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To assess the distortion in colour matching occurring in the process from design of a fabric to printed output, a combined objective and subjective measurement methodology was used. The results obtained from the spectrophotometer demonstrated that the hue and chroma of the printed copies differed from the originals. It was found that the perception of colour by fashion/textile designers mainly depends upon overall colour differences (▵E) rather than any individual factors such as lightness, chroma and hue.

Clothing supply chains are subject to increasing global dispersal. Though primarily cost driven, this process impacts on the full range of business functions and activities. However, many dimensions of that impact have as yet received little investigation. The research described in this paper examines the impact of international sourcing strategies on the quality control or assurance function in the clothing industry. The paper establishes a theoretical framework within which observed changes in this area may be analysed. This framework focuses in particular on information costs and flows. The paper reports some preliminary empirical findings derived from a series of semi‐structured interviews conducted with representatives of UK firms deploying international sourcing strategies. A number of supply‐chain case studies are modelled using a diagrammatic methodology which allows the determinants of their configuration, performance and evolution to be explored. The paper concludes by describing the next stage to be undertaken in this research project.

To investigate consumers’ perceptions of appearance and handle of the chest area and the lapel in men’s tailored jackets, both objective measurement using FAST and subjective assessment utilising semi‐structured interview were employed. It was found that objective measurement provides insufficient information to predict the tailorability if reliance is placed purely upon properties obtained from shell fabrics. Use of the fabric and interlining laminates, however, provides better prediction of tailorability, especially those aspects associated with appearance and shape retention. It was also found that objective measurement results do not agree with the subjective assessment results, particularly with regard to the subjective assessment of the female interviewees. It is suggested that thought should be given to devising a method of evaluating objective measurement results suitable to fabric and interlining laminates that can also take account of market trends directly related to consumer perception.

Based upon numerous assertions that a garment should be developed to maximise athletes' muscle performance while maintaining freedom of movement, this paper initially discusses the development of a perfusion suit that utilises a flexible single layer cooling system, with a view to the development of a cooling garment that does not employ a conventional tubing system which can restrict movement. The stages of the development have been described in detail, and an appropriate evaluation completed for both the initially developed perfusion suit and the subsequently developed cooling garment (modified perfusion suit). From results obtained from experiments conducted using the cooling garment, which incorporates super absorbent sodium polyacrylate pads as the cooling component, the following conclusions were drawn. First, anterior thigh temperature was reduced by 4–5°C at the end of the cooling period confirming that the developed cooling garment provides effective cooling. Second, although the difference between the skin temperature of the anterior thigh when cooling is applied to that when cooling is not applied decreased during the exercise period, the difference is still significant confirming that cooling of the anterior thigh by wearing the developed cooling garment persists throughout the duration of exercise.