They were manufactured by Generra Sportswear Company of Seattle and marketed in the United States as Generra Hypercolor or Generra Hypergrafix and elsewhere as Global Hypercolor. They contained a thermochromic pigment made by Matsui Shikiso Chemical of Japan, that changed between two colors—one when cold, one when warm. The shirts were produced with several color change choices beginning in 1991.[2][3] The effect could easily be permanently damaged, particularly when the clothing was washed in hotter than recommended water, ironed, bleached, or tumble-dried.[2]
Generra Sportswear Co. had originally been founded as a men's sportswear distributor and importer in Seattle in 1980. The company was sold to Texas-based Farah Manufacturing Co. in 1984 and bought back by its founders in 1989. In 1986, the company added childrenswear and womenswear items to their portfolio. They struggled to meet the overwhelming demand for Hypercolor products.[4] Between February and May 1991 they sold $50 million in Hypercolor garments.[5] Generra went bankrupt due to mismanagement and fading demand in 1992.[6] The Hypercolor business for the U.S. market was sold to The Seattle T-Shirt Company in 1993; Generra kept the rights for the international market.[7][8] The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1995 as a licensing business.[9][10] The Generra name was acquired by Public Clothing Co. of New York in 2002.[11] Today, Generra Co. is a contemporary women's and men's apparel brand headquartered in New York City.[12][13]
In the early 2000s, the technique was revived by a number of apparel brands.[2][14][15] In mid-2020, the color-changing clothing trend was revived yet again by several online retailers selling color-changing swim trunks.[16]
Principle
Substances that can change color due to a change in temperature are called thermochromes. There are two common types of thermochromes: liquid crystals (used in mood rings) and leuco dyes (used in Hypercolor T-shirts).
The color change of Hypercolor shirts is based on combination of two colors: the color of the dyed fabric, which remained constant, and the color of the thermochromic dye. Droplets of the thermochromic dye mixture are enclosed in transparent microcapsules, a few micrometers in diameter, bound to the fibers of the fabric.
Transformation between leuco and colored form of crystal violet lactone in response to varying acidity, which is caused by changing temperature
The thermochromic droplets are actually a mixture of several chemicals—crystal violet lactone (the color-changing dye itself), benzotriazole (a weak acid), and a quaternary ammonium salt of a fatty acid (myristylammonium oleate) dissolved in 1-dodecanol as solvent. Together, these lead to a reversible chemical reaction in response to temperature change that produces a change of color.
At low temperatures, the mixture is a solid. The weak acid forms a colored complex with the leuco dye by causing the lactone ring in the center of the dye molecule to open. At high temperatures, above 24–27 °C, the solvent melts and the ammonium salt dissociates, allowing it to react with the weak acid. This reaction increases the pH, which leads to closing of the lactone ring of the dye to convert it to its colorless (leuco) form.
Therefore, at the low temperature the color of the shirt is the combination of the color of the encapsulated colored dye with the color of the dyed fabric, while at higher temperatures the capsules become colorless and the color of the fabric prevails.
References
^Hypercolor TV commercial, youtube.com, last accessed: 1 September 2010
^"Generra". nymag.com. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
^"Hypercolor is the new old fashion trend". mslk.com. 7 July 2008.
^"Super Hyper Awesome Nostalgia! : Hypercolor". colourlovers.com. 19 July 2008.
^"Splash™ Swimwear Brings Back Best-Selling Hypercolor Water Activated Color-Changing Swim Trunks for 2023 Season". digitaljournal.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
hypercolor, this, article, about, clothing, brand, particle, physics, concept, hypercolor, physics, camelphat, song, hypercolour, song, line, clothing, mainly, shirts, shorts, that, changed, color, with, heat, example, shirt, hair, dryer, used, change, blue, t. This article is about a clothing brand For the particle physics concept see hypercolor physics For the CamelPhat song see Hypercolour song Hypercolor was a line of clothing mainly T shirts and shorts that changed color with heat 1 Example of a Hypercolor T shirt A hair dryer was used to change the blue to turquoise Another example of a Hypercolor T shirt They were manufactured by Generra Sportswear Company of Seattle and marketed in the United States as Generra Hypercolor or Generra Hypergrafix and elsewhere as Global Hypercolor They contained a thermochromic pigment made by Matsui Shikiso Chemical of Japan that changed between two colors one when cold one when warm The shirts were produced with several color change choices beginning in 1991 2 3 The effect could easily be permanently damaged particularly when the clothing was washed in hotter than recommended water ironed bleached or tumble dried 2 Generra Sportswear Co had originally been founded as a men s sportswear distributor and importer in Seattle in 1980 The company was sold to Texas based Farah Manufacturing Co in 1984 and bought back by its founders in 1989 In 1986 the company added childrenswear and womenswear items to their portfolio They struggled to meet the overwhelming demand for Hypercolor products 4 Between February and May 1991 they sold 50 million in Hypercolor garments 5 Generra went bankrupt due to mismanagement and fading demand in 1992 6 The Hypercolor business for the U S market was sold to The Seattle T Shirt Company in 1993 Generra kept the rights for the international market 7 8 The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1995 as a licensing business 9 10 The Generra name was acquired by Public Clothing Co of New York in 2002 11 Today Generra Co is a contemporary women s and men s apparel brand headquartered in New York City 12 13 In the early 2000s the technique was revived by a number of apparel brands 2 14 15 In mid 2020 the color changing clothing trend was revived yet again by several online retailers selling color changing swim trunks 16 Principle EditSubstances that can change color due to a change in temperature are called thermochromes There are two common types of thermochromes liquid crystals used in mood rings and leuco dyes used in Hypercolor T shirts The color change of Hypercolor shirts is based on combination of two colors the color of the dyed fabric which remained constant and the color of the thermochromic dye Droplets of the thermochromic dye mixture are enclosed in transparent microcapsules a few micrometers in diameter bound to the fibers of the fabric Transformation between leuco and colored form of crystal violet lactone in response to varying acidity which is caused by changing temperature The thermochromic droplets are actually a mixture of several chemicals crystal violet lactone the color changing dye itself benzotriazole a weak acid and a quaternary ammonium salt of a fatty acid myristylammonium oleate dissolved in 1 dodecanol as solvent Together these lead to a reversible chemical reaction in response to temperature change that produces a change of color At low temperatures the mixture is a solid The weak acid forms a colored complex with the leuco dye by causing the lactone ring in the center of the dye molecule to open At high temperatures above 24 27 C the solvent melts and the ammonium salt dissociates allowing it to react with the weak acid This reaction increases the pH which leads to closing of the lactone ring of the dye to convert it to its colorless leuco form Therefore at the low temperature the color of the shirt is the combination of the color of the encapsulated colored dye with the color of the dyed fabric while at higher temperatures the capsules become colorless and the color of the fabric prevails References Edit Hypercolor TV commercial youtube com last accessed 1 September 2010 a b c Hypercolor is hot again Los Angeles Times 6 July 2008 To Dye For Hypercolor Clothes Heating Up Market For Maker Generra The Seattle Times 24 April 1991 Hyper demand for Hypercolor Puget Sound Business Journal 24 June 1991 Generra Hot Start Then Cold Reality Company Reflects Industry s Woes The Seattle Times 3 July 1992 Generra Sportswear seeks Chapter 11 protection PR Newswire 2 July 1992 Generra sells Hypercolor plant to Seattle T shirt Daily News Record 4 February 1993 Archived from the original on 4 November 2012 Generra Sells Hypercolor Plant to New Company The Seattle Times 14 January 1993 Generra Brand Acquired by Public Clothing Bobbin 1 June 2002 Reinventing Generra Women s Wear Daily 31 July 1996 Public Clothing buys Generra trademark Women s Wear Daily 29 March 2002 Archived from the original on 4 November 2012 Generra s new girl style co 1 February 2010 Generra nymag com Retrieved 1 September 2010 Hypercolor is the new old fashion trend mslk com 7 July 2008 Super Hyper Awesome Nostalgia Hypercolor colourlovers com 19 July 2008 Splash Swimwear Brings Back Best Selling Hypercolor Water Activated Color Changing Swim Trunks for 2023 Season digitaljournal com Retrieved 2 July 2020 External links Edit Thermochromic Fabric Displays HowStuffWorks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hypercolor amp oldid 1142454843, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
