Like denim itself, new finishes for this popular and versatile fabric can
provide either functional utility or fashionable flair.


0n one front, finishes recently developed and tested at Cotton Incorporated’s World Headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, are proving to make denim even more resilient and appropriate for one of its original uses ? hard-wearing work clothes.

“We originally took this project on based upon a request from Williamson Dickey Company to find a way to extend the life of their work denim,” Dr. John Turner, consulting chemist, explains. “This led to a series of about 500 different experiments conducted over two years using a variety of chemicals and procedures that eventually resulted in more desirable performance.”
Turner and his Cotton Incorporated research team found “certain finishes offered marked improvements in wear life, as well as hand, drape and color retention. Best of all, most of these chemicals are not exotic to fabric finishing facilities. There are also many options available at varying costs. It’s generally a matter of how certain chemicals are combined and the temperatures at which they are cured after application.”

It was learned that appropriate amounts of a suitable polyethylene improved the wear life of denim and other non-durable press cotton garments. In addition, the hand could be softened further with silicone finishes.

For the fashion market, Kathryn Novakovic, Cotton Incorporated director, the cottonworks® Fabric Library, is also noticing an increasing range of finish choices for the denim market. “Denim continues to be a staple ? just look in any fashion magazine. And in the last couple of years it has really gone high-end and high fashion,” she observes, “and the new denim finishes have helped this trend evolve.” She continues, “Even houses like Chanel and Roberto Cavalli are showing denim, and it’s gone well beyond jeans.”

Denim’s continued, and rising, popularity is opening new worlds of possibility for finishes. According to Joe Ieraci, trend director at Burlington Worldwide Denim, the fashion denim market can be divided into two main categories: “authentic,” including designs from Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren Polo and Levi’s; and “high fashion,” which is more influenced by directions from Europe and led by Diesel and a number of high-end designer labels.

“The ‘authentic’ companies emphasize treatments that bring out the character of denim fabric,” Ieraci explains. While he notes that this is not a new direction for these brands, every season brings additional variations. Streaky looks, for instance, are attained through sandblasting, bleaching or hand abrasion of indigo dye off vertical yarns in the weave. This segment of the market also offers over-dyed garment tints, with colors changing from year to year, according to the latest trends.

“Styling and function, enhanced through new dyeing and finishing techniques,
will continue to help keep denim an important apparel fabric for years to come.”

KATHRYN NOVAKOVIC
Director, the cottonworks® Fabric Library

It’s the “high fashion” category, however, that really breaks new ground in this area. “These designers are not as concerned with the fabric,” Ieraci observes. “First and foremost is color play. Many of these looks come out of Italy, as influenced by Martelli, a large laundry operation there.”

Among the latest trends is the use of a recently developed generation of sulfur dyes. “This is a new twist on sulfur dyes,” Ieraci says. “The yarn used in denim is dyed in a series of vats. If a sulfur dye of a color other than indigo is used in the first vat, it’s called ‘bottom’ sulfur dyed; if it’s used in the last vat, it’s called ‘top’ sulfur dyed,” he explains. “Each leaves its own distinctive cast on the finished garment, with bottom dyeing being more subtle. Black was the original sulfur color, but we’re starting to see the development of new tints, including shades of green, which are expected to be in stores this fall.

“The latest spin on this is the use of a new chlorine resistant sulfur dye,” Ieraci reports. “In the areas where the finished garment is bleached, the indigo dye comes out of the yarn, leaving the sulfur-dyed color, which is resistant to the chlorine in the bleach.” Variations on this, he explains, can be achieved by spraying the bleach in a variety of ways and on different parts of the jean. Machine application, for instance, will result in a more uniform look than more expensive handwork.

Even using standard yarn-dyed denim, designers are stripping away the indigo in certain areas, and then over-dyeing the entire denim in a different color. “Currently, the market is still playing off of brown and khaki, but a different color direction is starting to emerge,” Ieraci notes. “We’re starting to see the more expensive denim lines using new ranges of red, especially berry shades and pink. Also, tints and colors are becoming lighter.”

In addition, Ieraci sees the methods used for stripping away the indigo before over-dyeing ? bleach, sandblasting, mechanical abrasion, etc. ? enabling a host of possibilities. “And,” he adds, “if just the thigh area is abraded by hand, only that portion of the jean would take on the new color. This can also be done on a back pocket, the waistband or the entire garment.”

As with most other apparel trends, both Ieraci and Novakovic predict these looks will trickle down from the upscale to the mass market. “In some ways, it’s been happening already,” Novakovic notes. “We’ve already seen a lot of washed denim at places like Wal-Mart, and sand abrasion has been kicking around for a while and is now more widely offered at a variety of retailers.”

The needs for both the fashion-forward and discount customer might be different, but Novakovic is certain that both styling and function, enhanced through new dyeing and finishing techniques, will continue to help keep denim an important apparel fabric for years to come.