Comfort is Culture – Inside the AW27/28 TouchLab Development Story
In contemporary fabric design, comfort has evolved from a desirable feature into a cultural expectation. For the AW27/28 season, our customers and designers from various fashion houses consistently asked for one thing: softness that does not compromise structure. At TouchLab, we approached this challenge through targeted surface treatments across different blends and fabric weights, redefining how fabrics feel and perform.
Today’s comfort language goes beyond softness. It includes breathable density, low‑gloss colour, quiet protection, and compact surfaces that maintain balance. Guided by these principles, AW27/28 developments were shaped under three core concepts.
Soft Carbon – The New Standard of Softness
Customers voiced a clear request:
“We want softness, but the fabric must keep its character.”
To achieve this, TouchLab focused on two specialized treatments:
- Emerizing (3R202 / DELOOR) By opening the fiber surface at a micro level, this process delivers a matte appearance and a carbon‑soft touch. It is especially effective on mid‑weight cotton‑rich blends, creating deep and lasting softness.
- Brushing (XM700 / VELOOR) A gentle brushing effect adds a warm, velvety hand feel without compromising the fabric’s structure. Ideal for enhancing comfort while preserving stability.
Together, these treatments define AW27/28’s “soft without collapse” philosophy.
Compact Surface – Breathable Density with Structure
The second dimension of comfort is achieving a soft yet compact surface.
TouchLab developed two processes that strengthen surface integrity while maintaining breathability:
- X400 / C‑RPX This treatment tightens the surface, aligns fibers, and gives fabrics a modern, compact look with a linen drapness for winter. It is widely used for troursers and lightweight jacketing applications.
- LPW / LOOP WASH A specialized wash combined with chemical and mechanical features that creates natural matte texture and low gloss. It balances tactile softness with rich colour depth.
These processes deliver the technical foundation for AW27/28’s “breathable density” direction.
Quiet Protection – Invisible Performance
In today’s collections, protection is expressed not through shine, but through quiet, understated surfaces.
TouchLab’s protective treatments focus on subtlety and performance:
- PU Coatings A lightweight, flexible, matte-transparent protective layer that enhances durability without adding stiffness which enrichess the fabric with water repellent.
- WR Treatments Invisible water‑repellent finishes ideal for outdoor‑inspired urban wear, offering protection without altering the fabric’s aesthetic.
These solutions complete AW27/28’s “low‑gloss colour” and “quiet protection” approach.
TouchLab: Engineering the Culture of Comfort
By conducting dedicated trials for each fabric with its chracteristic blend and weight, TouchLab specializes in achieving the precise softness–structure balance customers demand and the creation of the collection. The three core effects developed for AW27/28 elevate comfort from a functional feature to a cultural design standard.
Comfort is Culture — and TouchLab engineers this culture with intention and innovation.
