Those who believe that the textile industry in Europe is no longer
relevant were proved wrong by the two trade fairs Techtextil and Texprocess
in Frankfurt, which just came to an end.
Euphoric mood and buzz words
Techtextil and Texprocess are not exactly fairs that cause enthusiasm
by those in charge of fashion. They lack the snappy names of classic
fashion fairs like Premium, Panorama, Neonyt. Instead of CI booths, there
were sober constructions; instead of decorative inspiration lots of text to
read and instead of atmospheric music, rattling machines. The two textile
fairs, which ended after four days on 17th May, showcased exactly what one
might expect. And yet, there was an almost contagious euphoric atmosphere.
Buzz words dominated the fair: sustainability, technical innovation and
digitization. In the end, the Frankfurt-based organisers could report the
largest and most international edition of the two fairs to date. A
staggering 1.818 exhibitors from 59 countries and a total of around 47,000
trade visitors from 116 countries visited the fairs. Particularly
interesting: Many of the highly innovative companies were from Europe.
Digitisation: from process chain to network
The future belongs to the digitisation and automation of production.
Exhibitors presented sewing machines like luxury cars and demonstrated the
first automated production units such as those for jeans, which, however,
are far from being fully automated. Together with robot manufacturer Kuka,
Pfaff presented a “Robotics Case Study for Jeans Pockets”, which was just
about sewing on the back pockets but completely without human intervention.
The first robots have arrived that can grab or suck up materials, or
reposition them. Until now, this has only been possible with firm fabrics
or leather. Two demo production lines of Microfactory, in cooperation with
various companies, presented the entire process chain of digitised
production for bags and t-shirts. For the bags, robots placed the sewing
material directly on the cutting table for the next production steps and
transported it directly there via AI-guided vehicles.
Knitting machines play an important role when it comes to bringing
digitisation, automation, and apparel production together – especially in
the footwear sector. German knitting machine specialist Stoll presented new
possibilities of 3D knit, for example when using it for sneaker uppers.
Algorithms now calculate further processes based on simple image files. In
the future, operating such machines will require less and less specialist
knowledge. “The digitisation and automation of processes are currently our
most important development topic,” said Goran Sidjimovski, technical
designer at Stoll.
While the process chain of garment production has been linear so far –
from design to fabric manufacturer to sewing shop, dispatch warehouse,
supplier and customer – this will become a network in the future, wherein
all areas are linked. So products can be personalised by the customer, for
example, but it is also about developing more automated processes, which
can independently react to changes in the process chain and come up with
good solutions much faster.
Textile innovation & sustainability
Networking across the industry is the driving force behind textile
innovation. Numerous institutes have dedicated themselves precisely to this
topic and are working specifically on creating new interfaces between the
garment industry and, for example, electronics, cosmetics or food
manufacturers. Thus, one of the prize winners of the Techtextil Innovation
Awards 2019 can be traced back to such a cooperation. Project “Picasso”,
winner in the “Sustainability” category, is a cooperation between
Portuguese project partners for developing a dyeing and functionalization
process for clothing based on mushroom and plant extracts and enzymes.
Partners of the project are the Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart
Materials (CeNTI), textile company Tintex and spice and herb producer
Ervital, among others. “We have brought the companies together because we
have already been working with them in other research areas,” explains
Carla Silva of CeNTI. The Institute has also brought together cosmetics
companies, electronics manufacturers and textile producers before and
presents, for example, underwear with nanocapsules, which help with
neurodermatitis, or classic cotton towels that can be heated via
imperceptible, woven-in electronics.
Innovative electronics
Not particularly sustainable but technically fascinating: The
integration of light into textiles will become increasingly common in the
future. Printed electronics or electrically conductive yarns can now be
integrated into textiles without any problems and allow for new
applications, which will soon arrive in the apparel sector. Moving light
sequences run through jackets, bags or backpacks; discreet light spots
decorate underwear or curtains: light adds a whole new dimension. Amann,
one of the leading manufacturers of yarns, presented “Smart Yarns”. The
intelligent threads work as sensors, data conductors or power suppliers and
can thus, for example, generate heat or humidity, pressure points and
measure temperatures. As a woven-in RFID antenna, they can also provide
information about the use of products, for example, how often they have
been washed.
This article was originally published on FashionUnited DE; edited
and translated by Simone Preuss.
Photos & video: FashionUnited
