Janet Prescott reports from Milan

37th Filo, held in Milan 7-9th March, is a business like-exhibition. Pitched at the European market, the event showcases yarns of high quality, demonstrating the latest in technical innovation. These include microfibres, new blends and various organic yarns. All destined for fashion, home furnishing and technical applications. The offer ranges from specialised yarns for workwear and automotives, to precious fibres like cashmere, silk, angora, vicuna and fine count Merino, mixed and matched for winter fashion.

Filo boasted 80 exhibitors, 10 more than last time, and seemed to indicate that the hopeful start to 2012 is continuing into the season Autumn/Winter 2013/14. Filo has the advantage that it is chosen by buyers who are usually searching for specifics; ‘there are no time wasters here' declared one exhibitor.

Most mills cover a wider range than before in a bid to maximise the top end of the trade, which has been seriously undercut by cheaper sources in the past.  Many of these producers were offering yarns for both knitting and weaving and increasingly a range of applications for upholstery and home furnishings, a growing high value area, with technical finishes and sturdy durable yarns to comply with strict certification regulations.

Most visitors were European. Exhibitors reported buyers showed a roughly 50/50 split between Italy and countries such as Germany, Scandinavia, the UK, Ireland and France. Most of the exhibitors were Italian, but there was a good group of Turkish spinners, Spain, Germany and the UK, including Knoll with fashionable tweedy knitting yarns and first timers Laxtons, showing worsteds and fancies. Second Co, Japan introduced Kawabo Textured Co, and Yamada Textile Co debuting with ingenious wrapped cottons and soft ramie, linen and silk pure yarns.

Specialised personalised yarns

All stressed the importance of service in the current market.  The importance of tailoring yarns to the requirements of the customer is seen as the most important aspect. Filidea mentioned highly specialised personalised yarns with technical features, such as ultra light weights and specialised comfort factors. Yarns directed at specific structures were offered for circular, seamless and hosiery machines.

The know-how to blend disparate yarns is enabling mills which were once bound to summer collections to service markets in the winter season, and vice versa. There was wool/cotton and modal/ cotton with interesting warm handles at Basyazicioglu Tekstil Turkey. Filati Buratti showed knitting yarn in silk blended with various winter fibres; cashmere, wool, camelhair and alpaca for a fuzzier effect and bright colouration. Franzoni had new blends such as 50/50 viscose/wool, and Mako cotton/wool/silk.

Technical

Ghezzi's offer for the technical market included micro viscose, a blend of Micromodal and viscose for industrial use.  Iafil blended 30alpaca/35Merino/35Dralon for an interesting warm yarn with good performance. Knops and fuzzy surfaces came from Ilaria with 70/30 wool/viscose or 80cotton/20polyamide.

 IMA Filati, specialists in quality knitting yarns, showed cotton and linen blends for an unusual crisp handle and also displayed a range of natural extra soft, crepe, melange and mercerised qualities.  Yarns for jersey and underwear emphasised luxury in noble fibres, cashmere, cashmere/silk and wool /nylon as from Filatura San Vitale.

Italfil, producer of yarns for hosiery, has developed a wider stock service, another feature which is proving indispensible for the current workings of the market where customers are still reluctant to commit early. Soffio is its new-generation wool for knitted fabrics with easycare features which they have decided to put in the stock service. Worsted yarns, single and twisted, come in pure wool, wool/polyamide and wool/silk.

Lenzing fibre

Lenzing fibre appeared frequently in Filo collections. Modal, Micromodal, Micromodal Air and Tencel are becoming important in the higher end as superior performance and aesthetics are developed. Karsu Tekstil San Tic AS, Turkey, is known as an innovator and one of the first exhibitors to show Lenzing Edelweiss yarns and Promodal/silk blends which ‘combine the brightness of silk and softness of modal'. Cottons for knitting are via airjet and conventional technology - Micromodal air, modal, Tencel combining cotton, wool and other fibres. Technical yarns include Lenzing FR, Kermel, meta- and para- aramides.  For fashion, Micromodal with 10 cashmere gives individual handle, and newest is 70/30promodal/polyamide.

Melanges were the talk of the show, as from Filatura Pettinata Luisa 1966, in top dyed yarns offered for flat knitting and hosiery, where the development of exclusive colours and counts was emphasised. New Botto Poala yarns included super melange. Melange was a major trend, especially in woollen spun yarns. Grey in a wide variety of shades and a large range of blues dominated. Described as ‘English inspired' were warm burnt tones for autumn. Worsted cashmeres and cashmere/silks in counts from 120,000 to 46,000 nm have a large number of melange colours included in the stock service, suitable for light jerseys.

Technical yarns included Elasten's new elasticised linen, hemp and ramie, all patented. Baktron 1300 is smooth ironed, mass dyed elasticised polyester available in several colours from stock.  Franzoni's new yarns called Futura Color included melanges in cotton and cellulosics.

Recycled

Recycled or regenerated yarns are still important in many markets including the German fashion trade, for example Fil-3 Srl's CO2 Neutral regenerated wool yarns. Garanti Iplik Sanay, Turkey, and known for melanges, introduced new blends of wool/ linen /silk and cashmere, joined by organic cotton melanges certified to GOTS and OE-100 standards by Control Union - an aspect still commanding some of the higher end markets like Germany. In the same way, Niggeler & Kupfer had bio-organic USA cotton.  Its slubbed jerseys were shown in a triple blend of 50viscose/25 polyester/25cotton.

Filatura Astro offered Oekotex certified regenerated cotton yarns blended with linen, wool and viscose for winter as well as qualities with regenerated and virgin wool blended with cashmere cotton.  Synthetics took in acrylic, nylon and polyester. Fine and superfine yarns for knitwear included stock service on cashmere, silk/ cashmere.

Lurex introduced new colours in metallics, both dark and bright shades, less shiny than last season, and a new collection with novel iridescent effects. Texturised nylon gives a softer handle for spectacular enamel and deep coloured glass effects.