Intelligent Apparel

Wednesday, 20 October 2004

Indian apparel companies are paving the way for the future of fashion by
introducing intelligent clothing. These clothes are designed to repel
mosquitos, keep the wearer cool, emanate perfume and remain stain-free
even when spilled upon. After an inauspicious start these new designs
are starting to win over the Indian public. India, with its hot and
muggy climate, is in fact a logical choice for this innovative concept
to be introduced.

The Bangalore-based apparel company, Peter Kin International, presented
its first intelligent clothing item in May of this year with a
mosquito-repellent shirt. The shirt has been pre-washed in a special
mosquito-resistant solution, which happens to be very gentle on the
skin. The company has also exported these shirts to other
mosquito-infested countries such as Australia and Kenya.

Peter Kin also produces fragranced clothing, which has been well
received in India. The clothes are available in a variety of fragrances,
from fresh lime to strawberry and chocolate. The company's business
head, Ram Purohit, explains that intelligent apparel as yet only
constitutes 5% of Peter Kin's sales, however the market appears to be
expanding.

Another prominent contender in the intelligent apparel market is Madura
Garments. It recently launched "Ice Touch", a shirt that keeps the body
five degrees cooler, thanks to treatment with a special finishing agent.
As Madura's president, Hemchandra Jhaveri, points out, clothes are no
longer simply meant to look good. Consumers have become more discerning
and require additional comfort and functionality. To this end, Madura
launched the brand Van Heusen's "Oxyrich" shirts last summer. The shirts
release power-packed oxygen ions around the wearer and promise to make
the wearer more alert and focused. Jhaveri points out that these shirts
are ideal for high-pressure situations, such as crowded places and
traffic jams.

"Unstainables" make up the more common type of intelligent clothing. The
US based Arrow began producing them in 2002, but due to their growing
popularity the company has added eight new colours to its range of
'unstainable' shirts. The technology employed in manufacturing these
shirts is a molecular structure that attaches itself to the shirts,
forming a barrier for liquids and stains.