The clothing promising comfort and relief for skin conditions

Published on: Monday, December 19, 2022

By: ETX Daily Up, FMT

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Fashion brand Comfiknit has been working for several years to ‘elevate the role fabrics play in fields like healthcare’. (Comfiknit pic)

PARIS: What if fashion and beauty became one? In the age of holistic beauty, clothing could also help heal the skin in many ways.

That’s what a Hong Kong-based brand is proposing with a line of T-shirts designed entirely for people suffering from atopic dermatitis – a chronic, itchy skin condition.

There are already smart textiles out there that can regulate body temperature, or which have breathable or antibacterial properties, not to mention those offering UV protection against the sun’s harmful effects.

But textiles could now also take care of your skin. This new breed of clothing promises to protect your dermis from certain harmful effects, to help it fight against external aggression, and even to relieve the symptoms of certain diseases.

When fashion meets healthcare

As skincare becomes more and more popular – as well as the concept of holistic beauty, which is essentially based on prevention – it seems relevant to consider whether the fabrics one wears every day are really all that good for one’s skin.

And it’s not just a matter of banning allergens and other chemicals from clothes, but of making sure they provide multiple benefits, not unlike cosmetics.

That’s the challenge that a brand called Comfiknit is taking on, with a world-first T-shirt aimed at people suffering from atopic dermatitis, a chronic skin disease that often causes redness and itching.

Based in Hong Kong, the company, which has been working for several years to “elevate the role fabrics play in fields like healthcare”, has developed a T-shirt with multiple properties to significantly reduce the risk of skin irritation associated with wearing certain clothes.

The fabric is equipped with technology that manages perspiration and moisture levels, which can be causes of itching, while maintaining the balance of the skin’s pH levels, preventing the formation of salt residues to avoid allergic reactions, and keeping the skin dry while maintaining its moisture level.

The objective is to create a sort of “microclimate” for the wearer of the fabric in order to protect them from external factors.

Functional clothing

Comfiknit is not the only company to have entered this niche. Since 2014, Pyratex has been developing natural materials with multiple powers for major fashion brands.

This is intended to offer garments that guarantee natural UV protection, as well as antioxidant, antibacterial, breathable or quick-drying properties. And there’s even an eco-responsible dimension, since the textiles are made from nettles, algae, or food waste.

“What we do most in our daily lives is eat, sleep and dress; and today, we think we no longer eat just to eat but to also enjoy the benefits of food.

“Textiles should go in this direction: that we should wear clothes that are good for the planet but also for our health,” Regina Polanco, founder of Pyratex, told ETX last year.

This concept is still in its infancy, but it could soon become the norm given consumers’ growing interest in products of all kinds that are as respectful of the planet as they are of human health.