Several Japanese textile trading firms and converters say that while the market conditions for fall/winter 2017 fabrics are totally poor, they are speeding up their proposals and presentations for the season. They are aggressively launching high value-added fabrics to overcome the worsening market conditions, and synthetic fabrics with a natural look and feel are likely to become popular.
According to Stylem Co., Ltd., spun-like synthetic fabrics will be one of the important materials. Takisada Nagoya Co., Ltd. notes that synthetic fabrics are coming in an enriched variety, such as those that resemble natural materials. Sunwell Co., Ltd. also indicates synthetic fabrics that look like cotton or wool are being used extensively.
Polyester and nylon fabrics that have easy care property and look like natural fiber materials such as cotton are likely to play a leading role for fall/winter 2017. Together with “woven-like jersey” and “jersey-like woven fabrics”, this trend has been steadily gaining momentum during the past several seasons, and the variety has rapidly expanded for the fall/winter 2017 season.
The trend is the same both for women’s and men’s. At Kawagoshi Masa Co., Ltd., which handles mainly men’s fabrics, mix-weaves composed of nylon warp and indigo cotton weft have been popular for the past few seasons, and in response to its popularity, it is introducing for fall/winter 2017 an item that uses Invista Cordura in place of nylon.
The superior technological capabilities of the Hokuriku textile production district are heavily involved in the rise of spun-like synthetic fabrics. For instance, Marui Orimono has introduced an original brand of polyester filament fabrics that have a spun-like look and texture, and these fabrics are well received. Kaytay Texinno Inc. is also accelerating the development of spun-like synthetic fabrics for its Kantian original fabric brand.