Functional Textiles Shanghai by Performance Days has become a pivotal platform for brand designers and material R&D teams to anticipate industry trends. Recently, the exhibition partnered with CTIC to officially release the AW26/27 Functional Fabrics Trend, offering in-depth insights into the dual drivers of consumer demand and technological innovation. Save your dates for August 6th-7th, 2025, Functional Textiles Shanghai by Performance Days will take place at Hall H3 , Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center with more than 340 booths+ innovation area+wool trend area+Fabric trend area+Bodywear trend+14 workshops+14 Expert talks! Visitor pre-registration is now open! Click the registration link above to secure your access in advance!

AW26/27 Functional Fabrics Trend

01 CHERISHING

Precious and durable high-performance products resemble flowing life, embodying infinite continuity and inheritance while conveying the criterion of eternal value in a low-profile and calm manner. Quality design charts a gorgeous yet simple aesthetic, where the intersection of solemnity and relaxation emphasizes strength and self-confidence. We strive to find a relatively organized and harmonious state in an ever-changing life by integrating microinnovation design, combining practicality with sophistication, and exploring the possibilities of multi-scenario applications. Application Scene: Business, Office Sports, Outing, Golf, Cycling, Jogging, Training, Hiking

Colors: The deep, rich high-level color tone resembles satin at twilight, cold and heavy, with a subtle touch of light gently moving across its surface, evoking the crack of dawn—mysterious and layered. The Dark Night Aurora series features colors rooted in profound, cool tones like emerald green, waxberry red, and dark blue, presenting a calm, high-quality texture. The practical, classic color palette refreshes the simple urban style with bold contrasts, while the interplay of vivid red and navy blue infuses vitality and freshness into the classic and functional foundation.

Apparel & Materials: In the era of long-termism, sports fabrics are driving a quality revolution, giving products a subtle elegance through performance and delicate textures. Functional merino wool textiles are increasingly used across many categories, featuring improved fit layers that regulate body temperature, are lightweight, keep warmth in, and wick moisture away. They represent understated luxury with plain colors, hemp gray, or subtle vertical micro-mélange patterns. Climate-responsive materials adapt to frequent weather changes and provide reliable support for all-day wear; dense recycled nylon improves durability and uses sustainable dyes to reduce energy and water use; combining patterns or textures like pied-de-poule, waffle, and thin checks, these materials are perfect for trench coats, jackets, and innovative suits, and mix-andmatch options expand the possibilities of commuter wear. Bast fibers such as linen or hemp have moisture-wicking, quick-drying, and naturally antibacterial properties; when blended with polyester, they achieve a better balance of stiffness and elasticity. Adding highstretch yarns enhances the comfort of cotton-like nylon. The highquality appearance redefines the edge between performance and luxury in sports apparel.

02 WANDERING

Finding healing and self-stabilizing power in nature, feeling the gentle embrace of clothing that moves with the heart, and expressing oneself elegantly. People capture emotional resonance from a delicate perspective; with its simple beauty, the soft style is full of sensibility and romance. Vibrant and creative designs offer daily elegance in a fulfilling and appropriate manner. People desire to follow their intuition and seek a sanctuary for spiritual rest. Lightweight, elegant outfits present a restrained and pleasantly practical style casually. Application Scene: Yoga, Pilates, Home, Sleep, Running, All-Weather Sports, Fitness, Daily life, Lingerie

Colors: Daily elegance embraces a desaturated color palette to create a serene and healing winter glow, combining soft, misty pastels with urban brights. A soft grayish-pink wax fosters a light and leisurely mood; trans-seasonal neutrals like frosted gray and jade white blur seasonal boundaries and establish a gentle, romantic healing aesthetic. Urban gray and bright colors offer an elegant variation. Sandstone brown is paired with digital bright pink and artificial green to achieve a delicate balance of practical comfort and personalized design through brilliant contrasts, while the simplicity conceals an energetic beauty.

Apparel & Materials: The minimalist aesthetics of sportswear are given a more intense expression. The exquisite natural beauty triggers an emotional resonance within the soul, while microcreative design awakens the senses. Functional basic fabrics are typically soft and soothing, offering additional health benefits. Nylon fabrics enriched with caffeine and antioxidants can assist in reducing cellulite and promoting anti-ageing; probiotic technology is utilized to balance the skin’s microbiota and improve skin health. Lightweight nylon exhibits a matte or micro-transparent finish, providing a see-through appearance for down jackets or cotton clothes, delivering ultra-lightweight warmth and comfort. The gentle, silk-like material has a satin feel, aligning with contemporary fashion styles, and is suitable for UV-protective clothing, jackets, dresses, and other versatile garments. Soft tech fabrics with matte, slightly wrinkled, and papery surfaces provide daily functionalities such as quick-drying, waterproofing, elasticity, and breathability, enhancing versatility across various settings.

03 WILD CALLING

The new exploration of old-time culture inspires the designer to continually develop retro aesthetics, intertwining memory and reality by mixing and matching classic items with street aesthetics and other youthful elements. This approach conveys emotional freedom and cultural tolerance while revitalizing exquisite craftsmanship. From the hustle and bustle of the city to the tranquility of the countryside, people seek to return to the primitive and pure, releasing their instincts, breathing freely, and envisioning the abundance of wildness from the earth. Balancing naturalism and urban functionality, with warmth and practicality at the core, the modern world exists at the intersection of history and culture. Application Scene: Hiking, Climbing, Jogging, Trail Running, Snow Sports, All-Weather Sports, Training, Golf, Tennis

Colors: A nostalgic color palette in the gentle countryside and outdoor background interprets an elegant and practical time marker. A range of long-lasting neutral shades combines rich, deep colors like rice white, spice red-brown, frost grass green, and kelp green, exuding warmth from the past. These hues provide both wearability and practicality, infusing rustic elegance into outdoor moments. The vintage practical tone is rooted in earthy colors like Canelé brown and withered grass brown, which unifies functionality with classic aesthetics, evoking a subtle and versatile vintage charm.

Apparel & Materials: Material innovation blurs the boundaries between nature and man-made, conveying security and cultural inclusiveness through functional design. High-quality cotton/ polyester and cotton/nylon fabrics have a dry, stiff texture, with practical features like waterproofing, wrinkle resistance, and elasticity enhancing performance; brushed finishes add a comfortable touch. These fabrics can be used across various categories such as cotton clothing, jackets, down jackets, windbreakers, and trousers, creating a retro, light-tech style. Fabrics that mimic natural appearances, like plush textiles, have a felted or granular look, combining warmth with design. Naturally inspired details, like leaves, shrubs, rocks, and minerals, incorporate root vein textures, fuzzy plant prints, swamp camouflage, and other patterns into the material’s textures to create irregular visual surfaces. When combined with UV coatings, they meet the dual needs of outdoor protection and visual camouflage. The diversification of sustainable products—including recycled silk, post-consumer PET bottles, recycled polyamide from fishing nets, biofilms, and more—responds to the increasing volatility of climate change, making environmental considerations an important factor.

04 LEAPING

Inspiration and creativity, fueled by contemporary thinking, continue to explore the space between the familiar and the unknown, integrating a sense of unfettered style throughout while reflecting a dynamic ease. Rapidly advancing digital intelligence serves as a vehicle for free expression, with subtle harmony concealed beneath stark contrasts. It responds to the modern individual’s pursuit of an independent and individualistic lifestyle. The unpredictable visual narrative is rich with experimental artistic expression, allowing us to experience self-confidence, charm, spontaneity, and vitality in the fantastical realm of self-construction. Application Scene: Cycling, Training, Outdoor Hiking, Mountaineering, Snow Sports, Yoga, All-Weather Sports, Daily life, Fashion Street

Colors: The psychedelic-inspired color palette is dominated by various highly expressive acidic colors that create an artistic atmosphere with a sense of imbalanced aesthetics. Grass green paired with celadon blue and lime green, explore an alternative fashion-functional bright color group in a psychedelic, neon-illusion style. The luxurious color palette is more experimental, featuring rattan green, chateau green, and amaranth purple, updating winter luxury with a digital sensibility vibe.

Apparel & Materials: Sportswear breaks through traditional boundaries and develops a distinctive artistic gene in performance, responding to consumers’ dual demands for function and personality. Tear-resistant, recycled nylon features gradient fluorescent stripes via digital printing to produce night-running apparel that combines reflective safety and technological aesthetics. The minimalist fabrics are enhanced with functional, bright colors and splicing designs to balance practicality and fun. Materials such as matte double-sided poplin, Oxford fabric, plain fabric, and twill fabric offer weatherproof, elastic, wrinkle-resistant, and other properties, focusing on recycled materials. Futuristic nylon fabrics showcase glossy satin, waterproof lacquer, composite iridescent qualities, and virtual patterns, emphasizing micro-wrinkles, reflective surfaces, and a futuristic digital aesthetic. Winter quilting presents complex, exaggerated aesthetics; oversized geometry, curves, and patterned designs create irregular pattern appearances; environmentally friendly filler is central. Heat-sensitive yarn can produce random variations of patterns based on the wearer’s body temperature. A scribble vision of the artful look expresses street fashion sports through digital printing, jacquard knit, and three-dimensional fissure textures.

Collaborative Trend Research Organization
China Textile Information Center, CTIC Issuing Authority
Functional Textiles Shanghai by Performance Days

The Expert Talks at this Autumn/Winter exhibition will exclusively feature the 2026/27 A/W Functional Fabric Trend Forecast released by the China Textile Information Center, offering in-depth analysis of next season’s key development directions—including innovative materials, trend trajectories, seasonal colors, and multi-scenario application solutions. Industry professionals can gain forward-looking trends and actionable insights here.