BASF and Enchi Shen collaborate to shape the future of streetwear fashion with The Black Sun Project’s latest collection
- New streetwear collections use BASF materials to bring style and functionality to daily life
- BASF Freeflex® fiber enables designers to push boundaries in creativity and create various visual and textural elements
Shanghai, China – September 26, 2019 – BASF and Enchi Shen, a renowned Shanghai-based fashion designer and Chief Operating Officer of The Black Sun Project, have unveiled a new streetwear collection, ‘Hybrid’. The collection, which combines forward-looking design and functionality, is made possible with BASF’s fiber innovations: Freeflex® fiber and Haptex® polyurethane (PU).
Made out of Elastollan® thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), Freeflex fiber is a versatile material that is exceptionally stretchable to enhance all body shapes and provides unmatched comfort. Freeflex’s low heat setting temperature has also set the standard in energy-efficient manufacturing processes, as it enables fabrics to dry quickly and saves energy in its production and daily use. Owing to the textures and patterns that Freeflex possesses, such as transparent and opaque effects, geometric embossing, as well as its broad color palette, outfits in the ‘Hybrid’ collection are edgy, vibrant and adhere to the latest fashion and color trends.
Haptex, an innovative PU solution for synthetic leather, provides good haptics and high peel strength which also further complies with stringent volatile organic compounds (VOCs) standards.
“I am interested in designs that work on the catwalk but also for everyday fashion – they must be able to last, maintain their best shape, and ensure the user feels good,” said Enchi Shen, an award-winning fashion designer who has shown her collections, which draw on street culture trends, at New York Fashion Week. “It is always exciting to collaborate with a partner like BASF, who is constantly improving and redefining materials for fabrics. This opens the doors of creativity for us. Freeflex fiber, for example, makes fabrics softer and more comfortable, while Haptex is a material that enables texturing.”
The ‘Hybrid’ collection builds on the success from previous collaborations between Enchi Shen and BASF, such as the design of outfits for a fashion show held during Chinaplas 2018. More recently, at New York Fashion Week in February 2019 which showcased eco-conscious and innovative fabric clothing as well as sportswear co-created with Anta, China’s largest sportswear company by market value, and Silueta, a leading molded bra pad supplier to intimate apparel manufacturers in the region, renowned for its commitment to the continuous improvement of processes to offer superior products and services to its customers.
“BASF shares a passion for the fashion and fabrics industry and understands the importance and role of clothing in people’s lives. Our Freeflex fiber and Haptex enable fashion designers, such as Enchi Shen, to combine style and functionality with performance. Collections such as ‘Hybrid’ provide a fresh take on streetwear and also demonstrate the versatility of our material innovations to enable individuality with different patterns and designs, without compromising on comfort for an active lifestyle,” said Manfred Pawlowski, Vice President, Consumer Industry, Performance Materials, BASF.
The ‘Hybrid’ collection will be unveiled at a launch event in downtown Shanghai and coincides with the upcoming Inertextile exhibition.
About The Black Sun Project
THE BLACK SUN PROJECT (TBSP) is a pioneer designer brand which is subverting the mainstream of traditional fashion industry. The concept of the brand is “Project” , the designer in this team focuses more on the product creation and the brand couture instead of commercial product in every season that people might not need so much.
“Black” is the deepest color, which is mysterious and powerful, but also black is a primary color and essence of universe- pure and vast, which always start the creation and design from the essence. The “sun” is the symbol of passion, eternity, bright, vitality and thriving for hope. For TBSP, the contrast lies in the blending of creation and through these creation “Project” make unlimited image and freedom for the designers also built the rules for its own.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 122,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €63 billion in 2018. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com.