Qiana (/kiˈɑːnə/kee-AH-nə)[1] is a silkynylon fiber developed in 1962 at theDuPont Experimental Station by Stanley Brooke Speck. The fiber was named Qiana when introduced byDuPont in 1968.[2] Initially intended for high-end fashions, it became a popular material in the 1970s for faux-silk men's shirts, displaying bold patterns. The shirts were generally cut tight and included wide collars to fit over the collars of thedouble-knit suit coats, which were worn popularly todiscos.
Qiana is described in U.S. patent 3249591 as apolyamide fabric having improved resilience and silk-like hand, combined with superior wash-wear performance. Thepolymer is prepared from4,4'-diaminodicyclohexylmethane anddodecanedioic acid.[3] DuPont registered "QIANA" as a trademark in 1968. The trademark was not maintained and expired in 1992.[4]
Although the fiber described in the above patent provided "wash and wear" properties because of the chemical composition of the polymer, fabrics from this fiber did not have the aesthetic properties of silk desired in the total Qiana product package. To provide silk-like aesthetics differential shrinkage technology was added to the basic polymer technology wherein half of the fibers in a yarn bundle shrink more than the other half. This technology is described in U.S. Patent # 3,416,302 granted December 17, 1968, to Dr. Robert H. Knospe, assignor to E.I. du Pont de Nemours.
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