Advent of Lycra in Global Fashion

The body beautiful never felt the need to be more in shape than now with the dawn of Lycra as a fashion fabric tailored for all occasions - not just to exercise in . In 1959, when du Pont Company introduced was a super stretching spandex fibre. Today the name Lycra has turned into a generic term for all stretch fabrics whether silk or cotton.

Fabrics with the use of Lycra, have the ability to stretch five to six times their length and recover back to their original length. The composition of Lycra is a man made elastane fibre that is actually segmented polyurethane. Being composed of soft or flexible segments, which are bounded together with a hard or rigid segment, it is this molecular structure, which gives the fibre its ability to stretch and return to its original shape. Lycra moved from the ladies underwear girdle to the outerwear section rapidly. Long before Lycra came into the market, the garn1ent industry relied on rubber for inducing stretch into the item. But rubber had its disadvantages unlike Lycra.

It could not be dyed easily; it was relatively coarse and heavy and did not make the garments comfortable. It was worn out faster with perspiration and body oils.Lycra is never used in its purest form but in combination with natural or manmade fibres or blends of both. Lycra is now introduced into organic cotton clothing materials. The purist may argue that if so much care has gone into the growing and processing of organic cotton then why adulterate it with a synthetic material made of polyurethane.The reason is simple in order to get organic clothing more mainstream and to create the maximum benefits for people, organic cotton needs to have the same sort of performance as conventional products so that clothes could make fit better, more durable, and overall to work really well. The trouble is, the only yams that can do this are made from polyurethane. Though, the entire organic clothing industry worldwide acknowledges this, and all the official standards say that it's perfectly OK to call a fabric 'organic' as long as it is at least 95% organic cotton or organic wool & few percent elastane. And it's literally millions of times less pollution than one kilo of non-organic cotton would produce.

There is however starting to be some focus on the chemicals used to make elastane, which is as we learned earlier, a type of polyurethane. The plus point is that the combination of Lycra with organic cotton would not only enhance style and durability but the modern consumer would also like the way it makes things fit It may not be a perfect solution but if organic clothing is going to be able to compete in a market, it must stand up to its conventional cotton competitors and has to offer the same standards that the consumer has come to enjoy.

If someone can find a stretchy yarn that can replace Lycra, then the organic clothing industry would be extremely pleased to hear it but till then Lycra is invincible in soothe & style. Of late, Lycra is no more seen as a synthetic fabric that can only be used in athletic or sporty clothing. Due to the flexibility factor. designers have started experimenting with it in other accessories as well. Designers believe that its comfortability, its stretch and finish offer them limitless possibilities of experimentation and even come up with special collections. As a result, the fibre is fast becoming designer's choice. Experiments are also going on with it in footwear and lampshades.

In T-shirts, it is used at times for the garment as well as the embellishments like collar and cuffs. As Lycra is good for both casual and eveningwear so it is there in eveningwear, casual dress, saris and kaftans. Especially, the denim jean has undergone a revolution thanks largely to Lycra which has opened up a realm of new possibilities for design, look, comfort and fit in denim fashion. This revolution in denim has been demanded by women who want their jeans to do more and work harder most notably they want jeans to flatter: to shape their curves, where they need a little 'lift and line', Weather-neutral Lycra is fast becoming the new buzzword of the fashion fratemity. Its features of stretch and comfort have always been an advantage.

Lycra with the desirable properties of natural leather has also allowed designers to use super lightweight leather, which enhances the sleek sophistication and sexy look in designs and allows garments to be cut dangerously close to the body to highlight arcs. Hot new trends will also immediately excited global fashion designers to design clothes with this fabrication. Undoubtedly, integral part of Fitting, come together way, with the most revolutionary invention in fibre to date. Today, Lycra is used by world famous designers, apparel retailers, automobile industry like, Marks and Spencers in tracksuits, by Prosche in car sun roofs, by Yves St Laurent in briefs, by Levis and Lee in Jeans and by top fashion designers like Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Christian Dior, Azzedine Alaia, Donna Karan and Jean Paul Gaultire, The fascinating fabric would surely add new dimensions in the time ahead. Lycra has become an fashion apparels. comfort and fashion in an inimitable.