Janet Prescott reports from Paris

Knitted fabrics of various weights and compositions were making the running in all fashion sectors at the latest Premiere Vision in Paris, February 18- 20.  It is a trend reflecting the importance placed on knitted fashion generally.  As Premiere Vision put it: ‘ from the catwalks to the street, designer and brand creativity finds expression in knitwear. Fashion brands are developing comprehensive and coordinated collections’.  In addition to the flat bed knitters who were featured at Knitwear Solutions, the various fashion forums were full of knitted fabrics for the new season.

The bright, sunny colours which raised the temperature at the exhibition featured spring yellows around the walls, and pinks and greens as accents for the visitors’ bags,   all of which also found their way into fabrics as diverse as linings to techno knits, fine jerseys and eco qualities. Fashion colours were made brighter on white or ecru grounds. Darker navies came in for black, as well as the traditional nautical colours associated with summer.

Fancy looks, unusual combinations of colours and use of very lightweight fine yarns to produce see- through or semi transparent effects were major trends, as thick and thin, matt and shiny were at times contrasted in the same fabric.  Slight glitter effects, often in a pale understated silver, small ribbons and embroidery added to the decorated look -. For example, at Henitex a fine gauge jersey in pale grey/blue and white was enlivened by small amounts of glitter yarn to give an extra light reflecting aspect.

Cotton and linen were the most prevalent fibres, often highlighting the knops and irregularities inherent in the fibres and sometimes with small amounts of animal hair, a little mohair, alpaca or cashmere added for softness or visuals. Linen is now used extensively for knits, either in a fine gauge lingerie and underwear look in pale pastels and white, or in more chunky weighty versions with a chainmail effect.

Linen CELC showed many  developments for knitwear, which has been a recent focus for the fibre,  with  technical wizardly like dip-dyeing of ecru sweaters for grey and dark bands created by designer Saverio Palatella in Iafil yarns, and very fine  pure linen developments in ecru sweaters from l’Herbe Rouge.

Knitters are not afraid to use polyester or other synthetics, including acrylic, in mixes with precious natural fibres. Technical features such as stretch, UV treatments, Teflon finishes and breathable membranes are often suggested by professional and workwear, making their way into hard-hat fashion or street styles. In this way, tapes and other hi-vis elements are used as fashion pointers, even for summer.  Coatings and other treatments include reflective features and waterproof layers; e.g. bright pink fabric with a black over-mesh by Morelli, Italy.

Lenzing presented the advantages of 60/40 Tencel/cotton extolling the good mix of cellulosic and cotton,    with the strap-line a natural connection - this time concentrating on classic shirts, but stressing that the mix works for knits too.  Tencel in this blend imparts recovery and other benefits and is described as being a likely way to combat shortages of long staple cotton seen on the horizon.

Wool knitwear for high summer is a relatively new entrant into the mainstream offer for top level fashion.  As Cool Wool the light yarns in Merino fibre, which had been seen at the major yarn shows were developed into see- through fabrics to feed the multilayered look and a flowing silhouette.   Open stitchwork and airy constructions were echoed with cut outs and fancy stitches to create irregular patterns and the element of surprise.

Micro designs trended for knits as well as weaves, with very small sampler- like regular repeats in fresh colours like pale cream and pink. Stripes of all sizes were often decorated with subtly sparkling yarns while deeper colours, including starkly contrasting yellow and black, gave an ethno-chic effect which was echoed in many areas.  Coloured striped jersey ranged from bright beach styles in blue and white, navy and white stretch cotton to more sophisticated greys and pastels with a touch of glitter, while fluo colours with areas of black made for very startling large scale designs.

Contrast was a big trend, with transparency and opacity  put side by side, using plain and fancy yarns in the same fabric, with frothy bubble knits and double face knits one side plain, one patterned, with a greater use of prints on fabrics again particularly for double face designs.  Highly coloured, denser knits came from Mitsuboshi Keito, Japan.

Knitted fabric for sweatshirts and sports attire are set to hit the streets, with shiny yarns, fancy marled knits and tweedy looks. Streetwear looks in general are to the fore: in washed-out fabrics, and bleached looks for knits in the denim area. Fancy knits play about with stripes and cut out or burnout designs and lace is never far away. Mesh knits, inspired by sportswear, came in pastels as well as brights like the fuchsia as seen at GB Textile, Korea.   Yet more sport designs with stretch yarn or bi-stretch were seen interpreted in three-dimensional knitted fabrics for a body hugging silhouette; 3D designs with raised tubular sections made lava-like flowing patterns at Savyon Brazil.

The abundance of flowers, insects and green plants in  prints, intarsias and  embroideries celebrated nature With sustainable and eco issues still a talking point, developments in NewLife® were highlighted, as the  now famous recycled polyester yarn has moved into high fashion, with a garment by MaxMara on show on the Saluzzo Yarns stand.   It shows the accepted respectability of the textile trade’s moves to co-operate with organisations like Green Peace, involving the higher echelons of fashion in responsible manufacturing. Labels from NewLife for MaxMara indicate water consumption, energy consumption and the CO2 emissions in production.

 Net and gauzy open knits, transparent yarns and fabrics, brushed cotton with a velvet touch, fine gauge wool and cashmere, delicate cotton and linen for open stitched designs; all these trends combined to make knitted fabrics a talking point.