Sportswear fabrics are the key ingredient to the performance of any active or sportswear garment. It’s the blend of different fibres and even the construction and shape of the fibre creates the performance of all activewear. In addition, changing the weight, construction, structure and finish all affect the overall performance of the material and help define the performance of the sportswear.
Most sportswear brands simply select and purchase performance sportswear fabrics from their selection of trusted fabric mills based on general performance requirements but essentially, they are based on cost.
At Blue Associates Sportswear, we work with a very large network of fabric mills around the world that produce performance materials from $1.50 up to $40 per meter, all offering completely different levels of performance and quality. When ultimate comfort and performance is required for the athlete and off the shelf simply won’t do, we have the ability to develop bespoke materials to help elevate the performance and tailor this to our client’s requirements.
This can go as deep as our clients require and we have created sportswear fabrics that have a very detailed specification that includes-:
· Fibre construction and shape
· Fabric construction and weave
· Specific mix of fibres
· Specific weight of material
· Breathability specifications
· Waterproof specification
· Durability and pilling specification
By understanding the athlete’s performance requirements to maintain their comfort and therefore active performance we can engineer performance sportswear fabrics to their exact needs. We can make materials more breathable, durable, softer, harder wearing, faster wicking, quicker drying or more water and windproof all by specifying how the fabrics should be constructed and by using what fibres.
We then test these bespoke fabrics, both in a lab against the nearest and best off the shelf sportswear fabrics but also in the field, by athletes that complete a blind test. This is completed by creating garments made with the left half from fabric “A” and the right side in fabric “B”. The garments don’t look the prettiest as the fabrics are usually never the same colour but it’s the only way to get real feedback from an athlete in the field who has no prior knowledge of what the performance of each material is or how it should perform.
Not only do we evaluate their comments, we can also study the wear performance of each material after a specific number of hours/days/months testing and a prescribed number of washes so we can be 100% confident we create performance sportswear fabrics that completely outperform off the shelf materials.
If you are looking for high-performance sportswear fabrics and are a little bemused at the myriad of choices and marketing mumbo jumbo that surrounds many of these then get in touch, We can help point you in the right direction or even create bespoke materials that will give your product a real advantage against the competition.
