KENNESAW, GA — June 1, 2023 — The INVISTA owned CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics brand is celebrating 50 years as a key ingredient brand for the bag and pack industry – in 1973 CORDURA® FABRIC HIT THE TRAIL…AND THE MOUNTAIN TOP. The ingredient brand has not only revolutionized the standards for durability ever since then, rather CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics is now synonymous with durability and long-lasting performance. 2023, the 50th anniversary year of the CORDURA® brand in bags and packs will be a year celebrating milestones in fabric innovation, exciting end-use applications, on-trend collaborations, and the continued launch of the CORDURA® Fabric Finder; enabling apparel and gear brands to digitally explore fabrics and order samples.
“CORDURA® fabric came onto the scene in a decade of accelerating change and a time of great excitement. The way we all lived, worked and played was being transformed – and with our Nylon 6,6 fiber, we were transforming the fabrics needed in response. Through advances in technology we made it possible to offer a new level of durability that would become the hallmark of the CORDURA® brand for the next fifty years”, says Cindy McNaull, CORDURA® Brand Business Development Director.
Key CORDURA® fabric developments for the bags and packs segment and their benefits:
CORDURA® Classic Fabric – The original CORDURA® fabric; made with high tenacity air jet textured Nylon 6,6 filament yarns.
CORDURA TrueLock™ Fabric – Fabrics with locked-in color and lot-to-lot consistency.
CORDURA® Lite Fabric – Light weight, stylish, durable performance.
CORDURA® Ballistic Fabric – 2×2 woven fabric for heavy duty performance.
CORDURA® UltraLite Fabric – Super lightweight durability, that offers an optimal strength-to-weight ratio.
CORDURA re/cor™ Recycled Nylon 6,6 Fabric – urging the industry to ‘Expect More, Waste Less.’
“Since CORDURA® brand Nylon fiber entered the backpack market in 1973, we have continuously worked to create products that are stronger, tougher, lighter and longer lasting. We are very proud of the five non-stop decades focused on durable innovation that led to new ideas, new technologies and new ways to meet every challenge of the fast moving performance driven bag, pack, luggage and load carriage market”, concluded Cindy.
“CORDURA® brand has continued to work hand-in-hand with its mill and supply chain partners to break molds and blaze new trails. Our aim is to continue this success story by adopting new innovative and exciting solutions for the fabric market that will continue to generate demand for ingredient brands to diversify possible applications in end use products,” added Malayka Erpen, Global Consumer Segment leader CORDURA® Brand.
Latest developments, products and industry voices North America:
CORDURA® Fabric Finder launch
In January 2021, CORDURA® launched the CORDURA® Fabric Finder — a digital fabric library that allows brands to navigate a user-friendly digital interface to view an assortment of more than 750 fabrics and growing. The resource is located at https://www.cordura.com/en/fabric-finder. The Fabric Finder includes images of all fabric angles, and close-up details as well as fabric content information so that partners can choose the best fabric fit for their upcoming collections.
MYSTERY RANCH® and CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics
March 2022 MYSTERY RANCH announced its partnership with INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand and the debut of CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 in its Fall 2022 new product line-up. August ’22 saw MYSTERY RANCH unveil the DISTRICT Series, a new line of everyday carry bags and packs made with CORDURA re/cor™ fabric, urging the outdoor industry to ‘Expect More, Waste Less.’
Spring ’23 MYSTERY RANCH Backpacks and CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics announce the DIOR by MYSTERY RANCH collaboration featuring CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics, for the Parisian fashion house’s Summer 2023 men’s collection. Partnering for the first time, DIOR’s new backpacks and bags combine the formal with the informal, the practical with the purely aesthetic, and outdoor culture with the demands of luxury.
CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 accepted onto Material ConneXion
September 2022 CORDURA® marked another milestone in the CORDURA re/cor™ Recycled Nylon 66 (RN66) platform launch, when Material ConneXion, a leading material insights company, accepted the CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 collection that features ten new CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 fabrics onto its platform. “The Material ConneXion online platform, Material Insights, is the perfect complement to the award-winning CORDURA® Fabric Finder digital resource”, Cindy added.
Dr. Gayatri Keskar, VP of Research for Material ConneXion added: “Including CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 allows us to expand our portfolio and offer a wider variety of sustainable, durable, cross-functional fabrics to our audience. Thanks to CORDURA re/cor™ RN66, brands no longer need to choose between sustainability and performance, thus enabling easier market adoption.”
Black Ember announce new CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 product adoptions and Japan retail expansion
Late 2022 San Francisco-based bag company, Black Ember, designers of technical products for urban life, announced the expansion of CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 fabric adoptions with product line additions and geographical expansion. The brand buy-in off to a rapid start with 12 retail doors opening in Japan for the Black Ember Kompak line, plus Summer ‘22 transition of premium duffels Shadow, and Forge to the new CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 fabric technology as well as the launch of the new Dex Modular Duffel Packs featuring a lightweight CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 shell.
Chris Gadway, founder of Black Ember explained why he chose CORDURA re/cor™ RN66, 500D: “We are proud to be one of the world’s first brands to debut CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 fabric in our Kompak product line. Our consumers demand that we own a proven sustainable position.”
CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 First Anniversary
INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand this year celebrates the first anniversary of CORDURA re/cor™ RN66, urging the industry to ‘Expect More, Waste Less.’ Currently available in over 30 on trend colors, the new recycled nylon 6,6 collection is ‘durable, responsible and innovated to last.’ CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 is made from 100% post-industrial fiber material that is 100% GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified.
Navy Blue CORDURA Truelock™ Fabric launch
Kicking the 50th anniversary year off was the launch of Navy Blue CORDURA Truelock™ Fabric which propels and underscores the CORDURA® brand commitment to best-in-class solution-dyed nylon (SDN) 6,6 fiber technology innovation and our commitment to developing the durable, responsible fabric solutions of tomorrow. CORDURA TrueLock™ Fabric is engineered with high-tenacity nylon 6,6 multi-filament fiber that locks in the color at the molten polymer extrusion level to create deep, durable color throughout the entire fiber structure.
Milestones of CORDURA® bags and packs brand partners:
1973 – Kelty releases the Serac backpack made complete with CORDURA® fabric.
1975 – Kletterwerks adopts CORDURA® fabric for their line of backpacks.
1978 – JanSport and Eastpak adopt CORDURA® fabric for their line of daypacks.
1983 – Manhattan Portage launches durable messenger bags with CORDURA® fabric
2006 – Sea to Summit’s “Ultra Sil Dry Sack” featuring CORDURA® UltraLite Fabric wins Backpacker Magazine Editor’s Choice Award.
2007 – Granite Gear’s Nimbus Meridian backpack featuring CORDURA® Lite Fabric wins Outside Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award.
2009- Granite Gear, Inc was awarded a five-year contract by U.S. Special Operations Forces to develop and manufacture Chief Patrol backpacks for the next generation of soldiers. The Chief Patrol backpack featured high performance CORDURA® fabrics to help provide U.S. Special Operations Forces with the exceptional durability they deserve.
2011 – CORDURA® brand sponsors Backpacker Magazine’s 2011 ‘GET OUT MORE TOUR’
2015 – Manhattan Portage launches “Bags to the Future” 80’s range celebrating nearly 3 durable decades using CORDURA® fabrics.
2015 – Meet the Maker series introduced with in-depth look at CORDURA® brand’s history with Mystery Ranch brand USA.
2015 – Tru-Spec gear (tactical response uniform) plus packs made with CORDURA® fabric showcased at IDEX military show for Middle East market
2021: CORDURA® launches the CORDURA® Fabric Finder
2021: The CORDURA® brand was selected by Modula Milano as the ingredient brand of choice to create its first modular backpack adaptable with a simple click. Designed to last a lifetime and cater for today’s urban nomad crossover lifestyle, the system was awarded the ‘Golden A’ Design Award in the Fashion and Travel Accessories Design Category by the International Design Academy.
2022: MYSTERY RANCH® Backpacks Partners with CORDURA® Brand to debut CORDURA re/cor™ RN66
2022: Black Ember announced new CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 product adoptions and Japan retail expansion.
2022: CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics and Bach Equipment introduce the Limited Edition of a tote bag with CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 for the first time in Europe
2022: CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 Accepted onto Material ConneXion
2023: CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics and MYSTERY RANCH Collaborate with DIOR for 2023 Summer Men’s Collection powered by CORDURA re/cor™ RN66 fabric technology
Posted: June 2, 2023
Source: INVISTA
