An Analysis of Compression Wear Designs and Structural Elements

The aim of this study was to provide compression wear manufacture brands with information needed for prod- uct development. 8 tops and 7 bottoms from widely recognized compression wear manufacture brands were selected, and their product structural elements were analyzed, too. The results showed that most compression wear designs were applications of cutting lines designed considering muscle movements of the human body. The average number of cutting lines for patterns and designs were 14 for tops and 15 for bottoms. Different colored material was mainly used on the top for areas that require ventilation or high movement during sports for tops, and for areas that require muscle and joint support during sports for bottoms. The functionality of top materials were found to be stretch, muscle support, moisture absorption and high speed drying, warmth and ventilation for tops, in order of frequency, and stretch, muscle support, moisture absorption and high speed drying, and pressure for bottoms, in order of frequency. Tops were cut in the direction of the lengthwise grain, and bottoms were not only cut in the direction of the lengthwise grain, but also in the direction of the crosswise grain and bias for many products. Tops consisted of an average of 13 organically connected panels, and bottoms consisted of an average of 18 organically connected panels, which was analyzed to improve functionality. The average clothing surface area stretch rate was 85.7% for tops and 70.0% for bottoms, indicating that bottoms were designed to have higher strain rates compared to tops.