Asian Companies Emphasize Fashion in Their Technical Garments
by DOUG MCCLELLAN from OR Daily
 No guts, no jacquards.
“This market has no courage,” said Tina Wang, chief executive officer of Hyperbola. She is not talking about the courage to scale an ice wall or pioneer a first descent, but the reluctance of outdoor apparel makers to add some--dare we say it?--fashion to their functional goods.
“For outdoors, everything is too boring. We try to encourage our customers to do something different,” Wang said.
Based in Taiwan, Hyperbola takes technical fabrics and injects them with colors and textures not normally found in outerwear. For example, Hyperbola transforms polyester into something that looks like twill, denim or a jacquard with elegant patterns and colors. Unlike most textile exhibitors. Hyperbola's booth #83013 is not jammed with fabric swatches but is understated with complete pieces on the walls.
Unfortunately, Hyperbola and its neighbors are in a location so secret the vice president could stay there. They are far from the main floor in Section H.
“The location is very terrible,” said Moody Huang, vice president of a division of Li & Fung that makes sportswear and technical apparel, who said last year's location in the Grand Ballroom drew more traffic. |
