONLY, Jack & Jones, etc.

Maidenform’s new shapewear provides innovative ultra-lightweight fabric, and targeted ultra-firm control powered by LYCRA® FitSense™ technology.

ONLY high-waist, skinny stretch jeans. The fabrics adopt LYCRA® XFIT technology which provide fantastic fit and comfort.

Jack & Jones men's slim stretch jeans crafted with LYCRA® FREEF! T® technology are fit, comfortable and breathable.

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