"Innovation and Classic Coexist: The shirt Industry will witness a revolution in Materials and Design in 2024

Introduction

Shirts, as classic items in the workplace, casual wear and even fashion fields, have undergone brand-new changes in materials, designs and functions in recent years. As consumers' demands for comfort, sustainability and personalization grow, the global shirt market is experiencing a technology-driven upgrade wave. According to data from market research firm Statista, the global shirt market size is expected to exceed 200 billion US dollars in 2024, with the growth rate of functional shirts and eco-friendly fabrics being particularly significant.

Industry Trend Analysis

Eco-friendly materials have become mainstream, and brands are competing to promote "zero-carbon shirts"

With the concept of sustainable development deeply rooted in people's minds, eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton, recycled polyester (rPET), and Lyocell ™ have become the core selling points of shirt brands. For example:

Uniqlo has launched the "Dry-EX Zero" series, which uses 100% recycled fibers and improves moisture absorption and carbon emission performance by 30%.

H&M has collaborated with BIONIC® to produce recycled yarn shirts from Marine plastic waste.

The start-up brand Ministry of Supply has developed plant-based dyes, reducing the water consumption of traditional dyeing and printing by 90%.

2. Technology Empowerment Functionalization: From "Anti-wrinkle" to "Temperature Control"

The pain points of traditional shirts, such as "wrinkling easily" and "stuffiness", have been solved one by one by new technologies

Intelligent temperature control: The American brand Ministry of Supply has launched a phase change material shirt derived from NASA spacesuit technology, which can adjust cold and heat according to body temperature.

Self-cleaning fabric: Chinese brand Hongdou has collaborated with Donghua University to develop a photocatalytic antibacterial shirt, which decomposes sweat stains and odors under ultraviolet light.

Anti-wrinkle Revolution: Brooks Brothers adopts 3D stereoscopic cutting + memory fiber, no need for ironing after washing.

3. Personalized customization is booming, and digitalized tailor-made clothing is emerging

With the help of AI and 3D body measurement technology, consumers can upload their body data through a mobile APP and receive customized shirts within 72 hours. Typical case

The Italian brand Eton has launched the "Scan-to-Sew" service with an error of only ±0.5cm.

Domestic brand Baoxiniao, relying on an industrial Internet platform, has achieved online combinations of 10,000 types of fabrics and 200 patterns.

Changes in consumer behavior

Upgrading of workplace demands: In the post-pandemic era, working from home and hybrid working models have led to a 45% increase in the sales of "Business Casual" shirts (data from McKinsey);

Gen Z's leading designs: Exaggerated collar styles and deconstructionist cuts (such as asymmetrical hashes and detachable cuffs) have become popular on social media.

Men's wear trend for women: Oversized shirts become the TOP3 purchase items for female consumers (Tmall's "2024 Shirt Consumption White Paper").

Market challenges and opportunities

Challenge

The cost of eco-friendly fabrics is 20% to 30% higher than that of traditional cotton, and the premium needs to be reduced through large-scale production.

The problem of inventory overstock for fast fashion brands still exists, and it is necessary to enhance the agility of the supply chain.

Opportunity

The expansion of the middle class in the Asia-Pacific market (especially in China and India) has driven the consumption of high-end shirts.

The concept of the metaverse has driven the development of "digital shirt" NFT products, such as Dolce & Gabbana virtual shirts, which are priced at over 5,000 US dollars.