Fashion Fine Points: Materials - Exotic Naturals

Bamboo is a natural textile made from the pulp of the bamboo grass. Bamboo fabric is light and strong, has excellent wicking properties, and is to some extent antibacterial. To make bamboo fiber, bamboo is heavily pulped until it separates into thin component threads of fiber, which can be spun and dyed for weaving into cloth. Bamboo fiber resembles cotton in its un-spun form, a puffball of light, airy fibers.

Bemberg is cotton born cellulose fiber known as “Cupro”. In filament and staple yarn form, it is the fiber of choice for quality lining. It will not fade, will not shrink, and has a natural anti-static quality and smooth hand which translates into a cling free garment. If the lining of a garment shrinks, then the tailoring of the overall garment is compromised. Thus the craftsmanship of the garment shell is never distorted due to an inferior lining.

Linen is woven from fibers produced by the flax plant. Linen is know for rapid moisture absorption, fiber strength, no fuzziness and does not soil quickly.

Pashmina the extremely rare hair of the capra hircus goat which lives at 17,000 feet above sea level in the remote Ladakh region of the Mongolian plateau. Only the longer, finer fibers from the chin, throat, and underbelly are suitable to be used in apparel. They measure from 13 to 15 microns in diameter which is finer than that of cashmere. The goat is not sheared, nor killed for its hair. Not all labeled pashmina is really pashmina. Some use a blend of cashmere and silk instead of acquiring.

Silk is a very strong fiber produced by silk moths. It is the only natural fiber that comes in a filament form; from 300 to 1,600 yards in length as reeled from the cocoon, cultivated or wild.

Tencel is the first new natural fiber developed in over the past 30 years. It is made from the natural cellulose found in trees. The trees are grown especially for this purpose on tree farms. It is an incredibly strong fiber with a smooth and soft feel.