Parenthèse à Lille: Innovative technical textiles

"In markets that are very different from those of aesthetics and fashion, objective functionality and performance are the essential characteristics of technical textiles. They have conquered their place and are increasing their presence in almost all industrial sectors, from automotive to medical, from civil engineering to construction, from electronics to aeronautics, and so on. They can be visible, as in the case of automobile seat covers, nets, headliners, etc., or invisible, as in the case of fuel and air filters, airbags, tire reinforcements or composite materials.

The boundaries between fashion and technical textiles are not watertight. Professional clothing for firefighters and personnel handling toxic chemicals, as well as for the military and police forces, who need protection from projectiles and knives, clearly belong to technical textiles. Performance is essential, but comfort and aesthetics cannot be neglected. Performance textiles also include those used by top athletes, as well as functional fabrics and garments (bacteriostatic, temperature refunctional fabrics and garments (bacteriostatic, temperature regulators, on-board electronics, etc.), which must also meet aesthetic and fashion criteria."