Performance fabric styles debut at Showtime
By Susan M. Andrews -- Casual Living, 6/1/2007 12:00:00 AM
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A fresh color line debuted at Ultrafabrics in its expanded Brisa Soleil line of high performance faux leather. |
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Wearbest Sil-Tex featured bright colors and happy patterns in its latest collection of Bella-Dura performance fabric. |
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Crawford, from the Modern Glamour Group, part of Glen Raven's new World Class Sunbrella Collection, looks like a silk damask, but with easy care and cleaning properties. |
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Craftex Mills' Meridian Sun line of outdoor fabrics debuted Wishes, a sweet, fresh pattern of dandelions. |
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Graceful palm fronds wave on a cotton print called Hawaiian Eye from Big Kahuna. |
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Natural motifs with contemporary flair are showcased in the High Point Collection of fabric and trim from Astrup. |
The same characteristics that make fabrics suitable for casual and outdoor use are craved by consumers for their every day indoor residential furniture as well, which makes performance fabrics an important draw for furniture manufacturers who shop the semiannual Showtime fabric show each December and June in High Point, N.C.
Although colors for outdoor fabrics can be bright, manufacturers take care to style and color for indoor residential use as well, so that shoppers who want the easy-care characteristics of performance fabrics will have no trouble finding just-right patterns and colors.
Wearbest Sil-Tex, which introduced its Bella-Dura performance fabric two years ago, introduced a range of additional patterns, as well as a reclamation program to ensure that when the fabric's life ends, it will be reclaimed and recycled. Bella-Dura also recently extended its warranty for residential fabrics to five years. The line now features a Plush version in chenille, a Bella-Dura Awning fabric, and a Crypton fabric made with Bella-Dura fibers, plus the Crypton moisture barrier characteristic.
Glen Raven introduced the World Class Sunbrella Collection, segmented into five trend groups — Ivy League, Adventure Capital, Modern Glamour, Bali Hi and Bold Over. Glen Raven's Ivy League group includes argyle patterns, with coordinating florals and stripes in soft, coastal tones. Adventure Capital focuses on global looks that pair well with animal skin patterns and are available as chenille and boucle textures. Modern Glamour is updated classic patterns; Bali Hi is tropical; and Bold Over features vibrant colors and graphical patterns.
Craftex Mills' Denise Gutierrez, director of merchandising, said Craftex added about 40 patterns to its line of Meridian Sun outdoor fabrics. "We exclusively use polypropylene fiber from American Fibers and Yarns and a tapestry warp construction, which gives us unlimited styling ability," Gutierrez said. The company focused on expanding its color palette and the use of boucle yarns for the spring line of Meridian Sun, which ranges from $12.95 to $16.95 a yard for furniture manufacturers.
Weave Corp. introduced transitional, traditional and contemporary patterns in its WeatherWize indoor-outdoor performance fabric collection. WeatherWize, made of 100% polyester, features an extensive color range and meets industry standards for light-fastness.
Ultrafabrics introduced almost two dozen new colors of its Ultraleather Brisa performance polyurethane, which is also available in an outdoor version called Brisa Soleil. New colors included brights like parrot, lawn and citrus greens, Riviera blues, apricot, mandarin and a range of neutrals that include metallic sterling and gilt.
Valtekz, a specialist in synthetic leathers, faux skins and premium composite fabrics for both indoor and outdoor use, launched its Celerie Kemble Volume 4 collection, which included Ostrich Pearl, a pearlized version of ostrich skin in colors like hazelnut and pomegranate, and Moray, an eel-skin pattern in cadet blue and putty.
Big Kahuna Fabrics, a specialist in tropical prints for residential and outdoor furniture, introduced a number of tropical and transitional prints on bark cloth in acrylic and spun polyester constructions with inherent outdoor-worthy performance such as resistance to sun fading.
Other items of news about outdoor fabrics came from Altizer & Co. which has expanded its Al Fresco line of outdoor fabrics that are available in full pieces, half-pieces and cut-yardage programs; and from Marlatex, which has added new looms at its Gastonia, N.C., plant especially to weave its Sunsation outdoor fabric line.
Major suppliers like Richloom Fabric Group, maker of Solarium, and Quaker Fabric, maker of Terrazzo, expanded the indoor styling of those outdoor fabrics lines as well.
DuraCord, a division of The Hammock Source, did not show at Showtime this season, but will launch its Onyx Bay collection of performance fabrics at the Casual Market in Chicago. The line is suitable for indoor and outdoor residential upholstery and is cleanable with soap and water or bleach solution.
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