The PULSE - Q+A With The LYCRA Company
LYCRA fibre has been worn by Olympic ski teams and appeared in the Apollo lunar suits – environments where material failure simply wasn’t an option. What has that engineering-first heritage taught the company about designing for the durability and longevity?
OCTober 01, 2026
The PULSE: Q&A with The LYCRA Company
Alistair Willianson, VP of Product Sustainability, The LYCRA Company
Nicholas Kurland, Product Development Director, The LYCRA Company
LYCRA fibre has been worn by Olympic ski teams and appeared in the Apollo lunar suits – environments where material failure simply wasn’t an option. What has that engineering-first heritage taught the company about designing for the durability and longevity?
Nicholas: The original challenge behind LYCRA® fibre was not fashion, it was performance and longevity. It was developed to replace rubber with something lighter, more durable, and capable of maintaining its shape through repeated use. That requirement for reliable performance established a mindset that still guides product development today.
The question we ask is not simply, “Can a fibre stretch?” but rather, “can it continue to stretch after extensive wash and wear cycles and years of use?” This is achieved through a brand DNA that puts technology front and center in stretch fiber innovations.
Our research found the failures that frustrate consumers most centre around the material itself breaking down. What does getting stretch and recovery right do for how long a garment stays wearable?
Nicholas: Stretch gets a garment onto the body, but recovery determines whether it continues to fit and perform over time. When recovery is poor, waistbands sag, knees bag out, and garments lose their intended shape long before the fabric itself wears out. Strong stretch and recovery help maintain fit, comfort, and appearance through repeated wear and laundering.
From a product development perspective, that directly extends garment life because consumers often retire clothing when it no longer fits properly, not when it physically fails. Maintaining shape and support keeps products wearable longer and helps close the gap between expected and actual performance.
Stretch is a big part of why garments keep their shape and stay wearable for years. Making that same resilience recoverable at end of life is one of the industry’s most interesting challenges. What opens up for brands and designers when stretch and recyclability work together?
Alistair: Stretch and the comfort and fit it provides, are prerequisites for consumers, particularly in hosiery, swimwear, sportswear and intimate apparel. Garments are often discarded because they lose their shape or no longer look good, long before they actually wear out.
Even small amounts of LYCRA® fibre can help garments retain their shape and appearance for longer, extending their useful life and potentially building greater consumer loyalty. The opportunity now is to combine those benefits with circularity. The LYCRA Company is making great progress in addressing the challenge of recycling spandex at end of life and respinning it into new fibre.
Where are you seeing performance and sustainability stop being a trade-off, and what does that open up?
Alistair: Consumers expect products with sustainable attributes to perform just as well as conventional ones. If they don’t, consumers simply won’t buy them. That creates a real opportunity for innovation: products that use fewer finite resources, last longer and ultimately can be recycled, while performing as well as or better than what they replace.
For example, The LYCRA Company has introduced LYCRA® fibre made with 70% renewable content derived from field corn, delivering equivalent performance to conventional LYCRA® fibre. It can also incorporate protection against chlorine, UV light and fatty acids, helping garments such as swimwear maintain their performance for longer.
What’s the oldest thing in your wardrobe that you still wear and why has it survived?
The oldest thing is a base layer long sleeved shirt I wear for hiking. It has a multifilament nylon on the inside (Tactel) and cotton on the outside and it wicks the sweat away keeping me dry and warm. I was given it as a free sample in 1986 when I worked at ICI!
What’s the most spectacular way a piece of clothing has failed on you?
One of my favourite 100% cotton long sleeved white shirts that I wore with a suit split at the side as I was on my way to a conference! I had to keep my jacket on all day in spite of the heat.