Intelligent Apparel

Indian apparel companies are paving the way for the future of fashion by introducing intelligent clothing. These clothes are designed to repel mosquitos, keep the wearer cool, emanate perfume and remain stain-free even when spilled upon. After an inauspicious start these new designs are starting to win over the Indian public. India, with its hot and muggy climate, is in fact a logical choice for this innovative concept to be introduced.

The Bangalore-based apparel company, Peter Kin International, presented its first intelligent clothing item in May of this year with a mosquito-repellent shirt. The shirt has been pre-washed in a special mosquito-resistant solution, which happens to be very gentle on the skin. The company has also exported these shirts to other mosquito-infested countries such as Australia and Kenya.

Peter Kin also produces fragranced clothing, which has been well received in India. The clothes are available in a variety of fragrances, from fresh lime to strawberry and chocolate. The company's business head, Ram Purohit, explains that intelligent apparel as yet only constitutes 5% of Peter Kin's sales, however the market appears to be expanding.

Another prominent contender in the intelligent apparel market is Madura Garments. It recently launched "Ice Touch", a shirt that keeps the body five degrees cooler, thanks to treatment with a special finishing agent. As Madura's president, Hemchandra Jhaveri, points out, clothes are no longer simply meant to look good. Consumers have become more discerning and require additional comfort and functionality. To this end, Madura launched the brand Van Heusen's "Oxyrich" shirts last summer. The shirts release power-packed oxygen ions around the wearer and promise to make the wearer more alert and focused. Jhaveri points out that these shirts are ideal for high-pressure situations, such as crowded places and traffic jams.

"Unstainables" make up the more common type of intelligent clothing. The US based Arrow began producing them in 2002, but due to their growing popularity the company has added eight new colours to its range of 'unstainable' shirts. The technology employed in manufacturing these shirts is a molecular structure that attaches itself to the shirts, forming a barrier for liquids and stains.