Social media is changing how we shop, educating everyday consumers on the best type of fabrics to invest in. TikTok has been flooded with videos on conversations around fabric content, durability and garment performance. As shoppers become more educated and focused on getting the best value for their dollar, it’s no surprise that we’re all paying more attention to what’s on the label.
It’s easy to fall for the misconception that using multiple fibers is done strictly to lower costs. While cost savings are an added benefit, most fabric blends are chosen for performance reasons. Everyday basics and best-selling activewear are often made with a spandex blend to help the garment move and maintain its shape over time. These fabrics are a win-win for both consumers and retailers, but they require an understanding of fabric science and consumer behavior with an eagle-eyed retail strategy.
That’s why fashion consultants like Kenchen Bharwani are seeing a rise in demand for their fabric knowledge. She recently shared her insights into the rising popularity of fabric blends and why this is changing how traditional and off-price retailers curate their collections.
Blended fabrics are no longer something you’ll only find at fast fashion retailers. Today’s fashion designers are engineering new fabric blends to solve specific pain points, from excessive wrinkling to garments losing their shape or looking dated within a few wears. However, identifying the right blend is only part of the equation. This is where Bharwani’s expertise becomes decisive.
In one case, Bharwani played a leading role in the acquisition and redirection of a cancelled shipment of 60,000 men’s activewear t-shirts, originally produced for Russell Athletic intended for Walmart. Rather than allowing the inventory to depreciate in secondary liquidation channels, she evaluated the nylon-polyester construction through a performance lens. Nylon enhances tensile strength and drape memory; polyester supports abrasion resistance and shape retention. Her assessment concluded that those features made it uniquely suitable for redistribution within a high-traffic, operationally lean retail environment.
Acting in a strategic role for Empire Apparel LLC, Bharwani facilitated the redirection of the program to Dollar General, a national retailer with more than 20,000 locations across the United States, seeking to elevate its apparel category while maintaining operational efficiency, and expand their customer demographic at a time when consumers are looking for more affordable garments without compromising on quality.
Retailers like Dollar General, operate under a high-efficiency merchandising model often described as “Product Displayed Quickly” (PDQ), are prioritizing speed of floor placement and minimal labor-intensive maintenance. In such environments, choosing the right fabric blend for apparel is key as garments that wrinkle easily, lose structure or degrade under repeated in-store handling translate into margin erosion.
The transaction required coordination across fabric performance, brand recognition, retail logistics, and customer demographic expansion within a compressed decision window, an approach Bharwani has applied across multiple programs. The retailer projected the program to generate $357,000 in retail sales across 5,000 store locations nationwide.
Industry-wide, blended fabrics are increasingly replacing single-fibre garments in best-selling categories, particularly in activewear and everyday basics. However, the commercial advantage lies in understanding how fabric performance interacts with retail operations, especially the off-price fashion sector and low-cost retailers.
As retailers adjust to ever-changing consumer preferences, fabric choices are starting to carry more weight in merchandising decisions. It’s no longer just about price or brand recognition, it’s about how a garment holds up on the rack, in a shopper’s hands, and after repeated wear. Performance blends are quietly becoming part of that conversation across both traditional and off-price channels.
What was once treated as a technical sourcing decision now influences how inventory travels across channels. In an environment where products are redistributed, repositioned, and evaluated across multiple channels, construction quality determines how adaptable a garment can be.
