Invista, owner of the Lycra fibre brand, is to be the headline sponsor of the fashion design and communication competition ‘The Link’ at this year’s MarediModa - IntimodiModa show, taking place in the Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France on 25-27th November 2009.   

The Link, Living Ideas for New Keys, is a competition which challenges young students from the top fashion design and communication schools across Europe to recreate their fashion and creative visions through three categories: Lingerie, Beachwear and Communication. At this time, participation is expected from Royal College of Art, London.

The students in the Lingerie and Beachwear categories will be tasked to develop a mini-collection of lingerie or swimwear prototype garments using fabrics containing Lycra fibre or Xtra Life Lycra fibre. Participants in the communication category will be asked to develop a trade advertisement that conveys the added-value of Xtra Life Lycra fibre in swimwear fabrics. The winner in each of the three categories will be presented with a symbolic trophy prize and a €1000 cheque arranged by MarediModa. All finalists have also already been invited by MarediModa to the ComOn circuit, Como’s creativity week taking place on 11-18 October 2009 aiming at revitalizing the city’s renowned textile production district.

All visitors at the fair will be able to elect their preferred garment by casting their vote in a voting box at the show. The shortlist of entries will be showcased at a prestigious awards ceremony during the show on the evening of Thursday 26th November where the winner in each of the three categories will be announced in front of international figure heads from within the industry and the international press. The winner will be confirmed by a panel of judges on the awards night with the award presented by Pierluigi Berardi, European Sales Director for Invista Apparel. The award ceremony will be followed by a cocktail reception and live music, to give exhibitors, visitors and the press an opportunity to network.

At the MarediModa show, Invista will announce the expansion of its Xtra Life Lycra fibre for swimwear fabrics within the European market. A substantial development for Invista, Xtra Life Lycra fibre is now available in the key deniers for fashion swimwear fabrics from the Maydown production site in Northern Ireland allowing greater accessibility for mills, retailers and designers to experience the unique benefits of this innovative fibre.

According to Invista, swimwear is often exposed to harsh conditions such as sun creams and chlorine that can reduce the life-span of the garment and in this respect the benefits of Xtra Life Lycra fibre include:

•Long-lasting, beautiful fit

•Resisting 5 to 10 times more to chlorine than standard elastane

•Helping prevent ‘bag and sag’ of the costume

•Ensuring swimwear has stretch recovery power and looks like new for longer

In addition, Invista says that deep, richly coloured swimsuits, which are a fashion staple in the swimwear industry, get added benefits with the help of Black Xtra Life Lycra fibre, which:

•Improves colourfastness in darker fabric shades

•Eliminates grin-through

•Gives the possibility to create marl/design effects in fabrics

•Offers swimwear that ‘like new’ fit for longer

Ninabeth Sowell, Global Marketing Director for Intimate Apparel and Swimwear at Invista Apparel said, “At Invista, we continually strive to put our relationship with our customers at the heart of everything that we do. We recognise how important the European textile sector is to our customers, especially the demand for high quality and fashion-forward apparel products, and we are delighted to have European supply of our flagship swimwear fibre to meet these demands. By widening the availability options of Xtra Life Lycra fibre, we are seeking to ensure that mills are able to obtain the fibre on shorter lead times and can price garments at a wider range of price points which is particularly important in today’s current climate.”

Invista says it highly values the support from leading swimwear industry players in Europe who have adopted the innovative fibre and contribute to lead the Xtra Life Lycra fibre expansion plan. The MarediModa show is an ideal opportunity to highlight their new developments.

The global approach that Invista has to both Swimwear and Intimate Apparel cements long-term commitment to delivering value to the fashion and design industries forward. As well as Xtra Life Lycra fibre for swimwear fabrics, Invista also offers lingerie-related innovations such as Lycra 2.0 garment technology, which allows the creation of innovative stitch-free, sleek and smooth intimate apparel, Lycra Xtra Fine Collection fibre targeted at the creation of ultra-lightweight fabrics, Lycra Black fibre for on-trend richly coloured and black intimate apparel and Lycra freshFX fabric, for all day freshness via moisture management and a body-caressing comfort.