Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd. has developed a linen-like fiber that boasts a highly fresh, natural appearance for extra-comfortable outerwear, jackets, bottoms and blouses.
Teijin Frontier will commercially launch the new fiber in the spring/summer 2019 season, targeting annual sales of 250,000 meters by the fiscal year ending March 2021.
Natural-like synthetic fibers are drawing attention due to their combination of functionality, easy care and cost performance at a time when natural fiber prices are rising due to growing demand for natural materials. Moreover, high-functional linen-like materials are gaining popularity with the reprisal of certain 1980s retro styles. In response, Teijin Frontier has developed its linen-like polyester by utilizing a special technique to capture the unique uneven feeling of linen. The fiber, in addition to offering the resilience, luster and natural appearance of linen, boast properties that natural linen materials do not offer, easy care and functions adding.
For a fully natural look, the difference between the thickest and thinnest parts of the yarn is about 1.5 times in diameter. The material is a slub yarn in which thin and thick parts appear alternately, with the thick parts measuring 100 mm or more in length. Thanks to its special structure, the new fiber maintains its linen-like appearance even in circular knitted fabrics.
While natural linen is prone to wrinkling and bleaching, the linen-like polyester is wrinkle resistant, and retains its color thanks to dimensional stability. Furthermore, the fiber does not stick to skin, is stretchable, washable, can be tailored, and is pleasingly comfortable due to its fine uneven surface.