At the recent Outdoor Retailer Winter Market (ORWM), the semi-annual industry-wide trade show held in Salt Lake City, knits took a more sophisticated turn, combining functional fibres with innovative constructions and elevated styling. At the ORWM , the socks were not only more colourful, but more technical as well. A winner of the Kokatat American Made Outdoor Gear Award at ORWM, knitter Farm-to-Feet™, which uses only US-grown wool, added a newly-developed 19.5µ merino to its line of 200 needle hosiery. The highly-engineered Damascus Elite hiking and hunting sock also featured micro-channel ventilation and LYCRA® comfort compression.

Lorpen North America’s TR2 crossover sock introduced a performance blend of PrimaLoft® fibre with merino wool. The same micro polyester fibre used in PrimaLoft® insulation is spun with merino wool to create a yarn that is soft, warm, and dry.

Hyosung’s introduced its latest comfort solution, Heat On™ polyester, at ORWM. The heat-generating fibre contains a proprietary mineral that absorbs solar energy and radiates it to warm the body. Unifi’s latest innovation, XS cross-section technology with dynamic tenability, was also developed with thermal comfort in mind. The fibre can be customised for a variety of attributes, including resiliency, thermal capacity, air and vapour permeability, bulk, and aesthetic effects.

The show witnessed a comeback of soft, stretchy, mid-layer fleeces made, after falling out of favour at the hands of lightweight insulated jackets and vests.