Nike creates Flyknit-inspired apparel
19/08/2013
“When it comes to performance apparel, seams are the enemy. They are heavy, create areas of weakness and can be uncomfortable against the skin,” it said.
Designers studied a thermodynamic map of the female body provided by the Nike Sport Research Lab to see where to take advantage of the large open zones that warp knitting can create. This data informed the design of the mesh holes that map directly to the heat zones, providing breathability and cooling.
Nike Women’s training product craft director Jamie Lee said: “Our approach was to create a seamless garment designed to amplify the body’s natural ability – something that moves with the body and breathes extremely well. In essence, something you never know is there.”
In traditional knitting, a garment is knitted in single rows along its length. In warp knitting, a garment is knitted in vertical columns in a zigzagging pattern. This increases the durability and strength of the warp knit fabric and the seamless construction reduces the weight of the garment because edges don’t require additional finishing.
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