Chambray Takes Stage at Texworld USA
Denim is having its day and demand for chambray is up as a result.
If one thing was clear at Texworld USA July 12-14 in New York City, it was that denim looks are definitely in and buyers are searching for ways to not only capitalize, but to innovate around the trend.
And that’s where chambray comes in.
The woven fabric that gets its look from having an often indigo-colored yarn in the warp and a white yarn in the weft—just like denim does, only not a twill construction—has a similar appearance as denim, but because it can come in much lighter-weight iterations, the possibilities for use are almost endless.
Like mixing it with TENCEL® to add softness and drape to light weight fabrics to add a distinctive look.
China’s Changshou Dongheng Printing and Dyeing Co., part of the Lenzing Pavilion at Texworld USA, is making chambray out of 100 percent TENCEL® and customers are keen on the feel.
“It’s more soft and drapey, it’s light, mostly for summer season but also for spring shirts and casualwear,” Dongheng operations manager Grace Wu explained. “The hand feel is more soft than cotton and it’s shiny and it looks expensive quality.”
Chambray, Wu added, really is softness you can see.
“Because it’s drapey, it looks soft,” she said.
At Mozartex Co., also based in China, chambray is getting pigment printed for a tone on tone effect.
“We got the idea from Italy,” Joseph Huang of Mozartex said. “It’s something different.”
The company’s best seller, however, is a chambray fabric with slub yarns in the warp and weft. Womenswear brand Eileen Fisher has been using the uber-light fabric for the past two years. Mozartex chambray can be made as light as 40’s count.
“It’s the same weaving but with structure,” Huang said.
For Mozartex, the success of chambray, its beloved hand and the endless capabilities for washes, prints and effects, means it will remain part of the company’s offering for years.
“Your body never lies to you. Once you put it on, you’ll say ‘Wow, it’s drapier, it’s lighter, it’s cooler,’” Huang said. It’s why our customer comes to buy the TENCEL® shirting again and again.”
China’s Zheijian Matsui Textile Co. is using chambray with 100 percent TENCEL® or blended with linen, and giving it denim-like effects like rips, bleached looks, slub and garment wash, to name a few. But it’s the lightness that remains chambray’s biggest draw.
“For denim, light weight is more popular,” Matsui’s Moto Peng said.
Though not chambray, California-based Laguna Fabrics’ answer to the denim craze is indigo dye TENCEL® French terry and indigo dye knit cotton jersey with TENCEL®. The denim-look duds can come with a gradient wash, with bleach patterns and with other on-trend, typically denim effects to achieve desired looks.
“I feel like there was a big denim boom,” Laguna’s Matin Roshan said. “It’s just a really cool novelty fabric that not a lot of people sell.”
Beyond its eco-friendly and durability benefits, Roshan said TENCEL® adds to the fabric’s natural look and gives it just the right amount of drape and sheen.
“It’s just a nicer looking natural fiber,” he said.