Microfibre and Ultrasuede
Microfibra y Ultrasuede
- Date
- 1970 · confidence medium
- Place
- Otsu, Shiga, Japan
- Credited to
- Toray (Miyoshi Okamoto)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Synthetic fibres less than one denier thick, finer than silk, woven or felted into soft fabrics such as the artificial suede Ultrasuede. They gave very light, absorbent fabrics with a silky feel.
Toray developed 'islands-in-the-sea' fibres and launched Ultrasuede around 1970; DuPont and other firms developed microfibres in parallel in the 1970s-1980s. The attribution to Okamoto and the date are approximate.
What it led to
- synthetic suede and high-end synthetic leather
- microfibre cleaning cloths and towels
- lightweight sports and upholstery fabrics