The Hawaiian Shirt Co. Australia is the latest summer ware company to hit the market - and they have done so with style.
Their flagship product - Hawaiian-made rayon Hawaiian shirts (yeah, it’s a mouthful) are some of the best we have seen in Australia to date. All of the designs are patented and I don't think you can get a more classic look.
Rayon fabric is a soft, smooth, loose-fitting and incredibly cool fabric. This makes it a perfect match for the Hawaiian shirt and dress. Rayon fabric is a semi-synthetic. It is a very popular textile for giving a silky look and feel to fabrics. It was developed as a more affordable replacement to silk.
As Hawaiian shirts are a garb more traditionally worn in the warmer weather, they should allow heat to escape easily. The properties of rayon allow for maximum heat dispersion, and the fabric feels cool to the touch.
The process to form rayon could not fall to the claim of just one man, bit it only truly came into full production after a discovery in 1846 by a Frenchman named Count Hillary de Chardonnet. He was intrigued by the silkworm’s ability to turn the cellulose from the mulberry tree into a fibre – silk.
The process of creating rayon:
1. Wood chips undergo a process to extract the cellulose. Cellulose is a primary component of nature and is used in most textiles.
2. The cellulose is then treated through several chemical washes including acid to create a crumb solution.
3. This fiber is pushed through a device called a spinneret which turns the crumb solution into very fine fibres.
4. Now it is able to be weaved into a sheet of textile and then have a print placed onto it.
Caring for Rayon
There are a few ways to care for rayon depending on what percentage of the fabric is made up of rayon.
For 100% rayon clothes, it is best to only dry-clean them. Even handwashing will make the rayon lose its sheen and silkiness.
Clothes that have a percentage of cotton or nylon can be hand washed or washed in a machine on hand wash setting. They are more robust due to the other fabrics being woven in.
"Take care of the things they own and they will take care of you"
- Someone famous, probably.
Be sure to wash the rayon separate from other clothes and do not use harsh chemicals. I generally use bar soap and use very little friction when washing.
Over time, rayon will lose its sheen. This is normal, so don't be alarmed! By dry-cleaning it, you give it the best chance to last the longest, unfortunately this can be costly.
I have several pieces of 100% rayon that I hand washed and washed in the machine on hand wash setting, and within a couple of washes they had significantly reduced in quality – though they still are far nicer to wear than cotton on hot days.
Rayon will wrinkle a bit when washed, and a steam iron can be used to get these wrinkles out.
References
Kelhiem Fibres 2018, The Production of Viscose Fibres at Kelheim Fibres GmbH, video, YouTube, 12 April 2018, viewed 15 March 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcxcPVX5ejY>
Beate Myburgh 2020, What is Rayon?, video, YouTube, 3 April 2020, viewed 15 March 2021, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIG1tSd1Mmg>
FittDesign Studio 2020, Rayon 101: What is it? How is it Made? (Sportsware Secrets), video, YouTube, 8 May 2020, viewed 15 March 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h-FLRGTFDw>
Breeze, C & Kehoe, T 2013, Rayon Through the Years, Part II, Museum Textile Service, viewed 15 March 2021, < http://www.museumtextiles.com/blog/category/rayon>
Brokaw, T 2020, The History of the Hawaiian Shirt’ Smithsonian Magazine, viewed 14 March 20201, <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/history-hawaiian-shirt-180974598/>
Keist, C 2009, ‘Rayon and its Impact on the Fashion Industry at its Introduction, 1910-1924’, Award Thesis, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa State University Digital Repository, <https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11072/>
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