Skinny jeans remain top sellers, but looser styles are chipping away at their long-standing market dominance. Comfort, which relies on a measure of stretch, remains a top priority for consumers, but goes against sustainable design guidelines that discourage fibre blends. These are the complex market dynamics that denim mills and manufacturers face with regards to elasticity. 

It may become a common dilemma going forward, when market trends come head-to-head with calls for more sustainable product. Coming out of the pandemic, slim fitting jeans may have lost some ground, but demand for comfort is way up. This signals that the cursor in elasticity may be moving away from super stretch towards comfort stretch.

Sales trends confirm that a tipping point has been reached. Straight-cut jeans surpassed skinny as the best-selling style for women in the United States in 2021, and represented one-third, or $3.3 billion, of the women’s jeans market segment for that year, says NPD Group, a market tracking firm. The entire segment grew 9% in 2021, compared to 2019, with skinny jeans the only style to experience a decline in sales.

Views on how this new denim cycle will evolve vary. “It is driven by Gen Z, TikTok, and the like,” says Ebru Ozaydin, head of marketing for denim at The Lycra Company. “But when you ask retailers what is selling, they say skinny is still dominant in North America and in Europe. Market data indicates that one third of sales are slim fits.”

Isko keeps a close eye on the evolution of consumer demand for stretch denims, the Turkey-based mill’s speciality. “Macro trends show that consumers want the authenticity and look of rigid denims, but not the feel of a true rigid denim,” says Mirela Slowik, category leader for stretch and performance at Isko. A recent survey across North America and Europe found that stretch jeans have not lost their high ranking in consumers’ wardrobes, and comfort and elasticity remain key, by a large margin, she tells Inside Denim.

There is a shift to looser fitting jeans, says Mike Simco, global marketing director for Hyosung, “however skinny jeans remain a top-selling product. Even looser fitting styles have spandex in them. Most brands we’ve spoken to say that stretch denim is a mainstay.” 

Pivot to comfort stretch

Spandex, or elastane, may be the dominant elastic yarn, but it requires special care when used in denims. Mills have widely adopted stretch polyesters that are said to better withstand fabric and garment processing. Lycra T400 A EcoMade, which contains both recycled and renewable content, is one of these and it is a key feature of Lycra Dual Comfort, The Lycra Company’s newest fibre technology for denims. Combining comfort stretch with a cooling effect, it also has higher resistance, as Silvia Toledo, senior marketing manager for the company points out: “A fabric made with Lycra Dual Comfort will have double the strength of a 100% cotton denim.”

Korean fibre producer Hyosung’s stretch polyester technology is called Xanadu. “These are conjugate yarns where the hemi-sphere of each filament has two different polyester polymers,” says Mr Simco. “Upon heating in dyeing and finishing, the differential shrinkage of each polymer causes the filaments to form mini springs, which give excellent stretch and recovery.”

Sorona, which is 37% biobased, is another  stretch polyester yarn. It was originally developed by DuPont Biomaterials, now renamed CovationBio by its new owner Huafon Group, a Chinese polymer producer. “The denim market will not do without a measure of stretch. But there are only a few ways to achieve elasticity without elastane and Sorona does it well,” says Matthew Cole, CovationBio’s marketing manager for The Americas. 

The rule of dual core 

These polyester stretch yarns are usually corespun, meaning they are covered with cotton fibres during spinning. Also known as dual core yarns, in reference to the bicomponent polyester, they help avoid the high shrinkage values of denims woven with elastane. This parameter is important at pattern making, cutting and garment finishing stages. “Each type of wash generates a different level of shrinkage, which means we have to test every fabric for every wash,” says Romain Narcy, partner, strategy and innovation manager for Ereks Blue Matters. In some cases, he says, shrinkage values may vary from roll to roll. The Turkey-based sustainability-focused garment manufacturer has experience with many of the dual core yarns and found Calik’s E-Last fabrics to be less prone to variations.

The secret to the Turkish mill’s E-Last denims is a special finishing that improves their dimensional stability. “Usually, shrinkage values are in the range of 12-13%. With E-Last we have brought this down to 6-8% across our entire range, including power-stretch and super-stretch references,” says Selen Ergül, senior marketing executive for Calik.

Dualistic, a concept Naveena Denim Mill (NDM) developed with The Lycra Company, is another dual core technology combining Lycra T400 A fibre with a special finishing process to achieve high mechanical stretch and recovery, the company states. “Dualistic fabrics do not contain any spandex, and can stretch up to 35%,” says Aydan Tuzun, head of global sales and marketing for the Pakistan-based mill.  

Countless other mills have embraced these dual core technologies. Turkish mill Kipas calls its version Dual Max. Brazil-based Vicunha says it is continuously working on new technologies to meet evolving market needs. "In terms of stretch technologies, for example, improvements have been made recently in their level of recovery,” says Ralf Dislich, the company’s managing director for Europe. 

Alternative elastomers

Italian mill Candiani started from scratch when it sought to create an elastic yarn made from natural rubber, which would ultimately lead to the launch of Coreva. “During the entire development process, I was systematically told that it was not physically possible. But Italians are good engineers, and they are creative engineers,” Alberto Candiani, company president, tells Inside Denim. The challenge was to create a thread that was fine enough for textile applications. This involved modifying the vulcanisation process and reintroducing spinning machines from the 1990s.

Used in proportions of 1-4% in a fabric, Coreva will allow a fabric to stretch from 15% up to 75%, but performs best in the 20-50% range, he says. 

As a result of its plant-based make, Coreva presents a better end of life profile compared to synthetic stretch yarns. “The yarns are so fine that they are not only degradable but also biodegradable and compostable,” says Mr Candiani. “And if a garment containing Coreva were to be shredded for mechanical recycling, it would be easier to separate out physically from the fabric.”

Despite its properties and eco-profile, its progress has been slow, due in part to the pandemic. Its higher cost makes it a niche product, he says, adding that Coreva is currently present in 5% of the mill’s production. He would like to bring it to 20% in the next five years. To support its development, the company is planning to launch a fully circular and sustainable consumer-facing brand built on Coreva technology. 

Xlance is another alternative stretch yarn with unique characteristics. First developed by Dow in the 1990s, the polyolefin-based elastomer is under new ownership, in which Italian warp-knitter Carvico is a minority shareholder.

Xlance sales manager Melissa D’Innella says that the company’s teams have been approaching the denim market for a year now. “In the past, Xlance was present in jeans, so we know it works,” she says. Trials are underway with an Italian mill to see how it stands up to the main processes used to make jeans, specifically its resistance to hypochlorite, ozone processing and laser finishing. Xlance delivers what the company calls “dosed” elasticity and makes up 2-3% of a fabric. “It can achieve up to 35% elongation, it may go higher, but we plan to position it as a comfort stretch solution,” she says. 

Presented as more sustainable than other synthetic elastomers, Xlance is reported to be produced in a solvent-free process and to present a high resistance to chemicals. It can be heat-set at relatively low temperatures (120°C), says Ms D’Innella, which makes it suitable for blends with other thermosensitive polymers such as PLA. 

Mechanical stretch options

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF) Jeans Redesign Guidelines has set the bar for non-cellulose content low, at just 1-2% by weight in a finished product, to make garments easier to recycle. This does not rule out the use of an elastic yarn, whatever it be, but it does discourage blends. And it has inspired mills to develop pure cotton mechanical stretch denims.

Naveena Denim Limited’s (NDL) Natural Stretch fabrics were designed specifically to address a request for circularity from Levi’s. These 100% natural comfort stretch denims have an elongation of 10-13% and low shrinkage, around 2%, says NDL’s executive director Rashid Iqbal. A “challenge” to engineer, he says the concept involves special spinning, weaving and finishing processes.

Orta has also created a comfort stretch denim (with an elongation of 15%) using a technology it calls Torque. This, says Sebla Onder, the company’s sustainability lead, is a “magical stretch technology” that makes “100% natural cellulosic fabrics mechanically recyclable and potentially biodegradable while causing no microplastic pollution.”

Lucia Rosin, founder of design and sustainability agency Meidea, says designers can integrate special features to make these fabrics move with the body, during a panel talk on the evolution of elasticity hosted by Inside Denim at Bluezone. She also mentioned that mills could choose very soft cotton yarns and weave them in a left-hand twill texture to offer high comfort and circularity. 

When longevity equals sustainability

Providing lasting comfort and aesthetics without a stretch yarn is a challenge both for mills and for consumers who have come to take a measure of give for granted. “A denim fabric with just 2% elastane will offer higher performance and longevity, and remain within the bounds of the Jeans Redesign recommendations,” says Ms Onder at Orta. “A stretch fibre will reduce sagging and bagging, so the jeans will be washed less often.”

At The Lycra Company, Ebru Ozaydin points out that “our different yarn platforms observe EMF guidelines. With just 1% of Lycra, a jean can even have power stretch.” Fibre producers are developing ranges that address these new eco-demands, as seen at Hyosung. “Creora 3D Max offers the required stretch with excellent recovery, but with only 2% synthetic content that recyclers can handle,” says Mike Simco.

Stretch specialists also emphasise the importance of extending a product’s lifespan. “We can tap emotional durability, the relationship between a wearer and their wardrobe,” says Ms Ozaydin. The company’s newest polymer, Lycra Adaptiv, increases the probability that a pair of jeans will fit well over time. “People will buy a new product for fashion or fit. Lycra Adaptiv offers fit forgiveness, which allows consumers to keep their garments for longer.”

Isko’s new patented Reform denims also seek to make the most of elasticity to provide enhanced comfort and fit. “These fabrics will not put any pressure on the body, they offer long-lasting performance. They are also perfectly suitable for looser styles and straight leg jeans,” notes Ms Slowik. 

While the denim trend cycle may be shifting to looser fits, mills and stretch fibre producers alike defend the properties of comfort and longevity that a measure of elasticity gives. From an aesthetic point of view, Alberto Candiani tends to agree. “Slim fits may have lost ground, particularly during the pandemic, but they have not lost their appeal. For both men and women, skinny can be edgy and it can be trendy, in a rock n’ roll vein.” The denim culture has a special connection to the rock n’ roll culture. And like rock n’ roll, he posits, skinny won’t disappear any time soon.

Isko’s new range of Reform denims covers three levels of elasticity:    Reform HP fabrics have an elongation of 40-60%, Reform XP goes from 80-100%, and Reform 100 can stretch by 100%.   
PHOTO: Isko  

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