Cindy McNaull, CORDURA® Brand Business Development Director discusses consumers’ heightened awareness of the value of protection, post pandemic.
You have worked within the polymers and textiles industry for many years. What are the biggest changes you’ve noticed over the last few years, and where do you see the market heading?
This is a challenging time for our industry, and it’s how we deal with this as a collective global textiles community that will help define and set the foundation for the future.
Trend indicators suggest that post pandemic, consumers have a heightened awareness in the value of protection. They are also becoming more and more drawn to timeless products that make them feel safer, more comfortable and in control. Durability and reliability are more important than ever and represent a significant shift in attitude when it comes to purchase behavior.
This mindset aligns well with our long- standing mantra of creating durable advanced fabric technologies that will stand the test of time. The CORDURA® brand is firmly rooted in a military and workwear heritage and has helped provide protection for soldiers and workers for over 50 years.
The future of fashion really nods towards the incorporation of performance attributes- both overt and covert. Fabrics with combined benefits such as durability mixed with all season comfort and versatility.
Could you explain, for people who don’t know, how CORDURA® adds strength to fabrics?
CORDURA® fabric is a primary ingredient in many of the world’s leading high-performance gear and apparel products ranging from casual apparel and activewear to footwear, backpacks, military/tactical wear, and workwear. The CORDURA® brand is a registered trademark of INVISTA, one of the world’s largest integrated polymer, intermediates, and fibres businesses.Our CORDURA® fabric portfolio offers long-lasting performance benefits. They are designed to be extremely versatile and reliable, with renowned durability at the core. These performance benefits make CORDURA® particularly well- suited for today’s lifestyle living – from the office to the climbing gym, the morning commute to the afterhours drinks with friends. CORDURA® offers an invisible layer of protection which means you can push your own personal limits knowing that your product is stylishly durable for all occasions.
CORDURA® ingredient branding serves as a tool for product differentiation and builds equity among modern consumers who prioritize durability, performance and style.
How does this fit in with durability and/or with the concept of sustainability?
Because our fabrics are long-lasting and therefore need to be replaced less often, they can help contribute to building a more sustainable world for all of us.
The world has clearly changed. People, rightly, demand more from what they wear and want to feel good about what they buy; they are conscious that their choices have an environmental impact. At work, and at leisure, we are all being challenged to think about how and where we can use resources more efficiently.
At CORDURA®, we help engineer products that are built to last a lifetime.
CORDURA® Denim launched in 2010. How does this sector differ, and what are some of the standouts from the decade?
For CORDURA® the last ten years have been what we are calling ‘The Decade of Denim.’ During this time, we have looked very closely to see the way this sector differs from others and gain greater understanding of its particular needs. 2021 marks the 10th anniversary since the introduction of the durable CORDURA® Denim technology into the technical denim space – an innovation which we pioneered with Artistic Milliners. As the decade progressed, we and our partner mills continued to explore, engineer and create new concepts for the denim world, aimed at ‘pushing performance’ to higher and higher levels and educating consumers to ‘demand more from what they wear.'
We have been able to excel in this space because, technically speaking, CORDURA® Denim is proven to be at least four times more durable than traditional 100% cotton equivalents*. This is why it’s established a fan-base as the comfortable, durable option for skateboarders, climbers, cycle commuters, workers and motorcyclists. Always durable, always hardworking, CORDURA® Denim gives an authentic denim look and feel with enhanced protective performance no matter what the environment – be that urban jungle, building site, mountaintop, or simple everyday lifestyle living.
Below are some of the defining moments in a decade of intense activity as we applied our proprietary performance and protective innovations to this most loved and versatile of fabrics to introduce a new era of capsules, collaborations and creativity.
*Based on 465 g/m2 denim fabric
Levi’s® Skateboarding Collection
A collaboration with one of the most legendary brands in the denim world. A range of reimagined basics, designed and constructed to endure the most demanding activities – featuring pants made with comfortably durable stretch CORDURA® Denim fabric technology. In addition to mobility and freedom of movement, this innovation provided enhanced abrasion resistance skateboarders demand.
Award-winning denim for Millet
In 2012, we were proud to be a part of Millet’s Outdoor Innovation award for it’s innovative Crag Denim Pant and Capri – made from stretch CORDURA® Denim fabric. ‘Authentic Alchemie’
Exploring the past to reinvent the future. Merging the elemental durability of CORDURA® fiber with a new dimension in softness, definition and functionality. Delivering a creative and stylish range of technical denims developed from carefully crafted blends of natural and man-made fibers, performance and functional materials. In 2015, we launched an exciting capsule collection of CORDURA® Denim powered by high tenacity nylon 6,6 fibers that featured innovative intimate blends with Lenzing TENCEL® and elastomerics.
‘Authentic Alchemie’
Exploring the past to reinvent the future. Merging the elemental durability of CORDURA® fiber with a new dimension in softness, definition and functionality. Delivering a creative and stylish range of technical denims developed from carefully crafted blends of natural and man-made fibers, performance and functional materials. In 2015, we launched an exciting capsule collection of CORDURA® Denim powered by high tenacity nylon 6,6 fibers that featured innovative intimate blends with Lenzing TENCEL® and elastomerics.
Forged Denim for Black Diamond
Specialists in clothing for climbing, Black Diamond introduced their Forged Denim range using Stretch CORDURA® Denim. Their aim was to use an innovative combination of best-in-class materials with climbing specific features to create the world’s most advanced climbing denim – one that could regulate temperature through its light strength-to-weight ratio yet be extremely durable and flexible.
The ‘X Venture Collexion’
A collaboration with Artistic Milliners that launched a futuristic space-themed capsule, designed by Michelle Rose of Struktur Studio. Fusing fashion with function, this performance concept envisioned how today’s innovative textile technologies would impact the future of technical denim, with influences from retro astronaut gear. It featured CORDURA® Denim with Lenzing TENCEL® and advanced performance coatings from Schoeller®.
Mountain Hardwear’s ‘Hard Denim’
Mountain Hardwear make gear for people who push the boundaries – and wanted a denim to match. They engineered their ”Hard Denim’ Collection to set a new standard for climbing-inspired authentic performance apparel. Combining versatility and functionality, it retains the authentic look and feel of traditional cotton denim, but with added longevity and abrasion resistance that’s essential on the exposed mountain side.
The ‘Remastered Collection’
Heritage workwear, reimagined in CORDURA® Denim by Monsieur T – also known as Tillman Wröbel, the Paris-based international avant garde designer and denim guru. His ideas were brought to life by CORDURA® Denim from some of the world’s leading denim mills, giving the authentic look and feel of the original – but with enhanced levels of comfort and durability.
‘Imagination Without Limitation’ Collection
A new and exciting chapter in our ‘Authentic Alchemie’ story – a collection featuring the latest cutting-edge CORDURA® Denims, developed with inspiration from three key macro trends identified by MaterialsMove CEO and founder Linda Keppinger. Overlapping stories about nurturing and expressing individuality, heritage and authenticity reflecting environmental consciousness, and limitless possibilities from enhanced durability.
Cone White Oak x CORDURA® Selvage Denim
Drawing inspiration from their over 110-year history in textile production combined with 50 durable years of CORDURA® brand heritage, we collaborated with Cone Denim to develop vintage-inspired CORDURA® Selvage Denim produced in their legendary White Oak facility.
‘Supercharged Noir’ by Artistic Milliners and the launch of Dovetail ‘No Fade’ Denim
A new generation black performance denim designed with "5S technology" – standing for Softness, Strength, Stay-Black, Stretchability, Sustainability. Excellent color-fastness and long-lasting vibrancy in a powerful dense black denim that combines solution dyed INVISTA T420HT nylon 6,6 and Lenzing Modal ECO fiber technologies. A denim designed to stand up to the challenges of an active lifestyle engineered in collaboration with Artistic Milliners, the longest running authorized CORDURA® Denim mill, and our long-standing partners at Lenzing.
This innovation helped power a new evolution of ‘No Fade’ black pants for Dovetail - the innovative specialist in workwear for women, whose customers were demanding the toughest performance combined with great fit, softness and stretch comfort.
Launch of CORDURA® Hemp Denim from Artistic Milliners
Artistic Milliners introduces CORDURA® Denim made with French sourced hemp blends – bringing synergistic fibre properties to the versality and sustainability of CORDURA®.
Invista/Cordura has a strong focus on R&D. Does the research team strive towards particular goals? What is important in terms of new developments?
The CORDURA® brand itself was born out of the need for innovation, and the past fifty years or so have been a continuous scientific quest for ever-greater durability across a wide variety of fabric applications and end-use market segments. This has seen us make serious commitments to our investment in new R&D facilities and programs. One such example has been our focus on high tenacity staple nylon 6,6 blends with natural performance fibers such as cotton, Lenzing TENCEL™, wool, and most recently hemp.
To help put CORDURA® fabric technologies to the test, last year we debuted our CORDURA® Lab to Life™ multi-faceted testing protocol. Longevity underpinned by durability is the foundation of the CORDURA® ethos, driving our innovation pipeline and reflecting our brand DNA belief that “Sustainability Begins With Products That Last™.”
What we consider to be of prime importance in terms of new developments is helping our customers respond to today’s market challenges. This includes meeting the consumer and end-wearer demand for greater durability, flexibility of purpose and sustainability. Bringing our passion and commitment to innovation, we’ve teamed up with our supply chain and retail partners to listen and identify the consumer’s unmet needs, collaboratively solve problems and invent cutting-edge solutions – and ultimately designing with true purpose.
How have you adapted to working during the pandemic?
There has been a lot of uncertainty during Covid-19, and we have all faced the challenge of personal connectivity in a digital world. The pandemic has given us a chance to reset and rebuild something better than before. Experimentation, agility and entrepreneurial thinking are core values of INVISTA and the CORDURA® brand, and during this past year we have continued our focus on developing future-proof transformative tools such as our new CORDURA® Fabric Finder, a wonderful tool designed to bring durability to your desktop.
A recent partnership with Artistic Milliners has resulted in a Cordura® Hemp Denim. What do you see as the possibilities for hemp blends?
We’re really excited about this latest development with CORDURA® Hemp Denim, and I’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to our partners at Artistic Milliners for their help in bringing this to fruition.
Like us, Artistic Milliners were obviously quick to appreciate that Hemp offers the benefits of enhanced abrasion resistance, tensile and tear strength – three qualities which align to the long-lasting performance platform of the CORDURA® brand. Together, we explored the aesthetic advantages and eco-efficient properties that hemp can bring to innovative CORDURA® technology developments. This meant working with nature, creating a fusion of ‘Hidden Science’ to push the boundaries of durability and a ‘Performance Natural’ aesthetic that’s both contemporary and constructive. Overall, hemp blends bring synergistic fiber properties to the high tenacity, strength, durability, versatility and sustainability of the CORDURA® advanced fabric portfolio.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow in your footsteps, career-wise?
The best advice I could give to anyone just starting out is this: be brave, believe in yourself, and never be afraid to step outside the box. But equally important, listen to and learn from everyone in the business that you come into contact with. Benefit from their wisdom and experience. Be an agile thinker and pivot this to guide your own development to achieve your personal and professional goals. Find out what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about and how you can make a real difference. Remember, too, that personal growth will often take you to the edge of your comfort zone – but embrace the challenge. Do this and your limits will be boundless.
