Golf brand launches lightweight cotton line
Italian golf brand Marbas has developed what it calls a “100% natural performance fabric” from cotton fibre.
The patent-pending fabric, called ‘Airkot’, will be launched as part of Marbas’ autumn-winter 2011 collection, and is produced using an “exclusive, high-tech process that creates a compact, yet ultra-lightweight cotton,” according to a statement from the company. “The unique weave presents the highest density and the most uniform microholes of any fabric of its kind,” the company claims.
Fabio Bassanelli, creative design director of Marbas, which owns one of two machines that can produce the cotton weave, said: “Airkot is a breakthrough in natural fabric technology and offers outstanding cooling and comfort performance. While man-made fibres can be effective at wicking sweat, they also result in greater perspiration and, frequently, bad odour. For high-energy sports such as football, cycling or athletics, this may be less of an issue, but the vast majority of golfers will be cooler and more comfortable in cotton.”
Airkot’s lightweight weave has been tested against other readily available microfibre and piquet fabric tops by LT, a Milan-based technological institute that specialises in textile analysis. The institute’s studies suggested that Marbas’s new performance cotton with its microhole technology generates a level of breathability comparable other highly technical fibres on the market.
Marbas is an official supplier to the Open Championship. The autumn-winter 2011 collection features a return of solid colours and contrasting collared golf shirts plus the brand’s signature ‘Baruffa’ wool knitwear.
