ShanghaiTex 2017: Knitting’s cutting edge

Knitting technology is always evolving in accordance to our ever-changing lifestyle. Thus it penetrates our lives with diverse appearances, functions and applications. In view of our different lifestyles, ShanghaiTex 2017 (November 27-30, 2017@SNIEC, Pudong, Shanghai) will explore the cutting-edge knitting technology and application to stimulate innovation and inspiration among textile manufacturers.

The highlighted knitting technology at ShanghaiTex 2017 covers knitting & hosiery, functional fibres and wearable electronics, targeting manufacturers of sportswear, sport shoes, wearables developer, fashion and home textiles, etc.

High-performance textiles: Emerging technology of functional fibre processing leveled up the properties of knitwear, such as elasticity, air permeability, softness, and anti-wrinkle, etc. The combination of fashion and function has delivered excellent performance and aesthetics of apparel. For examples, the Coolmax fibre from US DuPont; Triactor fibre from Japanese Toyobo; and the Coolplus fibre from Taiwan ZTE, are all developed with special cross-section shape to foster capillary action for better moisture transfer and sweat removal.

Smart textiles wearable technology: With the development of textile technology, apparel industry has made some breakthroughs in terms of comfort and warmth retaining. The revolutionary integration of electronics and textiles has enabled Smart Textiles to sense and react to changing environment, which has triggered a revolutionary change in the industry. Wearable technology refers to smart electronic devices (with microcontrollers) that can be worn on the body as implant or accessories. The designs often incorporate practical functions and features. Wearable equipment is not only about hardware, but also incorporate software support, data and cloud interaction to achieve its function, bringing huge changes to our lives and perceptions. Cute Circuit, a British wearable technology company, has developed the world’s first “smart skirt” which was made of grapheme. With a built-in sensor, it can respond to the wearer’s breathing rate to change colours.