Today’s women know what they want from shapewear, but a large segment of these high-value consumers believes the industry is not providing what they want.

This disturbing consumer satisfaction gap is definitively shown in a global study conducted among women at 18-49 by Strategic Insights for INVISTA Apparel. Listed below are some of the key findings:

·         95% of women want their shapewear to fit well, but only 59% are satisfied that it does.

·         94% want their shapewear to be comfortable, but only 56% say it is.

·         88% want shapewear to enhance their shape, but only 63% believe it’s working.

·         82% want an increased feeling of self-assurance from their shapewear, but only 54% feel they are getting it.

Considering that 93% of women said they were interested in shaping attributes when purchasing intimate apparel, there was a clear need for the industry to deliver enhanced shapewear performance and build consumer confidence in it.

With its long history of technological innovation and support to the industry, INVISTA took up the challenge and developed LYCRA® beauty fabrics, a comprehensive set of standards for a new generation of shapewear fabrics. Set for worldwide introduction at Paris Mode City in September followed by Asia trade launch at Shanghai Mode Lingerie in October, LYCRA® beauty fabrics toss out the old, inadequate metric of fabric strength in one dimension, replacing it with a total performance measurement of comfort based on freedom of movement.

A New Standard for Comfort
“We evaluated more than 100 fabrics in our Garment Engineering Lab, performing exhaustive analysis to set the new comfort metric,” says Andy J. Blab, Senior Technical Marketing Scientist for INVISTA Apparel.

“By effectively quantifying the shaping performance of fabrics in multiple dimensions, we have achieved a new standard for comfort that can be communicated with credibility to the consumer as the answer to her shapewear wishes.”

Garments made from fabrics that have passed performance tests at INVISTA labs will carry the distinctive LYCRA® beauty fabrics hangtag from INVISTA free of charge.

Making the Entire Category More Effective
“This special combination of proven performance and aggressive merchandising will make the entire category more effective in meeting the needs of our consumers,” says Michelle Rice, Global Director of Intimate Apparel and Swimwear for INVISTA Apparel. “Women who want to look better and feel better will seek out garments carrying the LYCRA® beauty fabrics hangtag.”

The standards will give mills clear guidance in developing and differentiating qualifying fabrics in all four subsets of the shapewear market:

·  Smoothing

·  Sensual Curves

·  Sculpt

·  Control

Reaction to the new standards and merchandising platform has been extremely favorable among the major mills involved in pre-launch evaluation.

The Right Product With the Right Marketing Tools
“We were fortunate to be involved early on in this program and have benefited by working closely with INVISTA’s global team in preparing the right product with the right marketing tools to be most effective in our sales activity,” says Mr. Yuri Clarry, General Manager-China, Dogi Fabrics (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. “We are pleased to have INVISTA certified products in our range and welcome the support of their marketing teams.”

At Ruey Tay Fiber Industry Co., Ltd, Research & Development head P. K. Wu reports that “by using the technical standards, mills are able to define their fabric quality and help buyers easily identify which fabrics are ideal for their needs. The point of sale recognition and validation provided by the hangtag will be an attractive added benefit.”

“Extending from fiber to fabric and from manufacturing to retailing, the LYCRA® beauty fabrics program will stretch the potential rewards of the shapewear market,” concludes Rice.

About INVISTA

INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries, INVISTA’s global businesses deliver exceptional value for their customers through technology innovations, market insights and a powerful portfolio of global trademarks including: ADI-PURE®, ANTRON®, AVORA®, C12™, COMFOREL®, COOLMAX®, CORDURA®, CORFREE®, DACRON®, DBE®, DYTEK®, freshFX®, LYCRA®, PERFORMA™, POLARGUARD®, POLYSHIELD®, POLYCLEAR®, SOLARMAX®, STAINMASTER®, SUPPLEX®, SUPRIVA™, TACTEL®, TACTESSE®, TERATE®, TERATHANE®and THERMOLITE®. For more information, visit www.INVISTA.com.