The Changing Face of Polyester

Love it or hate it, polyester is here to stay.  Discover how new innovations are making this underdog a top fashion performer.

What comes to mind when you think of polyester? For me, polyester brings up images of tacky powder-blue leisure suits, and heavy, nearly rubbery-feeling dresses. As a kid, I hated the feel of polyester, even though it was all the rage. It just didn’t feel RIGHT.

It is true, however, that since the market was over-saturated with polyester in the 1970‘s, the fabric has undergone significant improvements; and there are a number of benefits to this synthetic fiber. First, polyester doesn’t wrinkle, which makes it ideal for travel. Second, it dries quickly. This is not only a time-saver, but it may have environmental implications, as well. In an article in the New York Times titled "Can Polyester Save the World?", Elisabeth Rosenthal mentions that since polyester cleans more easily and dries faster, a polyester blouse will use less energy over its lifetime than a cotton blouse. Third, it is resistant to stretching and shrinking. And last, it is impervious to mildew and moths. As far as easy-care fabrics go, you can’t beat polyester.

Even so, in spite of these benefits, there are many who will eschew the synthetics until the day they die. There is an unspoken understanding among some that natural fabrics are one of the hallmarks of quality, while synthetic imposters are cheap and pedestrian. It is true that couture designers have often boasted of using only the finest natural fabrics in their garments. And since natural fabrics such as wools and silks demand special care for cleaning and storage, there is a certain prestige that goes with a wardrobe that is costlier and more demanding to maintain. And then, many just prefer the hand of natural fabrics over that of synthetic; they look better and they feel better.

Regardless of how you may feel about the natural fabrics vs. synthetic fabrics, it does seem that polyester is here to stay: and even more surprising is how major couture designers are now choosing to incorporate this synthetic fabric into their lines. It appears that polyester may be losing its long held stigma amongst the fashion elite.

Here is a recent article from Carlisle which talks about fashion’s new appreciation of polyester:

Poly Wants Some Fashion

"There is plenty to love about polyester. What’s more, there’s a roundness in polyester that you can’t achieve in natural fabrics unless they’re really heavy.”
-Marc Jacobs

“It inspired me so much that I could not look at other fabrics. It felt so soft and familiar, yet so new. Clients thought it was washed silk.”
-Alber Elbaz

These are quotes from the chief designers for couture houses, Lanvin, and Louis Vuitton extolling the virtues of, yes, polyester. The fashion world, it seems, has changed.

In recent years polyester has undergone a most remarkable rehabilitation in fashion, aided in large part by Japanese design mavericks Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, and Issey Miyake.
Polyester is hardly new to Kawakubo. “We have always liked polyester, and have always believed that fabric technology is vital in making creative fashion, and have designed each collection starting with the thread.”

Miyake’s experience is similar; “I became interested in polyester and its potential from the beginning of my career. It’s easy to work with and results in clothing that is well suited to the needs of a modern lifestyle.”

In other words, polyester’s resurgence is the result the confluence of customer needs, designer experimentation, and technological advances. Together these forces have opened up vast new style and design territories to explore, and the results have all been to the benefit of the customer.

For example, with increased travel a reality for businesswomen, quality ensembles that travel well are a “must.” Poly-blends and synthetics uniquely meet the need for wrinkle-resistant, designer-quality outfits.

Technology allows fabric makers to re-create the look and feel of natural fabrics, but with added qualities natural fibers simply don’t have; from unique finishes including shines, iridescence, stretch and memory, and a wider range of weights, drapes, colors, and textures (including crinkling, embossing, and puckering).

Designer Elbaz wove more than half of the pieces for this past spring’s Lanvin Collection with a new polyester. His desire was to create dresses and coats that could, as he put it, “fly away.” Polyester fit the bill perfectly.

Elbaz also debunks the notion that designers use polyester as a shortcut, or to save money, “Our polyester was more technically challenging because of its light and delicate nature. We had to double and triple the fabric and use couture techniques of sewing, draping, and cutting to mold the fabric.”
With today’s embrace of polyester, techno fibers and synthetics by top designers even the pickiest customer is comfortable with these fabrications. She knows that there is good reason when polyester is used – how it shows the color, the drape, the weight, or the fabric effects in a way no all-natural fabric could achieve.

Marc Jacobs has seen the change in attitude as well. “Right now fashion is about a look, and people will buy what they like the look of.”

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