ProWeave: 'A step forward in woven technology' for shoes and PPE, says Texon

Prato, Italy - Texon, bust known to the footwear industry as a cellulose insole board manufacturer, has launched "a unique, patented, jacquard weaving technology", branded ProWeave, which will allow customers to custom design fabric which is then made by Texon.

Texon says it has applications for the footwear, apparel, fashion and luxury goods industries. It also sees "significant opportunities" in industrial footwear and safety apparel.

In a release, Texon said:

ProWeave makes it possible to seamlessly integrate functional and design weaving into a single sheet of material. Reimagining fabrics for the footwear, apparel, fashion and luxury goods industries, ProWeave by Texon opens up infinite new design possibilities - enabling the production of continuous woven substrates with the zonal features product designers want, exactly where they want them. 

ProWeave totally transforms the way performance fabrics are made and how they look, feel and function. Creating different elasticity, tenacity and abrasion zones within the same weave, ProWeave can help the world’s biggest brands bring new creative concepts to life. Ground-breaking in its approach, this innovative technology effortlessly blends diverse yarn thicknesses, weights and fabric references together – creating intricately designed fabrics with distinctive gradient, rib, waffle, colour, stretch, transparency and 3D effects. 

Actively aiding the design process, ProWeave is suitable for the production of all kinds of woven footwear and is the ideal solution for clothing, apparel and accessories manufacturers that want to employ novel performance fabrics. ProWeave is set to prove popular in the fast-paced sports and outdoor sector where the trend for woven footwear has been growing quickly, and where demand for innovative materials for garment manufacturing is continuous. Texon also sees big opportunities for ProWeave in the production of top luxury and premium branded footwear and clothing. In the luxury market, where the main drivers are style and creativity, having the ability to use custom yarns and an innovative manufacturing process to create something truly unique is a compelling proposition. 

Explaining more, Paul Jackson, Business Acceleration Leader for ProWeave at Texon, said: “ProWeave takes the production of performance fabrics to the next level. Combining Texon’s know-how in branded footwear, with our Italian division’s expertise in high performance occupational and safety woven fabrics, this exciting technology can help manufacturers differentiate their designs and unlock significant creative advantage. Technical and functional, yet innovative and inspirational, the design possibilities enabled by ProWeave™ are endless. Using ProWeave, we can help manufacturers pinpoint the physical characteristics, functional zones and visual patterns they want to achieve on a performance fabric, and then make their vision a reality. ProWeave is radically different to anything else on the market and we’ve been getting really enthusiastic feedback from customers around the world. There is a real curiosity about a technology that can free designers from conventional fabric restraints and help them unleash their imagination.” 

With the ability to mix together different high tenacity, flame retardant, stretch and TPU coated yarns to create hard-wearing materials, Texon also sees significant opportunities for ProWeave in industrial footwear and safety apparel applications.

Texon is aiming to be a zero waste business by 2025 so, like other recent product developments, ProWeave is designed to support the industry’s sustainability drive. Using a single efficient process to create woven uppers with localised features means less energy consumption for manufacturers and recycled yarns can also be incorporated to build recyclable structures for circular projects.