ELEVATE READY-TO-WEAR FABRICS WITH STRETCH FIBERS THAT PERFORM
From stretch twills and tailored trousers to cargo pants, woven shirts, dresses, and lightweight outerwear, today’s ready-to-wear consumers expect garments that move comfortably, regulate temperature, hold their shape, and withstand repeated wear. The LYCRA® brand delivers advanced fiber solutions that enhance stretch and recovery, support breathability and thermal comfort, and reinforce long-term durability. Our innovations help ready-to-wear clothing maintain structure, resist bagging, and perform beautifully from first wear to long wear — without compromising style.
Fashion brands and fabric mills worldwide trust The LYCRA Company for performance and quality. For over 65 years, our fibers have solved real consumer pain points — from uncomfortable waistbands to fabrics that lack breathability to garments that bag and sag. We collaborate with top brands and mills to create apparel that fits better, feels great, and lasts.
Whether it's travel wear, business-casual attire, or a comfy, off-duty look, apparel made with our stretch fibers delivers total freedom of movement and comfort without sacrificing style or durability.
Partner with The LYCRA Company to transform your next collection.
"Modern ready-to-wear apparel must do more than look polished — it must perform in everyday life. Performance fibers make this evolution possible. By integrating stretch, moisture wicking, resilience, and long-term shape retention at the fiber level, fabrics can enable functional movement, resist bagging, and maintain their structure over time. This is how ready-to-wear moves beyond simply well-designed garments to intelligently engineered essentials — delivering lasting comfort, durability, and confidence for real life."
Ebru Ozaydin
Product category director, denim, wovens, and ready-to-wear
The LYCRA Company
WHAT CONSUMERS DEMAND IN READY-TO-WEAR CLOTHING
Consumers expect apparel that works as hard as they do — without compromising style. They want to express their personal style through garments that regulate temperature, move effortlessly, transition across settings, and maintain their integrity throughout the day.
In 2025, we conducted a survey* of more than 2,500 participants aged 18 to 59 on three continents to find out what consumers want most from their ready-to-wear apparel. Their insights gave us a clearer picture of how LYCRA® brand innovations can solve major pain points.
44% said a major pain point is having to choose between style and function
Nearly 70% of respondents said moving “freely and easily” is a key need when choosing what to wear
51% want to buy versatile garments they can wear in different situations and environments
More than 45% consider the fabric or material of a garment when shopping
47% of consumers are looking for clothes that keep them cool
The upshot? Together with our fiber innovations, your fabric and garment creations can satisfy modern consumers’ demands and solve their key apparel problems.
*Source: Modern Consumer Study, 2025. Conducted for The LYCRA Company by VML with participants in Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, UK, US
BENEFITS OF OUR FIBERS FOR READY-TO-WEAR FASHION
PERFORMANCE STRETCH
Comfort when you need it, however you move
TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT
Sweat-wicking fibers keep you cool when it’s hot
SHAPE RETENTION
Ready-to-wear garments hold their shape with our fibers, reducing bag and sag
DURABILITY
Enjoy long-lasting performance benefits that last wash after wash
LYCRA® FIBERS FOR READY-TO-WEAR CLOTHING
LYCRA® fibers add stretch comfort to a wide range of ready-to-wear garment types, including pants and trousers, button-down shirts, dresses and skirts, and more.
RENEWABLE LYCRA® FIBER
Crafted with 70% industrial corn grown in the US, RENEWABLE LYCRA® fiber delivers the stretch comfort consumers love with a lighter touch on the planet. In ready-to-wear fabrics, it adds shape retention plus a comfortable, flexible fit.
LYCRA® T400® FIBER FAMILY
Our range of LYCRA® T400® fibers, bicomponent fibers engineered with polyester, delivers permanent stretch and recovery properties to fabrics with the added benefits of breathability, cooling, and chlorine resistance. Whether it’s a crisp woven blouse, a lightweight shirt, or everyday woven bottoms, garments made with LYCRA® T400® fibers offer lasting comfort, durability, mechanical stretch, and shape retention. Choose LYCRA® T400® A fiber for a cottony hand feel, and LYCRA® T400® EcoMade fiber for a more sustainable option, made with at least 50% post-consumer recycled polyester and at least 14% plant-based materials.
LYCRA® ADAPTIV FIBER
Revolutionary LYCRA® ADAPTIV fiber delivers easy stretch to ready-to-wear fabrics, meeting consumer demand for more comfortable garments. LYCRA® ADAPTIV fiber proactively adapts its unique chemistry to meet the wearer’s needs: At rest, the polymer adjusts its holding force to deliver the right fit, shape, and control. In motion, it shifts its elastic modulus to deliver what’s needed: improved comfort, inclusive sizing, and a gentle second-skin feel. Get maximum comfort and fit flexibility for all shapes and sizes with LYCRA® ADAPTIV fiber.
LYCRA FITSENSE® WOVENS TECHNOLOGY
With LYCRA FitSense® technology for wovens, designers can add targeted lift and shaping where their consumers want it most.
LYCRA® VINTAGEFX FIBER
Woven fabrics crafted with LYCRA® VintageFX fiber offer comfort stretch with heritage aesthetics, so wearers never have to sacrifice comfort for style.
LYCRA® ANTI-SLIP FIBER
With the increased use of polyester, rayon, and other fiber blends in woven garments, spandex seam slippage is a challenge faced by mills, brands, retailers, and ultimately consumers — and it can result in real dissatisfaction. Seam slippage causes woven fabrics to pucker and wave, which can ruin the aesthetics of a garment. But specially engineered LYCRA® Anti-Slip fiber provides a solution, preventing spandex from retracting back into the yarn bundle and maintaining the look of premium stretch woven fabrics.
LYCRA® DUAL COMFORT FABRIC TECHNOLOGY
Fabrics and garments made with LYCRA® DUAL COMFORT fabric technology are long-lasting, with mechanical stretch comfort, excellent shape retention, good moisture-wicking, and a natural aesthetic with minimal shine. A special finishing process delivers the texture and appearance of a spun yarn, and low growth and low shrinkage mean garments maintain their appearance and size for consumers.
LYCRA® DUALFX® FABRIC TECHNOLOGY
LYCRA® dualFX® fabric technology delivers high-stretch woven fabrics that hold their shape, for comfortable ready-to-wear apparel that looks as good as it feels. It combines two stretch fibers — LYCRA® and LYCRA® T400® fiber — for woven bottoms and tops that fit all day, every day.
LYCRA® TOUGH MAX™ FABRIC TECHNOLOGY
LYCRA® TOUGH MAX™ fabric technology delivers the stretch comfort consumers crave with the toughness and durability an active lifestyle demands. Providing extra durability and strength to woven fabrics — twice the strength of typical cotton wovens — the technology is a match for performance wovens, workwear, and outdoor-inspired urban wear.
LYCRA® XFIT FABRIC TECHNOLOGY
LYCRA® XFIT fabric technology adds four-way stretch to wovens, delivering total freedom of movement and 360° flexibility. LYCRA® XFIT fabrics are made with covered LYCRA® T400® fiber and/or LYCRA® fiber in the warp and weft for a flexible fit that holds its shape.
SUSTAINABLE FIBER SOLUTIONS FOR READY-TO-WEAR FABRICS
LYCRA® fibers deliver durable, high-performance solutions for more sustainable ready-to-wear fabrics. Our recycled and renewable fibers help maintain the structure of high-end ready-to-wear clothing.
RENEWABLE LYCRA® fiber is crafted from 70% industrial corn grown in the US. It delivers the same performance as our classic LYCRA® fiber with more sustainable materials
LYCRA® T400® EcoMade fiber, made in part from recycled PET bottles and renewable plant-based materials, delivers permanent stretch, recovery, moisture-wicking, and breathability. LYCRA® T400® fiber is compatible with established polyester recycling processes. In controlled tests, this fiber’s components were blended with standard polyester and respun into new polyester fibers, setting the stage for circularity
Our recycled and renewable fibers have received third-party sustainability certifications: All recycled polyester products from The LYCRA Company have achieved OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100. Products made from recycled bottles are Global Recycled Standard certified, and products from textile waste are Recycled Claim Standard certified.
