Casio has launched a clothing line based on the G-Shock brand philosophy of durable tough products. The debut items are black t-shirts which they say are resistant to fading from sunlight, chemicals, general washing, wear and tear, and abrasion. This new product is separate (and very different) to the G-Shock branded t-shirts and if successful, Casio may expand into pants, bags, and hats.

To reduce colour fading, the GXFAB t-shirt uses a thread with pigments mixed in at the raw material stage rather than dyeing the fabric. The material is not, however, cotton, but polyester. Further to the colour fading, Casio says that this new GXFAB material performs similarly to black dyed black polyester when tested on strong chemicals like undiluted chlorine bleach, which was used to test its colorfastness.

Durability is enhanced by using double threads (created by intertwining two strands), and they have used a type of stitching in the garment’s creation. The t-shirt has reinforcement binders that go from the neck to the shoulders both to enhance durability and maintain shape.

To test the resistance of fading from sunlight, the GXFAB material was put through testing which simulated exposure to sunlight for the equivalent of a decade and that the black colour was retained, compared to the test material that was black dyed polyester, which turned grey. Assuming that the average wearer will be still wearing it in ten years, that is.

As mentioned, with the G-Shock ‘toughness’ theme underlying this clothing line, abrasion resistance has also been a part of the GXFAB development, as is shape retention (stretch resistance). The fabric is made of 20-count double-ply yarn and was tested by a machine for abrasion resistance and, as it would be the case with usage, tested for stretch resistance simply by repeated washing in a washing machine.

Casio says that it took two years of development to get to this point, but that that they will continue to work on developing GXFAB.

The GXFAB line launches today with two t-shirts, one short-sleeved and one long-sleeved. Made in Japan, the tops have a small embroidered black-on-black GXFAB logo tag on the left side by the hem, and a G-Shock Products tag at the neck. At this point it is just exclusive to Japan, with pricing of 12,100 Yen for the short-sleeved t-shirt and 14,850 Yen for the long-sleeved top.

[Photo credit: Casio]

Categories: Accessories, Casio, Ephemera