COTTON’S NEW FEEL
Byline: Allegra Holch
NEW YORK — Cotton will take on added dimension for fall 1996 with new blends such as cotton and nylon and high-tech coatings for fabrics.
That was the word from Jo Clark, manager of Cotton Incorporated’s Cottonworks fabric library, in a recent trend presentation at the organization’s offices here.
Clark called her presentation “Precision” to reflect the move to somewhat more structure in silhouettes and divided her presentation into three categories of fabrics. She called them Expansion, Metropolis and Foundation.
The Expansion group focuses on futuristic fabric looks with coatings and finishes that break with tradition. “The coated fabrics are what we’re most excited about,” said Clark. She pointed to wax coatings on cotton twill, polyurethane-coated denim and rubberized poplin as some of the more innovative looks for cotton-based fabrics. Other coatings will give a leather look to cotton fabrics, she said.
Eclectic prints and patterns, including reptile on twill, funky computer- generated prints and animal prints, are all a part of this group.
Shine will continue to be important but in a subtle way, and cotton blended with man-made fibers will produce the effect, she said. One new blend, she said, will be cotton and nylon.
At the core of the Metropolis group are suiting fabrics with a “citified” look, Clark said.
“These fabrics would be too sophisticated for the junior or children’s market,” Clark said. She cited yarn-dyed plaids, houndstooth and chalk stripes that “update gray flannel looks” and knits disguised as wovens as important elements in this category.
Foundation is about leisure time, with a focus on “cozy, comfortable fabrics,” said Clark. Chambray and embossed denims, yarn-dyed plaids bonded with flannel and corduroy in a variety of wales are some of the key looks in this category. Prints are “neat and tidy” in checks and tiny florals, Clark said.