New cloth stretches casual pants' future

TAMPA -- For those who wondered what mens' apparel designers could dream up after stain-resistant pants, hidden elastic belts and wrinkle-free khakis, get ready for stretch fabric.

"This is not Lycra," said Gary Kernaghan, senior vice president of merchandising at Tropical Sportswear Int'l Corp. of Tampa, which is adding stretch to its Savane line. "The secret is a yarn that's 99 percent cotton but has an elastic-type core that stretches without losing its original shape."

Rivals including Levi Strauss and Co., which makes Dockers, are working on their own versions. Tropical will hit the market first, launching its Motion pants on Father's Day.

Stretchy fabrics have been in women's wardrobes for years, but men overwhelmingly said no thanks. Although stretch fabric recently began creeping into a few men's suits, cotton casual pants remained one of the last bastions of natural fabric.

Tropical says orders from retailers for the stretchy pants already exceed 1-million pairs. The handlers of Tropical's Savane brand think they may have their biggest hit since they launched deep-dye pants 10 years ago.

Confronted by the reality that men's fashions change at a glacial pace, casual pants makers need new features to drive sales. Most aim at improving comfort or ease of use.

Motion pants are designed to appeal to men 35 and older in need of room for expansion. They have an inch-and-a-half of built-in leeway around the waist so someone who usually wears a 36 could fit into a size 34. That compares with pants that have elastic waistbands hidden behind belts (a popular stealth khaki version of the old Sansabelt) and offer four inches of give.

Motion pants are supposed to be more comfortable than conventional cotton pants because they expand and contract with body movement, stretching 10 percent to 15 percent but retaining the feel of cotton. "We didn't want it to feel like a rubber band around your waist," Kernaghan said.

An earlier version flopped. It stretched as much as women's apparel (22 percent to 28 percent).

The Motion pant will come in stain-resistant (Teflon-coated) and wrinkle-resistant styles. Wrinkle-free is out. That requires baking the fabric at 300 degrees, which can damage the yarn.

-- Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8252.

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