Indigo Knit: Denim’s Answer to Athleisure
Athleisure apparel earns high marks for being comfortable and soft—qualities that until recently were unfamiliar territory for the denim market.
Rather than allow activewear to gain market share, denim is biting back with innovations in indigo knits led by mills in China. The country has become fertile ground for what many denim experts, including Adriano Goldschmied, believe will be the next big thing in denim.
“China is an important country for R&D and the production of denim products,” said Liang Hong, Hengliang Co. Ltd general manager. “The improvements and innovation in indigo knits in China have reached a new advanced level. Quality is good and stable, and capacity is reliable.”
“The supply chain in China is well established. Both fabric mills and garment factories have the expertise and experience to handle indigo knits and jeans,” added Zong Wen Wang, Advance Denim Co. Ltd general manager.
H&M, American Eagle Outfitters, Benetton, Gap and more tout indigo knit products in their collections and mills report that the category is growing. Vita Co. Ltd General Manager Iris Chen said the interest in the mill’s indigo knits is on par with interest in high stretch and soft fabrications.
“In the beginning, premium denim brands were asking for indigo knits. Now, I think brands from all price points are coming to us for indigo knits,” said Emma Chen, Congling Co. Ltd general manager. The mill reported that demand for indigo knit has increased 20-30 percent from last year.
Comfort is driving consumer interest in indigo knits. Since athleisure style is already popular, the combination of indigo and knit provides a new comfortable concept to consumers with the added fashion benefits of authentic denim character.
“We believe soft hand feel, good stretch and good recovery are the most important features that are needed,” said Wang of Advance Denim. “TENCEL® is important in this category because TENCEL® fiber can provide the special soft touch in our indigo knit.”
The mill developed an indigo knit called LYCRA® Hybrid. The fabrication has the performance of high stretch and high recovery of knit fabric together with the traditional denim character—a trend that Wang expects to grow in popularity.
“We believe the legging and yoga style are still the trends for the indigo knit. However, we think another trend is indigo knit with authentic character,” Wang said.
Indigo knits for T-shirts has been a steady trend for Congling, but now the mill’s bottom weights are picking up traction, including a 350gm indigo knit, which is equivalent to a 12.3 oz. denim.
Some of Congling’s most popular items are bottom weight knits with TENCEL®. Along with adding a sustainable story to their collection, the fiber adds strength and value that a standard cotton knit wouldn’t be able to achieve. “We offer a very unique product because our products are indigo knits that look like denim. We use special fibers like Lenzing Modal® and TENCEL® for an even higher perceived value,” Chen said.
Unlike activewear, mills view indigo knit as an opportunity that won’t hurt their existing woven business. Indigo knits are a four season business, with jerseys and twill knits trending for spring/summer season and French terry and heavy weight fabrics popular for fall/winter.
The perks of indigo knit are aplenty for brands too. Hong said the production process for indigo knit is easier and shorter than woven denim fabrics and the process is comparatively flexible for sampling and volume production. He added that the mill can also respond quickly to bulk delivery.
Knit indigo presents its own set of challenges including issues with wash shrinkage, however the development of warp knitting has streamlined the process. “We have already had warp indigo knits technology, which has greatly improved the efficiency of our production,” said Hong.
While most indigo knit business is in women’s, mills said there’s potential for men’s and children’s. Seventy percent of Hengliang’s indigo knit sales is in women’s high stretch. Hong reported that menswear prefers indigo single jersey for T-shirts and bottom weight indigo knits for hoodies.
“Indigo denim will never be out of fashion, it is already accepted in consumers’ deep conscious,” said Hong. “Indigo knits provides the strongest qualities of knit fabrics, which solves some of the problems of traditional woven denim…Nowadays, many woven denim mills are trying their best to imitate indigo knit products. But indigo knits cannot be replaced.”