The harsh light in New Zealand and Australia means we often have to desaturate or make colours more complex to suit our conditions
Journal
Outdoor fabrics that perform
Stephanie Moffit, Mokum Design Director, shares an insight into the technical requirements of outdoor fabrics.
At Mokum we predominately develop fabrics with European mills who are used to producing fabrics for less intense sunlight. Because of the harsh light in New Zealand and Australia we have to desaturate or create colours which are more complex to suit our conditions.
Consumers expect more from their textiles in this part of the market, where homes are open and we favour transitional spaces. Therefore it is a priority that our mills offer sophisticated colour lines in robust constructions that allow us to combat these harsh environmental conditions.
To cater to these needs, we work with either solution dyed (SD) polyolefin or acrylic yarns. SD means the solution is dyed before the yarn is extracted from the dye, so there is colour all the way through which produces and incredibly UV resistant yarn.
The fabrics within our Surface Outdoor and Club Tropialia collections are all easy care, spot cleanable, and washable.
Woven in 100% Solution Dyed Olefin, our Surface Outdoor upholsteries Elba and Sole Boucle transition the luxurious feel and aesthetic of indoor boucles into our outdoor spaces.
Our outdoor velvets, South Beach and South Beach Stripe, are constructed in acrylic to maximise plushness and minimise pilling, with the added benefit of inherent fire retardancy.
The outdoor reinditions of our modernist painting Abstraction Outdoor and our colourful palm print Tropicalia are both constructed with Extreme Teflon. Using nano technology the Teflon is adhered more strongly to the substrate, creating a moisture wicking effect that causes water spilt on the product to pool on the surface and allow it to be wiped off.
In this article we will break down the most common problems that can arise in upholstered furniture; discussing the likely causes and recommended remedies and solutions to avoid reoccurrence.
